Fort Baxter (Kansas) facts for kids
Fort Baxter, also known as Fort Blair, was a small military post built by the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. It was located in the southeast part of Kansas, close to where Baxter Springs is today. This area was known as the Cherokee Strip. Fort Baxter was one of the few forts in Kansas that was attacked by Confederate forces during the war. Both Union and Confederate soldiers, along with local armed groups, were active in this border area between Kansas and Missouri.
Building Fort Baxter
General James G. Blunt established Fort Baxter in May 1863. It was a simple fort, made up of log cabins that faced east toward the Spring River. The cabins were about 100 feet long. Behind the cabins, there was a large area protected by dirt walls built against logs, about 4 feet high.
On October 5, 1863, the fort's west wall was taken down. This was done to make the north and south walls longer, extending them about 200 yards further west. The fort was still being built when it faced a surprise attack.
The Attack on Fort Baxter
The very next day, October 6, 1863, Quantrill's Raiders, a group of Confederate guerrillas, attacked the unfinished fort. At the time, about 60 Union soldiers were out looking for supplies on the prairie.
Quantrill's Raiders were on their way to a winter camp in Texas when they came across some Union forces. These Union forces were led by General Blunt, who was moving soldiers from Fort Scott to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Quantrill's group had more fighters than Blunt's Union soldiers. They attacked Blunt's force, and many Union soldiers were killed. General Blunt and a few cavalry soldiers managed to escape and made it back to Fort Baxter.
Inside Fort Baxter, about 25 white cavalry soldiers and 65-70 infantry soldiers from the United States Colored Troops defended the fort. After the attack on Blunt's force, Quantrill's Raiders left the area and continued their journey to Texas.
Abandoning the Fort
After the battle, the soldiers who had been at Fort Blair and the survivors from General Blunt's group moved to a different camp called Camp Ben Butler. They buried most of the soldiers who died from both sides in large graves.
When news of the attack reached Fort Scott, Kansas, five companies of U.S. troops were sent to help protect Baxter Springs temporarily. However, on October 20, 1863, the soldiers in Baxter Springs were ordered to leave the area. They were told to return to the stronger Fort Scott. Before leaving, they destroyed and burned anything they couldn't take with them. This marked the end of Fort Baxter as a military post for the U.S. Army.
