During the American Civil War (1861–1865), several Indian tribes sided with the Confederacy. The tribes owned slaves. They agreed with the ideas of the states that seceded from the United States. Also, the tribes were not happy that the federal government did not do what it told them it would do. Not all the tribes sided with the Confederacy. Some tribes had taken control of several forts. This caused much of the Indian Territory to be under Confederate control, but Oklahoma did not become a Confederate state. The Battle of Honey Springs near Fort Gibson on July 17, 1863 was won by the Union forces. This ended the Confederate control of Indian Territory.