Civil War Battle Sites

Kansas statehood came less than three months before the beginning of open hostilities in the American Civil War. For the next four years Union and Confederate troops fought a devastating war that took the lives of over 600,000 combatants. During this same time Kansas struggled to develop a state government in the midst of guerilla warfare that might have rivaled some civil conflicts in the world today.

Although the conflicts in Kansas were generally small in comparison to what was being played out to the east there were several battles within the new state. Below are links to resources, graphics and information on Civil War battlefield sites in Kansas as well as some general Kansas Civil War information.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Civil War Battles in Kansas
http://www.civilwaracademy.com/civil-war-battles-in-kansas.html
(A map and list of the four major Civil War battles in Kansas. Includes a summary of basic information on date, location, casualties, major combatants and outcome)

Civil War Timeline of Events in Kansas
http://ehistory.osu.edu/uscw/features/battles/states/kansas/0001.cfm
(Skirmishes, raids and battles are listed)

Kansas in the Civil War
http://www.kshs.org/research/topics/war/civilwarkansas.htm
(Kansas State Historical Society)

Kansas in the Civil War
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/civilwar/index.html
(Kansas Genweb)

Kansas Memory
http://www.kansasmemory.org/locate.php?query=civil+war
(Original documents, manuscripts and graphics provided by the Kansas State Historical Society)

Centennial of the Civil War
http://www.kancoll.org/khq/1965/65_1_staff.htm
Kansas Historical Quarterly
Spring, 1965 (Vol. 31, No. 1), pages 62-66

ATLAS CATALOG HOLDINGS
(Library holdings of the Kansas State Historical Society, State Library of Kansas, Kansas Supreme Court and Washburn University)
Kansas -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

INDIVIDUAL BATTLE SITES

BAXTER SPRINGS, 1863
The Battle of Fort Blair, sometimes called the Fort Baxter Massacre, or the Battle of Fort Baxter was fought on October 6, 1863, near the modern-day town of Baxter Springs, Kansas.

Battle Summary (National Parks Service)
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/ks002.htm

Fort Blair and Baxter Springs Massacre
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-fortblair.html

William Quantrill Attacks Baxter Springs, Kansas
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/william-quantrill-attacks-baxter-springs-kansas

"Incidents at Baxter Springs on October 6, 1863"
by Lary C. Rampp
Kansas Historical Quarterly, Vol. 36, no. 2 (summer, 1970), p. 183-197
(Get a copy of this article via interlibrary loan from the State Library of Kansas)

LAWRENCE, 1863
The Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill's Raid, was a rebel guerrilla attack by Quantrill's Raiders, led by William Clarke Quantrill, on the pro-Union town of Lawrence, Kansas. Quantill's Raid on Lawrence in 1863 is well known through books, articles and motion pictures.

Battle Summary (National Parks Service)
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/ks001.htm

Eyewitness Reports on Quantrill's Raid
http://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2005summer_six.pdf
Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains
Summer 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 2), p. 94-103

Erastus D. Ladd's Description of the Lawrence Massacre
http://www.kshs.org/publicat/khq/1963/63_2_bidlack.htm
Kansas Historical Quarterly
Summer 1963 (Vol. 29, No. 2), pages 113 to 121

In Pursuit of Quantrill: an Enlisted Man's Response
http://www.kshs.org/publicat/khq/1973/73_3_unrau.htm
Kansas Historical Quarterly
Autumn 1972 (Vol. 39, No. 3), p. 379 to 391

MARAIS DES CYGNES
The Battle of Marais des Cygnes took place on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas during Price's Missouri Raid. It is also called the Battle of Osage, and the Battle of Trading Post. It proved to be the first of three interconnected actions on this same day, all involving elements of Major General Sterling Price's Confederate Army of Missouri and the Union's Provisional Cavalry Division commanded by Major General Alfred Pleasonton.

Battle Summary (National Parks Service)
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/ks004.htm

Price's Missouri Expedition
http://www.thefullwiki.org/Price

Price's Raid and the Battles of Linn County
http://www.legendsofkansas.com/priceraid.html

Report of Maj. Gen. Sterling Price
http://www.missouridivision-scv.org/pricereport1864raid.htm

Books/Articles on the Battle
http://topekalibraries.info/search~S8/d?Price%27s+Missouri+Expedition
(Holdings within Topeka ATLAS Consortium libraries)

MINE CREEK, 1864
"On October 25, 1864, approximately 2,800 Union troops attacked and defeated about 8,000 Confederates along the banks of Mine Creek. This was one of the largest cavalry battles in the Civil War and a major battle fought in Kansas."

Battle Summary (National Parks Service)
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/ks004.htm

Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site
http://www.kshs.org/places/minecreek/index.htm

Mine Creek Battlefield Foundation
http://www.minecreek.org/

Books/Articles on the Battle
http://topekalibraries.info/search/d?mine+creek+battle
(Holdings within Topeka ATLAS Consortium libraries)

MISCELLANEOUS

Diamond Springs
http://www.legendsofkansas.com/diamondsprings.html
(Report of a small skirmish at Diamond Springs)

Article by: Bill Sowers
My thanks to Roy Bird for supplying some of the links in this article
Please use the "Comments" link/box below for questions and comments.