A Union Army camp during the Civil War
A Union Army camp during the Civil WarLibrary of Congress · LC-DIG-cwpb-02637
The Civil War, 1861 to 1865

Kansas in the Civil War

Kansas was raised entirely for the Union. Of the 32 regiments recorded in Kansas, 32 served the United States, and none the Confederacy.

On the ground

Battles and engagements fought in Kansas

Aubrey maps 44 documented Civil War engagements fought on Kansas’s soil between 1861 and 1865, from decisive battles to the raids and skirmishes that filled the years between.

Every point below is placed from the source record, with the date, the units engaged, and the casualties reported exactly as the compiled histories give them.

1863 · Confederate victory
Baxter Springs

After conducting many raids in Kansas, including the massacre at Lawrence, Quantrill decided to winter in Texas. Along with other partisans, he headed south on the Texas Road and captured and killed two Union teamsters who had come from a post called Baxter Springs. Quantrill decided to attack the post and divided his force into two columns, one under him and the other commanded by a subordinate, David Poole. Poole and his men proceeded down the Texas Road, where they encountered Union soldiers, most of whom were African Americans. They chased and attacked the Union troops, killing some of them before they reached the earth and log fort. After the Union survivors reached the fort, the Rebels attacked, but the garrison, with the help of a howitzer, fought them off. Quantrill's column moved on the post from another direction and chanced on a Union detachment escorting Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt and wagons transporting his personal items from his former headquarters of the Department of the Frontier at Fort Scott to his new one at Fort Smith. Most of this detachment, including the band and Maj. Henry Z. Curtis (son of Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis), was murdered, but Blunt and a few mounted men returned to Fort Scott. Blunt was removed from command for failing to protect his column, but he was soon restored. Touted as a massacre by some, Baxter Springs was another of the events that characterized the vicious Kansas-Missouri border warfare.

1864 · Union victory
Mine Creek

About six miles south of Trading Post, where the Marais de Cygnes engagement had occurred, the brigades of Col. Frederick W. Benteen and Col. John F. Phillips, of Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton's Provisional Cavalry Division, overtook the Confederates as they were crossing Mine Creek. These Rebels, stalled by their wagons crossing the ford, had formed a line on the north side of Mine Creek. The Federals, although outnumbered, commenced the attack as additional troops from Pleasonton's command arrived during the fight. They soon surrounded the Rebels, resulting in the capture of about 600 men and two generals, Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. William L. Cabell. Having lost this many men, Price's army was doomed. Retreat to friendly territory was the only recourse.

1864 · Union victory
Marais des Cygnes

Maj. Gen. Sterling Price led an expedition into Missouri which Union forces under Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis and Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton finally countered around Kansas City, Missouri. Price withdrew south, and Pleasonton, commanding in the field, pursued him into Kansas and fought him at Marais des Cygnes. After an artillery bombardment that began at 4:00 am, Pleasonton's men attacked furiously. Although outnumbered, they hit the Rebel line, forcing them to withdraw.

1863 · Confederate victory
Lawrence

In a supposed retaliation for a Union raid on Osceola, Missouri, Lt. Col. William C. Quantrill led a force of about 300 to 400 partisans in an attack on the city of Lawrence, Kansas. His men killed civilians-men and boys-and destroyed many of the buildings. He held the town several hours and then withdrew. The "Lawrence Massacre" was, perhaps, the extreme example of the vicious Kansas-Missouri border warfare.

Federally recognized battlefieldDocumented engagement44 of 44 placed on the map
EngagementYear ▲TypeResultUnion losses
Skirmish, Fort Scott1861Skirmish--
Skirmish, Cato1862Skirmish--
Expedition from Fort Scott1862Skirmish--
Expedition from Fort Leavenworth through Jackson, Cass, Johnson and LaFayette Counties, Mo.1862Skirmish--
Expedition from Humboldt to Cottonwood1863Skirmish--
Skirmish, Lawrence1863Skirmish--
Operations about Atchison1863Skirmish--
Action, Baxter Springs1863SkirmishConfederate victory80 killed, 18 wounded, 5 missing/captured
Expedition from Baxter Springs to Grand River1863Skirmish--
Lawrence1863BattleConfederate victory204 total
Scout from Fort Scott to Sherwood, Mo1863Skirmish--
Massacre, Lawrence (Quantrell)1863Battle-140 killed, 24 wounded
Affair near Fort Scott1863Skirmish--
Baxter Springs1863BattleConfederate victory106 total
Skirmish, Walnut Creek1864Skirmish-2 killed, 7 wounded
Expedition from Camp Sanborn to Beaver Creek1864Skirmish--
Expedition from Fort Leavenworth to Western Missouri1864Skirmish--
Scout from Salem to Mulberry Creek1864Skirmish--
Skirmish, Cow Creek1864Skirmish--
Skirmish, Ash Creek, near Fort Larned1864Skirmish--
Skirmish, Fort Zarah1864Skirmish--
Skirmish, Cow Creek1864Skirmish--
Skirmishes, Mound City and Fort Lincoln1864Battle--
Scout on Republican River1864Skirmish--
Action, Cow Creek1864Skirmish-4 killed
Scout to Baxter Springs1864SkirmishConfederate victory-
Mine Creek1864BattleUnion victory1,300 total
Skirmish, Fort Scott1864Skirmish--
Engagement, Mine Creek, Little Osage River, Marias des Cygnes1864BattleUnion victory-
Skirmish, Fort Scott1864Skirmish--
Affair near Council Grove1864Skirmish--
Marais des Cygnes1864BattleUnion victoryUnknown
Skirmish, Cow Creek near Fort Zarah1865Skirmish--
Scout from Fort Larned to Pawnee Fork, Walnut Creek and Smoky Hill River1865Skirmish--
Skirmish, Fort Zarah1865Skirmish--
Operations about Forts Riley and Larned1865Skirmish--
Scout from Fort Larned to Crooked Creek1865Skirmish--
Affair near Fort Zarah1865Skirmish--
Skirmish near Oxford1865Skirmish--
Affair near Pawnee Rock1865Skirmish--
Skirmish, Fort Dodge1865Skirmish--
Skirmish, Fort Dodge1865Skirmish--
Skirmish, Pawnee Rock1865Skirmish--
Skirmish, Fort Dodge1865Skirmish--

Sources · Official Records & compiled regimental histories · American Battlefield Protection Program · Aubrey Historical Database

32
Regiments raised
40,170
Men in the records
32
Union
1
Pinned to a town

Civil War regiments were raised locally: each was recruited from the eligible men of one or more nearby counties, organized at a rendezvous camp, and sent to the front. In Kansas, 1 of the 32 regiments below are pinned to the specific town where they formed; the rest are recorded honestly at the state level. The largest single unit raised in Kansas was the 1 Indian Home Guards, Kans. Inf., with 3,275 men in the records.

To search these regiments by a family surname and read the individual men who served, with their rank, company, and side, explore any location in Kansas.

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Union regiments raised in Kansas

32 recorded, largest first. Raising town shown where documented.

  • 1 Indian Home Guards, Kans. Inf. · Raised in Kansas · 3,275 men
  • 2 Indian Home Guards, Kans. Inf. · Raised in Kansas · 2,627 men
  • 6 Kansas Cavalry · Raised in Kansas · 2,405 men
  • 9 Kansas Cavalry · Raised in Kansas · 2,280 men
  • 1 Kansas Infantry · Raised in Kansas · 2,191 men
  • 3 Indian Home Guards, Kans. Inf. · Raised in Kansas · 2,102 men
  • 2 Kansas Cavalry · Raised in Kansas · 2,087 men
  • 15 Kansas Cavalry · Raised at Leavenworth · 2,051 men
  • 11 Kansas Cavalry · Raised in Kansas · 1,923 men
  • 10 Kansas Infantry · Raised in Kansas · 1,923 men
  • 5 Kansas Cavalry · Raised in Kansas · 1,919 men
  • 7 Kansas Cavalry · Raised in Kansas · 1,892 men
  • 16 Kansas Cavalry · Raised in Kansas · 1,863 men
  • 14 Kansas Cavalry · Raised in Kansas · 1,760 men
  • 19 Kansas Cavalry · Raised in Kansas · 1,625 men
  • 8 Kansas Infantry · Raised in Kansas · 1,610 men
  • 13 Kansas Infantry · Raised in Kansas · 1,463 men
  • 12 Kansas Infantry · Raised in Kansas · 1,390 men
  • 2 Kansas Infantry · Raised in Kansas · 653 men
  • 17 Kansas Infantry (100 Days, 1864) · Raised in Kansas · 533 men
  • Batt'n. 18 Kansas Cavalry (4 Months, 1867) · Raised in Kansas · 502 men
  • Post Batt'y., Fort Leavenworth, Kansas · Raised in Kansas · 337 men
  • 1 Indpt. Batt'y., Kansas Light Art'y. · Raised in Kansas · 333 men
  • 2 Indpt. Batt'y., Kansas Light Artillery · Raised in Kansas · 304 men
  • 6 Kansas Infantry · Raised in Kansas · 241 men
  • Hopkins' (2) Indpt. Batt'y., Kans. L. Art'y. · Raised in Kansas · 210 men
  • 3 Indpt. Batt'y., Kansas Light Artillery · Raised in Kansas · 182 men
  • Block's Co., Leavenworth Zouaves, Kans. (30 Days, 1861) · Raised in Kansas · 127 men
  • 4 Indpt. Batt'y., Kansas Light Artillery · Raised in Kansas · 123 men
  • Abernathy's Co., Kansas Home Guards · Raised in Kansas · 122 men
  • 4 Kansas Vols. · Raised in Kansas · 104 men
  • 3 Kan. Inf. · Raised in Kansas · 13 men

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