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The Eleventh Kansas was a cavalry regiment which was organized under the call of July 2, 1862, when the war department authorized James H. Lane to recruit a regiment. Lane transferred the authority to Thomas Ewing, Jr., Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, and the regiment was mustered in at Fort Leavenworth on September 15, 1862, with Thomas Ewing, Jr., as colonel; Thomas Moonlight as lieutenant-colonel, and Preston B. Plumb as major. It remained in camp until after the second battle of Newtonia, when it was ordered to join the Army of the Frontier, then commanded by General Blunt, in pursuit of the enemy. Arms had not yet been received, but at Fort Leavenworth were a number of old-fashioned Prussian muskets of large caliber and heavier than the Enfield rifles, and these were issued to the men. Leaving Leavenworth on October 4, the Eleventh moved to Pea Ridge, Arkansas, where it was assigned to Cloud's brigade of Blunt's division.

After a double-quick march of 6 miles, it arrived at old Fort Wayne just at the close of the fight, but it was subsequently engaged at the Boston Mountains, Cane Hill, Prairie Grove and a number of minor skirmishes in Arkansas.

James H. Lane

The Officers Quarters at Fort Scott. The building on the left once served

 as the Free State Hotel. Kathy Weiser, March, 2004.

The same day it was mustered in orders were received to move at once to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where it was assigned to Thayer's division of General Steele's expedition to Little Rock and Camden, Arkansas After that movement it was assigned to duty at Clarksville, Pine Bluff, and other Arkansas points until May, 1865, when it moved to Fort Gibson and was there mustered out on June 25, 1865. The Fourteenth lost 49 killed, 2 died of wounds, 108 of diseases, 49 were discharged for disability, and 8 were reported missing.

Almost immediately after the Quantrill raid on Lawrence in August, 1863, Governor Carney began the work of organizing a cavalry force for the protection of the border. T

he result was the Fifteenth Cavalry, which was mustered into the U.S. service on October 17, 1863, with Charles R. Jennison as colonel; George H. Hoyt, lieutenant-colonel; and Robert H. Hunt. Major Jennison was afterward succeeded by W. F. Cloud; Hoyt by H. C. Haas; and Hunt by B. F. Simpson. The regiment operated along the line between Kansas and Missouri, imperfectly armed until in February, 1864, when it received new arms and took part in the Price Raid the succeeding autumn. It was in the action at Westport and the battles of the Big and Little Blue. The losses of the regiment were 12 killed, 9 died of wounds, 79 of disease, and 144 were discharged for disability.

On October 8, 1864, the Sixteenth Cavalry was mustered in at Fort Leavenworth, just in time to aid in repelling the invasion of General Price. Werter R. Davis was commissioned colonel; Samuel Walker, lieutenant-colonel; and James A. Price, major. After the Price Raid a part of the regiment was sent against the Indians on the plains, the remainder being used to patrol the border. The Sixteenth was mustered out at Fort Leavenworth on December 6, 1865, having lost 10 killed, 4 who died of wounds, 94 who died of disease, 50 were discharged on account of disability, and 2 were among the missing.

The Seventeenth Infantry was organized for the 100 days' service and was mustered in at Fort Leavenworth on July 8, 1864, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel A. Drake. The records in the adjutant-general's office do not show the nature of the service it performed, its casualties, nor the date of its muster out.

The First Colored Infantry was mustered in on May 2, 1863 at Fort Scott. The officers were as follows: Colonel, James W. Williams; lieutenant-colonel, John Bowles; major, Richard G. Ward. It served most of the time in Arkansas, forming part of General Steele's expedition, and was mustered out at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, October 1, 1865. Of all the Kansas regiments this one suffered the heaviest losses, having 160 men killed, 10 died of wounds, 166 of disease, and 67 were discharged on account of disability.

On November 1, 1863, the Second Colored Infantry was mustered in at Fort Scott and was officered by Samuel J. Crawford as colonel; Horatio Knowles, lieutenant-colonel; and James H. Gilpatrick, major. Like the First, most of its services was in Arkansas. It was mustered out at Camden, Arkansas, October 9, 1865. The casualties of this regiment amounted to 23 killed, 16 died of wounds, 1 reported missing, 29 discharged for disability and 187 who died of disease.

The First Battery was mustered in at Mound City on July 24, 1861, with Thomas Bickerton as captain; Norman Allen, first lieutenant; and Hartson R. Brown, second lieutenant. It took part in the battle of Prairie Grove; operated around St. Louis; was engaged in the pursuit of General Morgan on his raid through Indiana in the summer of 1863; and then served in the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of Mississippi until the close of the war. It lost 3 men killed, 2 who died of wounds, 21 of disease, and 20 were discharged for disability. The battery was mustered out at Fort Leavenworth on July 17, 1865.

The Second Battery was mustered in at Fort Scott on September 10, 1862, and was mustered out at Leavenworth on August 11, 1865. When it entered the U.S. service it was officered as follows: Edward A. Smith, captain; David C. Knowles, first lieutenant; Andrew G. Clark and Aristarchus Wilson, second lieutenants. It participated in the campaigns in Arkansas and Missouri, sometimes as an entire battery and sometimes divided into sections. In May, 1863, it was reorganized at Fort Scott by order of General Blunt, after which one section was stationed at Baxter Springs, Kansas, and another section was left at Fort Scott. The third section then took part in the military operations in the Cherokee Nation, being particularly effective in the engagement at Honey Springs. In April, 1865, the Third battery was added to the Second, and the consolidated battery was mustered out as above stated. The losses of the Second were killed, 15 died of disease, and 6 were discharged for disability.

The Third Battery was originally recruited as a cavalry company by Henry Hopkins and John F. Aduddell, and was mustered into the U.S. service as Company B, Second Kansas Cavalry. After the capture of the Confederate guns at old Fort Wayne in October, 1862, the company was detached from the regiment and mustered in as a battery to man the captured guns. Henry Hopkins was captain; John F. Aduddell, first lieutenant; and Oscar F. Dunlap, second lieutenant. It was engaged in the battles of Boston Mountains, Cane Hill and Prairie Grove. The original members were mustered out on Jan. 19, 1865, and the veterans were assigned to the Second Kansas battery. The Third lost 5 killed, 1 missing, 17 died of disease, and 7 discharged for disability.

The Independent Colored Battery was mustered in at Fort Leavenworth on January 1, 1865, and was mustered out at the same place on the 22nd of the following July. It saw no active service in the field. There were also three Indian regiments accredited to Kansas.

During the early years of the war guerrilla raids into Kansas were frequent, but the event which caused the greatest excitement in the state was the Price Raid of 1864.

Compiled and edited by Kathy Weiser/Legends of Kansas, updated April, 2010.

About the Article: Much of the historic text in this articles comes from Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, edited by Frank W. Blackmar, published  in 1912 as well as Kansas: History of the State of Kansas, by William G. Cutler ; published in 1883 . However, other sources have also been used, the content combined, and heavily edited.