Dove Creek Battle

[front] On January 8, 1865 eight miles east of here Confederate troops and Texas militiamen engaged a large party of Kickapoo Indians. The Indians, formerly hostile to the South, had entered Texas without authority and were making their way to Mexico. Troops attacked them and following five hours of desperate fighting, withdrew, having suffered the loss of 22 killed and 19 wounded. Indian losses from the encounter were probably less. Later raids by the Kickapoos were traced to the Dove Creek fight. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy Erected by the State of Texas 1963 [back] TEXAS CIVIL WAR INDIAN TROUBLE War brought turmoil to Indians living in Kansas and the Indian Territory, with unfortunate results for Texans on the frontier. Most Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles aided the South, while others adhered to the North. The Comanches made a treaty with the South but a great majority, with their allies the Kiowas, held aloof from either side, and plundered the frontier at will. Apaches and the Kickapoos did the same from Mexico. Texas and Confederate troops, despite poor arms and mounts, held defense lines until war's end.

Dove Creek Battle is a historical marker in Mertzon, Irion County, dedicated in 1963. It is one of 7 historical markers documented in Irion County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 12 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.2588, -100.8190 near Mertzon. The nearest cataloged historic site is Irion County Courthouse (courthouse), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Irion County, Irion County Courthouse (1901), and Sherwood Courthouse.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5235001151. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.