Salina Stockade

Last updated
Salina Stockade
Salina, Kansas
Coordinates 38°50′27″N97°36′36″W / 38.8407°N 97.6101°W / 38.8407; -97.6101 Coordinates: 38°50′27″N97°36′36″W / 38.8407°N 97.6101°W / 38.8407; -97.6101
Type U.S. Army post, local militia post
Site information
Controlled byvarious Army units from Kansas, local militia
Site history
BuiltMay—June 1864
In useMay 1864 (1864-05)—June 1865 (1865-06) [1]
Materialswood
Garrison information
Past
commanders		various, including Lieut. John M. Clark, Capt. Henry Booth, First Lieut. Jacob Van Antwerp, Capt. Elisha Hammer
Garrisonsame

The Salina Stockade was built in Salina, Kansas, to provide the residents with protection from the American Indians in the area, many of whom were hostile toward white settlement. Salina had been raided in 1862 by Native Americans and then Confederate guerrillas, but it was not until May 1864 when residents decided they needed to build a stockade for protection. On May 17, 1864, a makeshift stockade, consisting of wagons placed in a circle around the town's flagpole, was erected. The local militia then drilled and guarded Salina. On the northeast corner of 7th Street and Iron Avenue stood a small building. Around this a permanent stockade was erected in May and June 1864. [2] [3]

Contents

History

The stockade, measuring 100 feet (30 m) by 125 feet (38 m), was started on May 29, 1864. It consisted of logs set upright on end in an oval. They were 18 feet (5.5 m) long and the ends were buried 3 feet (0.91 m) into the ground. Portholes were cut out at short distances around the stockade to allow men to shoot through them at anyone attacking the stockade. A heavy gate was placed at the southeast corner of the stockade. The construction was completed June 8. [4] [5]

In June 1864, just after the completion of the stockade, the commander of Fort Riley sent twenty-five troops, commanded by Lieut. John M. Clark, to garrison the stockade. In July Capt. Henry Booth became the commander in Salina and he brought one artillery piece with him. While Booth was at Salina, he was involved in helping area settlers and friendly Indians in their conflicts with Indians opposed to white settlers. Conflicts in the area with certain Indian groups remained until at least the end of the Civil War. From October 1864 to at least March 1865, Capt. Elisha Hammer commanded Salina's post. [6] [7]

Meanwhile, the building inside the stockade was remodeled and in September 1864 was opened as Salina's first public school. The school term ran until March 1865. The use of the building probably continued until at least June 1865. [1] [8]

Troops were stationed at Salina until March 1865, when apparently they were removed. On June 20, 1865, an order was issued to place a company of troops from the 15th Kansas Cavalry at Salina, but there is no confirmation that this was done. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

On March 7, 1862, Confederate guerrillas under William C. Quantrill raided the small Kansas community of Aubry, southwest of Kansas City, Missouri, and just west of the Kansas-Missouri border. Three residents were killed in the raid and much property was carted away by the guerrillas.

Barnesville's Post located near Barnesville, in Bourbon County, Kansas, was the site of military camps for stretches of time during the American Civil War. The first mention of a camp there came from a report written on September 4, 1861, by Sen. James Lane. This was during the time Lane had evacuated Fort Scott and moved his forces to areas north of that post. A post was established at Barnesville. Lane wrote to Capt. W. E. Prince, then commanding Fort Leavenworth, "I am holding Barnesville. .. with an irregular force of about 250 men, stationed in log buildings, and am now strengthening their position with earth entrenchments."

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.

Mount Oread Civil War posts

Lawrence, Kansas was not well defended in the early part of the Civil War. That ended with William Quantrill's devastating guerrilla raid August 21, 1863. By early 1864 Union soldiers were permanently camped on the top and slopes of Mount Oread, then to Lawrence's southwest. It seems the camp was originally named Camp Ewing, after Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing.

Fort Aubrey United States historic place

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, in Miami County. 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.

In 1864 Gen. Samuel R. Curtis established a military camp at the Fort Riley-Fort Larned Road crossing of the Smokey Hill River in what is now Ellsworth County, Kans.

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.

Fort Simple was an American fort built in Topeka, Kansas, as a result of Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Missouri Raid in the late summer and fall of 1864. Topeka had become the permanent capital of the State of Kansas in 1861, but no fortifications had been built to protect the city from guerrilla bands, which roamed eastern Kansas. Even the raid and massacre in August 1863 in Lawrence, Kansas, did not result in a fort being built to protect the capital, although plans had been made to build one by July 1864.

Fort Sully (Fort Leavenworth)

Fort Sully was an earthwork artillery battery built on the plateau of Hancock Hill, the highest hill west of Fort Leavenworth, in September and October 1864. Its purpose was to boost the defenses of Fort Leavenworth in case Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Sterling Price attempted to overrun the area. Price spent all of September and most of October in Missouri on an expedition to occupy that state.

The 1st Battalion, Arkansas State Troops (1863–1864) was an Arkansas State Cavalry battalion during the American Civil War. The unit is also some times referred to as Pettus' Battalion or Trader's Battalion, Arkansas State Troops. The unit was eventually consolidated with other units in late 1864 to form the Newton's 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment.

Mound City's post was established by 1860 in Mound City, Kansas. In August 1861 U.S. Senator James H. Lane reported to the commander of Fort Leavenworth that the post was to be fortified. In fact, Mound City's post became one of the important posts guarding against Confederate guerrilla attacks along the Kansas-Missouri border. Through the War usually 200 to 300 troops at a time were stationed at the post.

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.

Rockville's post, in southern Miami County, Kansas, was established at the small town of Rockville, Kansas, founded in 1859 by those loyal to the southern cause in Kansas. The other side, the free-staters, soon gained control of the town and it was loyal to the Union when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Rockville was located on the top of a hill surrounded by rolling plains. During the American Civil War, the area was almost bare of trees, allowing troops holding the town to see anyone coming from some distance away. Rockville's post was one of the many posts established in the War to help guard the Kansas-Missouri border area.

In 1842 a large log fort was built at Trading Post by the United States Army, upon the order of Gen. Winfield Scott. This fort was on the Fort Leavenworth-Fort Gibson Military Road. The completed fort was fairly elaborate. It included space to house a company of dragoons and their horses. Also, it contained a hospital and store houses. Gaps along the outside walls of buildings were filled in with stockade walls. The buildings were built around a large interior open area.

In spring 1860 the Washington Town Company laid out the town site of Washington, Kansas. A log cabin was built as the headquarters of the town company and this became known as the Washington Company House. It probably stood on the site of the current Washington County Courthouse. The logs of this building were set up perpendicular, so the outside of the building resembled a stockade.

In spring 1860 the Washington Town Company laid out the town site of Washington, Kansas. A log cabin was built as the headquarters of the town company and this became known as the Washington Company House. The logs of this building were set up perpendicular, so the outside of the building resembled a stockade. One of its uses was to serve as a place of refuge when problems arose with area Indians opposed to white settlement of the area.

References

  1. 1 2 Ruby P. Bramwell, City on the Move: The Story of Salina (Salina: Survey Press, 1969), p. 61.
  2. ↑ Deputy Marshal H. L. Jones, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: government Printing Office, 1891), Series I, Vol. XXXIV, Part IV, p. 150.
  3. ↑ Hugh H. Morrison, "A Chapter in the History of Salina, Kansas" (unpublished reminiscence, no date), pp. 1-2 (from the Salina Public Library, Salina).
  4. ↑ Morrison, pp, 1-2.
  5. ↑ Chrisena P. Campbell, (unpublished reminiscence, ca. 1920-1940), pp. 8-9 (from the Smoky Hill Museum, Salina).
  6. ↑ Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, "Special Field Orders, No. 1," War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1893), Series I, Vol. XLI, Part II, p. 369.
  7. ↑ Col James H. Ford, report, War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896), Series I, Vol. XLVIII, Part I, p. 1012.
  8. ↑ Morrison, pp. 3-4.
  9. ↑ Kansas Acting Asst. Adjutant-General Robert S. Roe, report, The War of the Rebellion (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896), Series I, Vol. XLVIII, Part II, p. 949.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.