Camp Ben Butler

Last updated March 17, 2019

In early May 1863 a temporary camp, Camp Hooker, was established at the site of what later became Baxter Springs, Kansas. This area was located in what was known as the Cherokee Strip (Kansas). In late May while the camp commander, Col. James M. Williams, was in Fort Scott, the troops moved the camp three blocks to the east to what is now Washington School Hill. The new camp, Camp Ben Butler (named after Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, was in a highly defendable position. It occupied a plateau that covered more than two square blocks. Only a small area to the south allowed easy access to camp. In fact, much of the surrounding area was practically impenetrable by men or horses. [1]

Baxter Springs is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, and located along Spring River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,238; it is the most populous city of Cherokee County.

The Cherokee Strip of Kansas, in the United States, was a disputed strip of land on the southern border of the state.

Fort Scott, Kansas City and County seat in Kansas, United States

Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, 88 miles (142 km) south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National Cemetery. Fort Scott is named for Gen. Winfield Scott.

The wisdom of the move became quickly apparent. Before Col. Williams returned to his post, Confederate guerrillas under Maj. Thomas R. Livingston engaged the small Union force two miles from Camp Ben Butler. [2]

On June 22 the camp was sent additional troops. It seemed Livingston and Confederate Indians planned joint operations in the area. Livingston, a recurring worry to Union forces in the area, was killed in a fight at Stockton, Missouri, the next month. [3]

In late July 1863, a force of men under First Lt. Jason B. Bond began building a new fort a short distance away, Fort Blair (Fort Baxter (Kansas)). This new fort was completed in August and the troops moved from Camp Ben Butler to Fort Blair. [4]

Fort Baxter, also known as Fort Blair, was a small US Army post located in the southeast corner of Kansas near present-day Baxter Springs. This area was known as the Cherokee Strip. It was one of a few Kansas forts attacked by Confederate forces during the American Civil War. At one point the Confederate government claimed authority over the Neutral Lands. Both Union and Confederate troops operated in the area, as did guerrilla forces and militias prevalent in the Kansas-Missouri border area.

On October 6 400 guerrillas under William C. Quantrill attacked Fort Blair and then attacked an approaching column of troops commanded by Maj. Gen. James Blunt. Blunt's force was decimated and many of his troops were murdered when they attempted to surrender. [5]

James Hillier Blount, better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter, record producer and former British Army Officer.

After the attack the troops stationed at Fort Blair and the survivors from Blunt's force moved into Camp Ben Butler. When word of the massacre reached Fort Scott, at least five companies of troops were sent to reinforce Baxter Springs. Soon after they arrived, they and Blunt's men returned to Fort Scott. [6]

On October 20, the rest of the troops were ordered back to Fort Scott. Everything not taken from Camp Ben Butler and Fort Blair was destroyed and burned. Baxter Springs was not again used as a military post. [7]

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Camp Drywood was established by the US Army in fall 1862. It was located about fifteen miles south of Fort Scott, Kansas. It was intended to serve as a military post guarding against Confederate guerrillas in the area. However, it ended up being the temporary home to 2,000 Cherokee and Creek Indians from Indian Territory who were loyal to the Union.

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Camp Hunter was established in June 1862 or a bit earlier at what is now Baxter Springs, Kansas. It was established by Union troops. At the same time Indian Home Guard regiments established a camp nearby on Little Five Mile Creek.

In June 1862 two Union camps were established in the vicinity of what is today Baxter Springs, Kansas. One was Camp Hunter, located in what is now the center of the town. The other was the Indian Home Guard Camp, located at Little Five Mile Creek, 1½ miles southeast of Camp Hunter.

Fort Aubrey, in eastern Hamilton County, Kansas, was established by the US Army in the 1850s. It originally had no name and was not made a truly permanent post until 1865. It was originally established to serve as a temporary resting place for traveling troops. The location of the fort is based upon a recommendation by François Xavier Aubry, for whom the fort is named.

During the Civil War, Coldwater Grove existed 13½ miles east of Paola, Kansas. It straddled the Kansas-Missouri border, being partly in both states. About June 1863 a Union military post was established on the Kansas side of the community and the post was put under the command of Lt. Col. Charles S. Clark. Clark also commanded four nearby posts.

Council Grove's Post is a trading post on the Santa Fe Trail that operated in Council Grove, Kansas. It was established around 1861 and decommissioned around 1864, with ties to the Civil War.

Fort Lincoln was established about August 24, 1861, by United States Senator James Lane. Earlier in August, Lane had reestablished Fort Scott as a military post. Soon Confederate troops under Maj. Gen. Sterling Price threatened to overrun the newly reopened post.

Fort McKean is a fort located inside Kansas along the Kansas-Missouri border. On November 14, 1862, Company C of the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry, led by Lieut. James B. Pond, established a camp at Morris Mills on Drywood Creek. It was fifteen miles southeast of Fort Scott. Sometime later this camp was given the name of Fort McKean. The post was probably on the Fort Scott-Fort Gibson Military Road, and many, including Pond, thought the post was inside Missouri. Throughout its history, Fort McKean was a small post, ranging in strength from 20 to 60 men. It is unknown what buildings or defenses were erected there.

The Lawrence blockhouses where a series of blockhouses built in the spring of 1864 in Lawrence, Kansas, to provide defensive structures in case of attack by Confederate guerrillas. On August 21, 1863, Lawrence had been attacked by 400 guerrillas and Confederate Army recruits under the command of William C. Quantrill. Lawrence was caught virtually defenseless and much of the town was destroyed and about 180 men and boys were killed, most of them defenseless. A militia became active by spring 1864 to prevent another attack.

Livingston's Hideout was most likely the only permanent Confederate military camp inside Kansas during the Civil War. It was in the very corner of southeast Kansas, in the very corner of Cherokee County, Kansas. It was about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the border with Indian Territory and it was less than 100 feet (30 m) west of the border with Missouri. It was 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Baxter Springs, where a series of Union military posts existed from 1862 to 1863. Thomas R. Livingston became a leader of a group of Confederate guerrillas in the area, becoming first a captain and then a major. He needed locations to hide himself and his guerrillas from pursuing Union troops and this hideout suited the guerrillas well. The guerrillas sought to spy on Union forces and raiding units he found small enough to defeat.

Osage Mission's post was located at the Osage Catholic Mission, which was established in 1847. Eventually, Osage Mission became the town of St. Paul, Kansas, inside what would become Neosho County, Kansas. The Mission was located about 35 miles (56 km) north of the Kansas-Indian Territory border. Indian Territory eventually became the state of Oklahoma. When the Civil War erupted, Father John Schoenmakers wanted to keep the Mission as neutral ground and thus out of the conflict. Although at one point Schoenmakers had to flee for a time, he pretty much succeeded in keeping Osage Mission itself out of harm's way.

Paola's post, sometimes called Post Paola, in Miami County, Kansas, was located on the west side of Bull Creek, just west of Paola, Kansas. It was probably established in December 1861, as that was the first time it was mentioned. This post became one of the more important posts along the Kansas-Missouri border during the Civil War. It became a district headquarters in 1863. Later, in September 1864, it was designated a subdistrict headquarters, when the district headquarters was moved to Lawrence, Kansas. The military road from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Gibson ran through Paola, thus ensuring the post always had some importance.

References

↑ William C. Pollard, Jr., "Forts and Military Posts in Kansas: 1854-1865" (Ph.D. dissertation, Faith Baptist College and Seminary, 1997), pp. 15-6; Betty F. Kyrias, "The Civil War in Baxter Springs, Kansas, 1862-1863" (Baxter Springs, Kans.: Baxter Springs, Kansas, Historical Society, August 8, 1988), pp. 1-3.
↑ Kyrias, pp. 1-3; First Lt. Edward A. Williams, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part I, p. 322; Maj. Thomas R. Livinston, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washingston: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part I, p. 322; Pollard, memorandum to Daniel C. Fitzgerald, June 1, 1993, p. 2.
↑ Kyrias, pp. 3-4; Linvingston, report The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part II, p. 3; Charles Sheppard, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Serive I, Vol. XXII, Part I, p. 445.
↑ Kyrias, p. 4; The Baxter Springs Story (N.P.: 1958), pp. 9-10.
↑ Kyrias, p. 4; William E. Connelley, Quantrill and the Border Wars (New York: Pageant Book Co., 1956), 1956 ed., pp. 422, 424-5, 427-8, 430, 432-4; Edward G. Longacre, "Baxter Springs, Kans., Massacre at," Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War (New York: Harper & Row, 1986), p. 47; Maj. Benjamin S. Henning, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part I, pp. 695, 698; Pollard, Dark Friday: The Story of Quantrill's Lawrence Raid (Lecompton, Kans.: Baranski Publishing Co., 1990), pp. 99-100; Larry C. Rampp, Incident at Baxter Springs on October 6, 1863," Kansas Historical Quarterly Vol. XXXVI, No. 2 (Summer 1970), pp. 184, 196-7; Lt. Col. Charles W. Blair, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part I, p. 693.
↑ Kyrias, p. 4; Connelley, pp. 425, 430, 432-4; Longacre, p. 47; Rampp, pp. 196-7; Henning, p. 698; Blair, pp. 690-1, 693; Kyrias, letter to Pollard, November 10, 1992, p. 1; Hugh L. To=hompson, "Baxter Springs as a Military Post---1862-1863," "Kansas in the Civil War Battles and Campaigns," Vol. 3, pp. 32-4 (from the Kansas State Historical Society).
↑ Kyrias, "The Civil War in Baxter Springs," p. 4; Kyrias, letter, p. 1; Thompson, pp. 32-4.

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[1] William C. Pollard, Jr., "Forts and Military Posts in Kansas: 1854-1865" (Ph.D. dissertation, Faith Baptist College and Seminary, 1997), pp. 15-6; Betty F. Kyrias, "The Civil War in Baxter Springs, Kansas, 1862-1863" (Baxter Springs, Kans.: Baxter Springs, Kansas, Historical Society, August 8, 1988), pp. 1-3.

[2] Kyrias, pp. 1-3; First Lt. Edward A. Williams, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part I, p. 322; Maj. Thomas R. Livinston, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washingston: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part I, p. 322; Pollard, memorandum to Daniel C. Fitzgerald, June 1, 1993, p. 2.

[3] Kyrias, pp. 3-4; Linvingston, report The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part II, p. 3; Charles Sheppard, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Serive I, Vol. XXII, Part I, p. 445.

[4] Kyrias, p. 4; The Baxter Springs Story (N.P.: 1958), pp. 9-10.

[5] Kyrias, p. 4; William E. Connelley, Quantrill and the Border Wars (New York: Pageant Book Co., 1956), 1956 ed., pp. 422, 424-5, 427-8, 430, 432-4; Edward G. Longacre, "Baxter Springs, Kans., Massacre at," Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War (New York: Harper & Row, 1986), p. 47; Maj. Benjamin S. Henning, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part I, pp. 695, 698; Pollard, Dark Friday: The Story of Quantrill's Lawrence Raid (Lecompton, Kans.: Baranski Publishing Co., 1990), pp. 99-100; Larry C. Rampp, Incident at Baxter Springs on October 6, 1863," Kansas Historical Quarterly Vol. XXXVI, No. 2 (Summer 1970), pp. 184, 196-7; Lt. Col. Charles W. Blair, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part I, p. 693.

[6] Kyrias, p. 4; Connelley, pp. 425, 430, 432-4; Longacre, p. 47; Rampp, pp. 196-7; Henning, p. 698; Blair, pp. 690-1, 693; Kyrias, letter to Pollard, November 10, 1992, p. 1; Hugh L. To=hompson, "Baxter Springs as a Military Post---1862-1863," "Kansas in the Civil War Battles and Campaigns," Vol. 3, pp. 32-4 (from the Kansas State Historical Society).

[7] Kyrias, "The Civil War in Baxter Springs," p. 4; Kyrias, letter, p. 1; Thompson, pp. 32-4.