The organization of the Fifth Kansas Cavalry was begun in July, 1861, with the following officers as members of its Field and Staff: Colonel, Hampton P. Johnson, Leavenworth; Lieutenant-Colonel, John Ritchie, Topeka; Major, James H. Summers; Adjutant, Stephen R. Harrington, Washington, D. C.; Quartermaster, James Davis, Leavenworth; Surgeon, E. B. Johnson, Leavenworth; Chaplain, Hugh D. Fisher, Lawrence.

The active service of this regiment began on July 17th, when a detachment of two companies left Fort Leavenworth for Kansas City to form part of an expedition to Harrisonville, Mo. Following this, the detachment moved to Fort Scott where it joined the regiment, with Col. Johnson in command. From Fort Scott it did scouting duty. Its first battle was Drywood, September 2nd, 1861; and in its second engagement, where it attacked a rebel regiment at Morristown, Colonel Johnson was killed.

The Fifth was used in continuous scouting duty during the fall, and went into winter quarters at Camp Denver near Barnesville, Kansas. Here Lieutenant-Colonel Powell Clayton assumed command, finding a regiment of good fighters, but poorly equipped and poorly drilled. About the middle of March he moved the regiment to camp ground south of Fort Scott where the time was spent in drilling and perfecting the organization. From that camp the Fifth started upon its career, regarded as second to no regiment that Kansas sent into the field.

This regiment saw hard service scouting through Missouri and Arkansas. Detachments from it acted as escort to supply trains, and did duty in pursuit of raiders. Every service that a scouting regiment could do the Fifth was called upon to perform. It was not its luck to be in any big engagements, but its success in sorties upon guerrilla bands was of the kind that carried terror to the hearts of the marauders. It is impossible to give a record here of its many skirmishes and encounters with the enemy. Every regiment that did scout duty saw hard service and great privation, and the story of the Fifth Kansas differs in no way from that of other scouting regiments. Its chief engagements were at Carthage, Morristown, Lexington, Little Blue, Big Blue, and Newtonia, all in Missouri.

During September, 1864, several companies of the regiment were mustered out, their term of service having expired. The re-enlisted veterans of the Fifth were mustered out at Duvall's Bluff, Ark., June 22, 1865.

The organization of the Sixth Cavalry began in July, 1861, when W. C. Ransom and others from Fort Scott visited General Lyon, then in command of the Military Department of the West, and asked authority to raise troops for home defense. The southeast portion of the state was an exposed quarter and entirely unprotected from invasion. Upon the representations of these citizens of Fort Scott Gen. Lyon granted permission to raise three companies of infantry to be stationed at that place. The companies were quickly recruited and put under the command of Major W. R. Judson. They proved inadequate for the protection of the border and Major Prince, the commandant at Fort Leavenworth, was appealed to for authority to raise more troops. This was granted on August 12th, and five more companies were speedily organized and mustered into the United States service for three years.

Having eight companies fully organized, measures were at once taken to form a regimental organization. Accordingly on the 9th of September an election for Field Officers resulted in the following:

Colonel, William R. Judson; Lieutenant-Colonel, Lewis R. Jewell; Major, William T. Campbell; Adjutant, Charles O. Judson; Quartermaster, George G. Clark; Surgeon, John S. Redfield.

After the organization was accomplished two more companies were recruited and added to the strength of the regiment, which then consisted of three infantry and four cavalry companies. These were kept continually busy at garrison duty and in scouting the country watching the movements of the enemy.

In the spring of 1862 the "Home Guards" were mustered out of service and on March 27th orders were issued to reorganize the Sixth as a cavalry regiment. This was effected with but slight change in the Field and Staff. Isaac Stadden succeeded C. O. Judson as Adjutant; Simeon B. Gordon succeeded C. G. Clark as Quartermaster, and Richard Duvall was made Chaplain.

Upon its reorganization detachments from the Sixth were stationed along the eastern border of Kansas, with headquarters at Paola. They were employed in breaking up the bands of guerrillas making forays into the state. In July they formed part of an expedition into the Cherokee Nation and from that date were on the move constantly in pursuit of various Confederate forces. The regiment took part in the battle of Cane Hill, where Lieutenant-Colonel Jewell was killed; and also was in the engagement at Prairie Grove, immediately following. Afterward the Sixth moved with Gen. Blunt on his Van Buren expedition, following which they were ordered to Missouri where they went into winter camp.

The Sixth not being up to regulations as to size, three more companies were recruited. In June, 1863, the regiment marched with Gen. Blunt into the Cherokee Nation, and later moved into Arkansas, where it did almost continuous duty until its term of enlistment expired. Andreas says of this regiment, "The duties required of the Sixth were not such as call forth the impetuous daring and unyielding bravery that come to men in brilliant and desperate engagements, but rather those that test a soldier's endurance and strength of nerve-weary, harassing pursuits of an enemy over a country of which he knows every by-way and hidden path; scouting through forests and mountain passes . . . exposed to the bullet of the secret and stealthy foe; and all without the excitement of any brilliant victory or expectation of great renown."

The battles in which the regiment bore its part were, Morristown, Newtonia, Old Fort Wayne, Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, Honey Springs, Prairie D'Ane, Poison Springs, and Jenkins Ferry. Part of the Sixth was mustered out at Fort Leavenworth in December, 1864, and the remainder at Duvalls Bluff, Ark., July 18, 1865.

The Seventh Kansas Cavalry was organized October 28, 1861, and mustered into service at Fort Leavenworth. The following were the officers of the Field and Staff:

Charles R. Jennison, Colonel, Leavenworth; Daniel R. Anthony, Lieutenant-Colonel, Leavenworth; Thomas P. Herrick, Major, Highland; John T. Snoddy, Adjutant, Mound City; Robert W. Hamer, Quartermaster, Leavenworth; Joseph L. Weaver, Surgeon, Leavenworth; Samuel Ayres, Chaplain, Leavenworth.

Immediately after its organization the Seventh was ordered into active service, being sent to Missouri. Here it served during the fall and winter of 1861 and 1862, taking part in many skirmishes. The last of January the regiment moved to Humboldt, Kansas, where it remained until March 25th, when it was ordered to Lawrence. From there it was ordered to report at Fort Riley for an expedition into New Mexico. This order was countermanded and the regiment was sent south, embarking on transports at Leavenworth, May 27-28, 1862; it disembarked at Columbus, Ky., and was used from there in escort duty for repair gangs on the Ohio & Mobile Railroad. The regiment reached Corinth, Miss., and from that point moved on to Rienzi, where it arrived July 23, 1862. There it was assigned to the First Cavalry Brigade under the command of Col. Philip H. Sheridan, remaining at the post until it was evacuated, September 30, 1862. During the stay of the Seventh at Rienzi the men were in the saddle almost constantly and were engaged in several severe skirmishes. Two squadrons of the Seventh were in the battle of Iuka, and in the retreat of the rebels following that engagement, the Kansas regiment had the advance.

From Rienzi the regiment returned to Corinth, and moved on to Grand Junction where it joined Grant's army, concentrating for the Mississippi expedition. Following this expedition the Seventh was ordered to Tennessee, December 31st. During the remainder of the winter it was employed in guarding a portion of the Memphis & Charleston railroad. In April it moved south, the objective being Bear Creek, Ala., where it was to join the forces of Col. G. M. Dodge. The Seventh was continually on the move through the spring and summer, doing much heavy fighting; in an encounter with Forrest's command at Byhalia, the Kansas regiment distinguished itself for dash and valor.

The term of service for the Seventh was completed while the regiment was at La, Grange, Tenn., but four-fifths of the men re-enlisted as veteran volunteers and were mustered in at Memphis, January 21, 1864. From that point they were sent to Leavenworth on furlough of thirty days. Following this the regiment was re-equipped at St. Louis and returned to Memphis, where it was again engaged in escort duty for repair workers on the Memphis & Charleston, railroad, Early in July it took the advance in the progress of Gen. A. J. Smith's infantry force into Mississippi, and later acted as rear guard for the same force. On this expedition heavy fighting was encountered, at its close the regiment returned to Memphis and thence to St. Louis, reporting to General Rosecrans September 17, 1864. During the winter it was used in scouting expeditions and guard duty, and remained in the St. Louis District until July, 1865, when on the 18th, it was ordered to Omaha, Neb. From that point it was moved to Fort Kearney and from there returned to Fort Leavenworth, where on September 29, 1865, it was mustered out.

The principal battles in which the Seventh took part were Little Blue, Mo.; Independence; Lamar and Holly Springs, Miss.; Tupelo; Iuka; Memphis, Tuscumbia, and Florence, Ala.; and Corinth, Miss.

In July, 1861, Governor Robinson received an order authorizing the recruiting of the Eighth Kansas Regiment. The organization was begun in August. It was originally intended that this regiment should be recruited for service within the State and along the border. At this time Kansas was beset on three sides, hostile Indians on the west and south, and Missouri, over-run with rebel hordes, as great a menace on the east. Like many of the Kansas regiments the Eighth as first organized was a mixed body of troops, six infantry and two cavalry companies. The regimental officers under the first organization were: Colonel, Henry W. Wessels, U. S. A.; Lieutenant-Colonel, John A. Martin, Atchison; Major, Edward F. Schneider; Adjutant, S. C. Russell; quartermaster, E. P. Bancroft. Within the three months following this organization there occurred many changes in the regiment. Colonel Wessels was ordered to the command of his own regiment in the regular army; the cavalry companies were transferred to another regiment and the Eighth became an infantry organization with Field and Staff as follows:

During the winter, spent on the Kansas border, the Eighth was whipped into shape, its principal work being guard duty. Late in May orders were received to send South all troops possible to spare. The Eighth embarked at Leavenworth May 27, 1862, on board the steamer Emma, bound for Columbus, Ky.; the regiment was a part of General Robert B. Mitchell's brigade which consisted entirely of Kansas troops, the First, Seventh and Eighth regiments and the Second Kansas Battery. From Columbus the brigade moved to Corinth, where it was assigned to the Ninth Division of the Army of the Mississippi under command of General Jeff C. Davis. After service in the country about Corinth, the Eighth, on the 18th of August, with the Ninth Division, marched to reinforce the Army of the Ohio. The trip was from Florence, Alabama, to Louisville, Kentucky. The command, stripped for the campaign, transportation cut to the minimum, baggage abandoned, was organized in light marching order. The Report of the Adjutant General of Kansas says of this march: "At two o'clock on the morning of August 26th, this terrible campaign commenced. . . . The fiery southern sun beat upon the marching column like the heat of a furnace; the dust was almost insufferable, and water was very scarce, the only reliance, except at long intervals, being ponds. These ponds had become stagnant during the long drouth, and their surface was, in nearly all cases, covered with a foul green scum, which had to be pushed aside to get at the water." The command reached Nashville on September 4; here it rested a week and leaving September 11th, reached Louisville on the 26th. The end of this arduous campaign was the battle of Perryville.

After skirmishes in Kentucky the regiment was ordered to Nashville, where Colonel John A. Martin was appointed Provost Marshal. This was the middle of December, 1862. In Nashville, the Eighth remained six months doing provost guard duty. June 8th, 1863, orders were received directing the Eighth Kansas to proceed to Murfreesboro, and rejoin its Division. It remained at Murfreesboro until the 24th when the army advanced on Tullahoma and Shelbyville. In this campaign the rain and mud was added to the exhaustion of fighting. One of the officers of the Eighth endorsed a copy of his muster-roll for the Adjutant General's office with the following statement:

His roll was a frightful mass of blots and blotches, but it was never sent back "for correction."

Following this campaign the Eighth received repeated commendation from its superior officers and circular orders were issued complimenting the officers and men in high terms. The regiment went into camp at Winchester immediately following the Tullahoma campaign, remaining there until the 17th of August, when it crossed the Cumberland Mountains preparatory to the Chickamauga campaign. Of this battle much has been written and but brief quotation can be made here from the Report of the Adjutant General of Kansas:

After the battle of Chickamauga the Eighth went into camp at Chattanooga. Hard fighting was continued and the Kansas regiment bore its part in all of it, going through the Atlanta campaign. The battles in which it served can only be mentioned here. They were Mission Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Franklin, and Nashville. In all of these the Eighth upheld its high standard and returned to Kansas to be discharged January 5, 1866. It was one of the first regiments in the field and had a glorious history.

The Ninth Kansas was organized at Fort Leavenworth, March 27, 1862, under the following field and staff.

Upon the organization of the regiment, the various companies were assigned to different fields of action. Company A was ordered to Fort Union, New Mexico, Company B to Northern Colorado to build Fort Halleck, Company C was sent to Fort Riley, Company G to Fort Lyon, Colorado, and Company I to Fort Laramie. Companies D, E, F, and H, commanded by Colonel Lynde, spent the month of August, 1862, in the pursuit of General Coffey in Western Missouri.

On the 30th of September, 1862, Colonel Lynde was in the attack on General Cooper and General Rains near Newtonia, Missouri. The Union troops were defeated.

In November the Ninth was engaged in escort duty from Fort Scott, Kansas, to Cane Hill, Arkansas. It was also engaged in the duty of guarding General Blunt's supply train at Rhea's Mills. It was on the expedition to Van Buren and Fort Smith, after which it was again put on escort duty.

In June, 1863, it was stationed along the border to guard against guerrilla raids. A part of the regiment was in the battle near Westport, where the rebels were concealed behind stone walls, and were defeated.

In August, 1863, the Ninth was in the pursuit of Quantrill after he sacked Lawrence. Captain Coleman was one of the most active officers in that pursuit.

In the fall of 1863, General Shelby and General Coffey retreated from Missouri. Their command was followed by General Ewing, and the Ninth was part of his force. This pursuit was through Neosho, Missouri, into Arkansas, and to the south of the Boston Mountains.

In 1864 the Ninth was assigned to the army of General Steele and ordered to Little Rock. At Springfield, Missouri, the destination of the regiment was changed to Fort Smith. The summer was spent in Arkansas along the Arkansas River doing scout duty and making expeditions into the surrounding country.

In July, the Ninth was sent to Little Rock where it engaged in active service against numerous rebel bands under Marmaduke and other noted rebel commanders.

The regiment remained on duty at Little Rock and Duvall's Blue until its term of service expired. Some were mustered out at Duvall's Bluff, and a portion of the regiment was sent to Fort Leavenworth, where it was discharged.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME 1 & 2
BIOGRAPHIES — VOLUMES 3, 4, & 5
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

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