Claremore Native Steven L. Warren to Present Program on Second Battle of Cabin Creek

CLAREMORE, OK — The Will Rogers Memorial Museum will host a special Civil War program at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, featuring Claremore native Steven L. Warren, who will present an in-depth program on the Second Battle of Cabin Creek, one of the most brilliantly planned military engagements fought in Indian Territory.

Warren is a graduate of Claremore High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Tulsa and a Master of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma. Throughout his professional career, he has worked for television networks and stations across the country, bringing decades of research, storytelling, and production experience to his historical work.

He is the writer-producer of the feature-length television documentary Last Raid at Cabin Creek, released in 1992. The program is currently streaming on Prime Video, HistoryFix, Tubi, and TrueTVPlus. Warren also released a shorter version of the documentary last fall for Oklahoma history teachers to use in their classrooms, helping bring the story of Cabin Creek to a new generation of students. It is available on YouTube.

Warren is also the author of The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory, published in 2012 by Arcadia Publishing.

The Second Battle of Cabin Creek, fought in September 1864 near present-day Big Cabin, Oklahoma, was a decisive Confederate victory that resulted in the capture of a massive Union supply train. Planned by Brigadier General Stand Watie and executed by Brigadier General Richard M. Gano, the engagement had consequences for Union operations at Fort Gibson and lifted Confederate morale in the region during the closing year of the war.

The program will provide valuable insight into just one of the forgotten Civil War engagements that occurred in present-day Oklahoma. The daring Cabin Creek raid was called “one of the most brilliant raids of the entire war” by Confederate Major General Edmund Kirby Smith in a congratulatory order to Gano and Watie’s troops.

Warren’s presentation will examine the military strategy behind the Confederate assault, the diverse forces involved—including Texas cavalry and Native troops—and the broader impact of the battle on the Trans-Mississippi Theater. Drawing from primary sources, eyewitness accounts, and official military records, he will also discuss how the battle affected soldiers and civilians throughout the region.

The event will be held at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore and is open to the public.