Department of the Missouri facts for kids

The Department of the Missouri was an important part of the United States Army in the 1800s. It was like a big military district that helped manage soldiers and operations, especially during the American Indian Wars. It was a smaller part of an even bigger command called the Military Division of the Missouri.

History

How the Army Was Organized

After the Mexican–American War, the United States Army had a complicated way of organizing itself. The President, the Secretary of War, and the top general (called the general in chief) were supposed to be in charge. However, the Secretary of War and other army leaders often made most decisions. This meant the top general didn't have much real power.

The army was divided into different areas called "departments." Each department commander usually decided how to use their soldiers. This system changed over time. Sometimes there were many departments, and sometimes fewer. By 1858, there were six departments in the western United States.

It was hard to manage the army when different departments acted on their own. This often led to problems, especially when military actions in one area affected another.

The Departments of Missouri and Kansas

The Department of Missouri was created on November 9, 1861. This happened after President Abraham Lincoln removed General John C. Frémont from command. Frémont had made a decision about freeing slaves in Missouri that Lincoln disagreed with.

The new Department of Missouri included areas like Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, and parts of Kentucky. Later, Kansas was also included. In 1862, Colorado and Nebraska were added. From 1862 to 1865, the department mainly focused on fighting Confederate forces in Missouri and Arkansas during the American Civil War.

On January 1, 1864, the Department of Kansas was created again. This meant some areas were removed from the Department of the Missouri's control. The new commander of the Department of Kansas, Maj. Gen. Samuel Ryan Curtis, had to deal with conflicts involving Native American tribes. However, Curtis was busy fighting Confederates and other groups in Kansas and the Indian Territory. This left some districts, especially Colorado, to act on their own.

In Colorado, Governor John Evans and Colonel John Chivington took advantage of this. They led attacks on Cheyenne villages in April 1864. This started a major conflict in July, known as the Colorado War. General Curtis tried to manage the war, but it was difficult to find the opposing forces. In Nebraska, the fighting was also intense, but the army forces there were too small to handle it well.

Commanders

Civil War

• Henry W. Halleck (November 19, 1861 to March 11, 1862)
• Samuel R. Curtis (September 24, 1862 to May 24, 1863)
• John M. Schofield (May 24, 1863 to January 30, 1864)
• William S. Rosecrans (January 30, 1864 to December 9, 1864)
• Grenville M. Dodge (December 9, 1864 to June 27, 1865)
• John Pope (June 27, 1865 to 1866)

Indian Wars

• Winfield Scott Hancock (1866–1867)
• Philip Sheridan (1867–1869)
• John Schofield (1869–70)
• John Pope (1870–1883)
• Christopher Columbus Augur (1883–1885)
• Nelson Appleton Miles (1885–1886)
• Thomas Howard Ruger (1886)
• Orlando Bolivar Willcox (1886–1887)
• --- (1887–1891)

Department of Missouri Camps, Forts and Posts

Arkansas

• Fort Smith

Kansas

• Bear Creek Redoubt (1870–1878)
• Big Creek Station (1865–1867)+
• Carlysle Station (1865–1866)+
• Camp Caldwell (1884–1885)
• Camp Crawford (1868)
• Crisfield Post (1885)
• Camp Drywood (1871)
• Camp Grierson (1866)
• Camp Hoffman (1867)
• Camp Kirwin (1865)
• Camp Ogallah (1867)
• Camp Pliley (1869–1870?)
• Camp Wichita (1868–1869)
• Chalk Bluffs Station (1865–1867)+
• Castle Rock Creek Station (1865–1867)+
• Cimarron Redoubt (1870–1876)
• Cimarron Springs Station (1864–1873)
• Fort Aubrey (1865–1866)
• Fort Bissell (1873–1878)
• Fort Coon (1868)
• Fort Dodge (1865–1882)
• Fort Downer or Downer's Station (1867–1868)
• Fort Harker (1866–1872)
• Fort Hays (1865–1889)
• Fort Jewell (1870)
• Fort Larned (1859–1878)
• Fort Leavenworth (1827–present)
• Fort Lincoln (1861–1879)
• Fort Lookout (1866–1870s)
• Fort Monument (1865–1868)
• Fort Protection (1885)
• Fort Riley (1853–present)
• Post of Southeastern Kansas (1869–1873)
• Fort Solomon (1864–1865)
• Fort Montgomery (1861–1869)
• Fort Wallace (1865–1882)
• Fort Zarah (1864–1869)
• Grinnell Springs Station (1865–1867)+
• Henshaw's Station (1865–1867)+
• Lookout Station or Fort Lookout (1866–1868)
• Monument Springs Post (1865–1867)
• Pond Creek Station (1865–1866)+
• Russell Springs Station (1865–1866)+
• New Kiowa Post (1885)
• Smoky Hill Station (1865–1867)+
• + Army fortified Butterfield Stage stations along the Smoky Hill River route.

Missouri

• St. Louis Arsenal (1827–1904)
• Jefferson Barracks (1826–1871, 1894–1946)

Indian Territory and Territory of Oklahoma

• Camp Alice (1883)
• Camp Auger (1873–1874)
• Camp Beach or Fort Beach or Fort Otter or Camp Otter (1874)
• Camp Chilocco (1885)
• Camp Guthrie (1889–1891)
• Camp Oklahoma (1889)
• Camp Price (1889)
• Camp at Purcell (1889)
• Camp Rockwell (1888)
• Camp Russell (1884–1886)
• Camp Wade or Camp at Kingfisher (1889)
• Cantonment on the North Fork of the Canadian River (1879–1882, 1885)
• Fort Arbuckle (1851–1870)
• Fort Cobb (1859–1862, 1868–1869)
• Camp Davidson (1878–1882)
• Fort Gibson (1824–1901)
• Fort Reno (1875–1948)
• Fort Sill (1869–present)
• Depot on the North Fork Canadian River and Camp Supply (1868–1878)
  • Fort Supply (1878–1894)
• Sewell's Stockade (1870s)
• Sheridan's Roost (1870)