The Battle of Round Mountain (also known as Round Mountains) No primary source documents report the engagement as having occurred at a place named "Round Mountains". The name originates from a single writer who noticed a curl at the end of Mountain on the report and changed 'mountain' to its plural. This distinction supports the Yale site as to where the battle was fought because that location has two twin mounds. November 19, 1861 (the location mentioned has never been shown as being the actual location of the engagement, and is disputed by many historians.)

Col.

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Douglas H. Cooper

Douglas H. Cooper

Douglas Hancock Cooper was a politician, a soldier, an Indian Agent in what is now Oklahoma, and a Confederate general during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...

, Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 commander of the Indian Department, was unable to reconcile differences with Chief Opothleyahola

Opothleyahola

Opothleyahola, also spelled Opothle Yohola, Opothleyoholo, Hu-pui-hilth Yahola, and Hopoeitheyohola, was a Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted as a brilliant orator. He was a speaker of the Upper Creek Council. He led Creek forces against the United States government during the first two Seminole...

, commander of a band of Unionist

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 Creeks and Seminoles. Cooper set out on November 15, 1861, with about 1,400 men to either compel Opothleyahola 's submission or “drive him and his party from the country.” Cooper's force rode up the Deep Fork of the Canadian River

Canadian River

The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and most of Oklahoma....

 to find Chief Opothleyahola’s camp deserted. On November 19, Cooper learned from captured prisoner

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

s that part of Opothleyahola’s band was erecting a fort at the Red Fork of the Arkansas River

Arkansas River

The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...

.

Cooper’s men arrived there around 4:00 p.m. Charging cavalry discovered that Opothleyahola’s followers had recently abandoned their camp. The Confederates located and followed stragglers; the 4th Texas blundered into Opothleyahola’s warriors on the tree line at the foot of the Round Mountains. The Federal response chased the Confederate cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 back to Cooper’s main force. Darkness prevented Cooper's counterattack until the main enemy force was within 60 yards. After a short fight, Opothleyahola’s men set fire to the prairie

Prairie

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

 grass and retreated.

The following morning, Cooper advanced on Opothleyahola’s new camp but found that the Federal forces had fled. The Confederates claimed victory because Chief Opothleyahola had left the area.

This was the first of three encounters between Opothleyahola’s Union bands and Confederate troops. The chief was forced to flee to Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 at the end of the year.

The Confederate loss in the engagement was 1 captain and 5 men killed, 3 severely and 1 slightly wounded, and 1 missing. Opothleyahola lost about 110 killed and wounded.

Order of battle

Cooper's Brigade - Col. Douglas Hancock Cooper

• • 6 companies, 1st Regiment Choctaw-Chickasaw Mounted Rifles - Maj. Mitchell Laflore
  • Detachment, 1st Creek Mounted Rifles - Col. Daniel N. McIntosh
  • Detachment, 2nd Creek Mounted Rifles - Lt. Col. Chilly McIntosh
  • Detachment, Seminole Indians - Maj. John Jumper
  • Detachment, 9th Texas Cavalry - Lt. Col. William Quayle

Creek and Seminole Indians - Chief Opothleyahola

• • Lockapoka Creeks
  • Muscogee Creeks
  • Seminoles - Halleck Tustenuggee
    Halleck Tustenuggee
    Halleck Tustenuggee was a 19th century Seminole warchief. He fought against the United States government in the Second Seminole War and for the government in the American Civil War.Tustenuggee, translated as "Warrior" or "Grand Chief of War," was a common surname for Seminole warchiefs...
    
    , Sonuk Mikko
    Sonuk Mikko
    Sonuk Mikko , commonly known as Billy Bowlegs and also known as So-Nuk-Mek-Ko, was a Seminole who gained recognition as a captain in the American Civil War...