On August 15, 1861, Opothleyahola contacted President Abraham Lincoln to request help for the loyalists. He was instructed to move his people to Fort Row in Wilson County, Kansas, where they would receive asylum and aid. Confederate Col. Douglas H. Cooper, a Former Federal Indian Agent, tried to convince Opothleyahola and his followers to support the Confederacy, with the threat of violence. Opothleyahola led his band toward Kansas, fighting against their pursuers. At the Battle of Round Mountain, he was able to drive back the Confederates to Fort Gibson. In December, he suffered a loss at the Battle of Chusto-Talasah and at the subsequent Battle of Chustenahlah. Many perished in this trial, among them, Opothleyahola's daughter. Opothleyahola died in the Creek refugee camp near the Sac and Fox Agency in Osage County, Kansas, in 1863.
