Engagements Involving The Regiment

Island Mound Image.jpg (21847 bytes)

The First Kansas in Action at Island Mound, Mo.

(Harper's Weekly)

The First Kansas was the first all Black unit to see combat and suffer casualties during the Civil War. (October 28 - 29, 1862) During the existence of the regiment, combat was experienced in the sates of Missouri and Arkansas, as well as the Indian Territory. The First Kansas (Colored) suffered a greater percentage of casualties than any other Kansas unit during the war according to the Adjutant General's Report of 1867.

The first engagement involving the regiment occurred in October of 1862. James H. Lane ordered Colonel James M. Williams to move a number of his troops into western Missouri near the town of Butler. At the time, the regiment was still in encamped outside of Fort Scott and involved in training. The detachment sent into Missouri contained elements of both Williams and Captain Seaman's command. (Seaman was the recruiting officer for areas south of the Kansas River.) Seaman commanded the force of 225 men. A superior force of over five hundred Confederate irregulars attacked Seaman's poorly trained troops. In spite of their lack of training, soldiers of the First Kansas demonstrated a readiness to fight with distinction. This brief battle (Island Mound) marked the first combat experience of any Black troops in the war. The eight killed and ten wounded were also the first casualties suffered by Black troops.

Recruiting and training continued at Fort Scott, where on January 13, 1863, a regiment of six companied was formed by consolidating the forces recruited by Williams and Seaman. Lieutenant Sabin of the regular army mustered the First Kansas into Federal service at that time. Four additional companies were mustered into service on May 2, 1862. Immediately upon thereafter, the regiment was order to Baxter Springs, which was located in Indian Territory at the time. On the way to Baxter Springs, the force "diverted" to Sherwood, Missouri, where a skirmish was fought with rebel forces.

Prisoner of War Issue:

While at Baxter Springs, the regiment continued its training in earnest. On May 18, 1862, a foraging party of twenty five soldiers of the First Kansas and twenty from the Second Kansas Battery (A white unit) was operating in the are of Jasper County, Mo. A Confederate force of about three hundred surprised the small foraging party causing casualties among the Federal troops and capturing five. (Three from the Second Kansas Battery and two of the First Kansas.) Colonel Livingston, under a flag of truce, exchanged three Confederate prisoners for the three white soldiers of the Second Kansas Battery. According to Colonel Williams, "I consented to this partial exchange because I did not desire that white troops should be made to suffer on account of connection with colored troops." (Williams, Biographical Sketch of First Kansas Colored Volunteers, Kansas History Center, Topeka, Kansas)

Major Livingston, the swashbuckling commander of the rebel forces in the area, flatly refused to deal for the Black troops. When Williams heard that one of the colored prisoners had been "murdered" by the enemy, Williams again met with Livingston under a flag of truce. The commander of the First Kansas demanded that the body / bodies of the "murderers" be turned over. Livingston gave Williams an "evasive and unsatisfactory" reply, prompting Williams to take drastic action on his own. "I made up my mind that this was game that two could play at, and directed that one of the prisoners in my hands should be shot and the order was executed within thirty minutes." Williams in his historical sketch claimed exoneration for this act as far as Livingston was concerned "this ended the barbarous practice of killing prisoners."

This, however, did not end the practice for other Confederate commanders as many more of the First Kansas will die in the hands of their captors. (See Poison Springs)

[The interchange of communiqu�s between Williams and Livingston during this period of negotiations is quite interesting. See the following:

29. "Major T. R. Livingston (Confederate Forces) to Colonel James M. Williams, May 20, 1863." Regimental Orders and Letter Book, 79th USCT (New), Record Group 94, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington , D.C.

30. Colonel James M. Williams to Major T. R. Livingston, May 21, 1863." Regimental Orders and Letter Book, 79th USCT (New), Record Group 94, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington , D.C.

31. "Major T. R. Livingston to Colonel James M. Williams, June 8, 1863." Regimental Orders and Letter Book, 79th USCT (New), Record Group 94, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington , D.C.

32. "Colonel James M. Williams to Major T. R. Livingston, no date, a reply to Livingston's letter of June 8, 1863." Regimental Orders and Letter Book, 79th USCT (New), Record Group 94, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA),
Washington , D.C.

See also Vicki Betts Compiled Records of Kansans held as Prisoners of War at Camp Ford, Texas.

Another interesting scene occurred as a result of this prisoner of war incident in May of 1862. When Williams viewed the scene of the battle resulting in the capture of the soldiers of the foraging party, he became upset at what appeared to be the bludgeoning murders of his men. Their heads were bashed by clubs and the bodies "horribly mutilated." Colonel Williams, somehow, determined that civilians in the area participated in the beatings and mutilations of his men. He ordered that the vicinity within five miles of the skirmish scene be "devastated." While accomplishing the destruction of the designated area, a paroled Confederate soldier was apprehended wearing new federally issued shoes as well as a bloody shirt. According to Williams, "I felt it to be my duty to shoot him on the spot and he was summarily executed." The body was placed inside the home nearest his arrest and was burnt along with the residence.

See:
12. "Captain John H. Graton to his wife, January 10, 1863." Williams Collection, Micro box 913, Kansas History Center (KHC), Topeka, Kansas.
Page 1 Page 2

35. "Historical Sketch of the First Kansas Colored Volunteers compiled by Colonel James M. Williams, pages 4-5." Williams Collection, Kansas History Center, Topeka, Kansas.
Page 4 Page 5

Movement Further into the Cherokee Nation:

On June 27, 1863, the regiment was ordered to accompany a supply train to Fort Gibson. The First Kansas left Fort Scott along with the Second Colorado Volunteers, three companies of Cavalry from the Sixth and Ninth Kansas, and part of the Second Kansas Battery (all white units). The next day, the force was joined by about three hundred men of the Indian Brigade. Commander of the maneuver was Lt. Colonel Dodd of the Second Colorado. Williams claimed to have intelligence indicating that the Confederates would attack the train somewhere in the vicinity of Cabin Creek, about 65 miles northwest of Ft. Gibson. This information proved correct as on July 1, a force of 2,200 rebels were found blocking the road at Cabin Creek. At days end, the enemy was routed, the road was cleared, and the regiment continued on to Fort Gibson.

The Stint at Fort Gibson:

After the regiment arrived at Fort Gibson on the fifth of July, little time was afforded for relaxation. Under the command of General Blunt, Fort Gibson's entire strength moved south against a Confederate force numbering over 6,000. The rebels were positioned about twenty miles to the south of the fort at a place called Honey Springs. The battle was short and fierce, resulting in a Union victory. The regiment, as usual showed itself worthy on the field of battle.

After the rebel forces fled the battlefield, the regiment moved back to Ft. Gibson, serving garrison duty until September of 1863. Williams and his men were involved in a pursuit of the enemy into the Choctaw Nation. The enemy proved elusive and the regiment retired to the site of an abandoned Confederate encampment, Fort Davis on the Canadian River. A month was spent at this location, mostly in idleness. In October, orders were received to march to Fort Smith, where the regiment stayed until December 1. After moving from place to place south of Ft. Smith, the regiment went into winter quarters at Roseville, Ark.

The Camden Expedition:

On March 1, 1864, the First Kansas left Roseville to join General Steele's forces which were moving against the enemy to the north. By the middle of April, the Union army occupied the entrenchments at Camden which were recently abandoned by Confederate forces. On April 17th Williams led a combined force from several units on a foraging sweep through the surrounding countryside. In his command were approximately 800 infantry, 300 cavalry, 200 wagons, and a section of artillery. After reaching a point twenty five miles out and having two thirds of the wagons filled with confiscated provisions, Williams heading the force back toward Camden. About 12 miles from Camden, the foragers encountered an enemy presence near a heavily wooded cross roads called Poison Springs.

Williams found himself to be outgunned and outnumbered about eight to one. His command fell back to a position around the wagons determined to hold on to the provisions needed so badly by Steele's forces at Camden. From 10:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon, the Union forces repulsed enemy attacks. By the afternoon, ammunition was running low and some units were out entirely. Fearing the loss of his entire command, Williams decided to abandon the wagons and take to the "swamps" to the rear of their position. The losses incurred by the First Kansas numbered 187 casualties. Of this number, 117 were killed. This battle is famous for the "massacre" of the wounded and captured Black soldiers by the rebel victors.

Without the provisions lost at Poison Springs, Steele was forced to withdraw from Camden, falling back to Little Rock. Early in May, Colonel Williams was promoted commander of the Second Brigade, Frontier Division. The First Kansas, after a short stay in Little Rock, was ordered back to Fort Smith. According to Williams, "This campaign was one of great fatigue and privation and accompanied only with severe loss of life and material, with no adequate recompense or advantage gained." (Historical Sketch) During this campaign, the regiment was involved in one brief but costly skirmish. On September 16, 1864, forty two men of Company K were guarding a haymaking work party near Fort Gibson, C.N. The party was attacked by a much superior force under the Command of General Gano. The company was almost wiped out with a loss on that day of twenty four killed and ten taken as prisoners. The captured included the commander of the detachment, Lieutenant D. M. Sutherland. This was recorded as the "Battle of Flat Rock."

In the middle of January, 1865, the regiment moved back to Little Rock where it remained on duty until July when it was moved to Pine Bluff, Ark. The time there was spent in garrison and escort duty. On October 1, 1865, the First Kansas Colored Volunteers (then known as the 79th United States Colored Troops) was mustered out of federal duty. The regiment marched to Fort Leavenworth where on October 30 it was disbanded.