Kansas History

Linn Valley Lakes, Kansas          High 87 Low 63

Today we went to Fort Scott, Kansas to see the Old Fort Scott which is now under direction of the National Park Service. The Fort was established in 1842 to help protect the new settlers from the Indians.

 This is the Jail building with me in a cell.

 The post Hospital. Notice the 30 stars on the flag.

This goes along with what we had been told before that disease and infection took more soldiers that bullets.

The soldiers from the Fort as far west as South Pass and help in the Mexican-American War ,1846-1848. The result was vast new territories were brought into the USA.

Some of the old cannons we got to see.

Officers quarters.

This shows some of the original construction.

Cindy, Linda, and their Mom.

As the frontier expanded further west, the Fort was deemed unnecessary and was closed in 1853. It was sold at auction in 1854.

With the hostilities that resulted in the Civil War, the Fort was re-established in 1861 and was a major supply depot for the Union.

The military store at Fort Scott made it a target of Confederate General Sterling Price, who made two unsuccessful attempts to capture it during the war. Intense fighting on the Kansas-Missouri border kept the military occupied. The Union presence at Fort Scott likely spared the town from the pillaging and destruction suffered by other towns

After the Civil War the railroad expanded across the country and city leaders thought a means of helping prosper the town was to get the railroad to Fort Scott. As the railroad tried to go further west the army was called upon to guard the railroad workers from squatters that tried to stop the building of the rail road.

Late in 1870 the Fort was deemed unnecessary for the last time and the land returned to the town. In the 1950’s a group of history minded citizens argued for restoration of the Fort to late 1840 appearance and Federal funding paved the way for the Fort’s rebirth. In 1978 it became a National Historic Site.

These are all over the Town. There is a parade tonight, which we will miss.

On our way back to the RV Park we stopped at the site of the Battle of Mine Creek, the largest Civil War battle in Kansas. General Price was defeated and the battle was decisive enough to stop any Rebel invasion of Kansas.

We also stopped at the site of the Marias des Cygnes Massacre. On May 19, 1858 about 30 proslavery men rode into Kansas and captured 11 free statesmen. They we taken to a ravine and were shot. 5 died 5 recovered and 1 was unharmed but acted dead and survived.  

We had to drive on 5 miles of bad road to reach the site, but the history was worth it.

The worst of the road.

We went down to what we think was the ravine site, but the plaque had been removed (by Vandals?).

It was an interesting day finding out about pre and Civil War History.

Thanks for visiting.