The 1st Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The First Kansas Volunteer Infantry was formed in May 1861 in response to President Lincoln's call for 400,000 volunteers. Men were recruited between May 20 and June 3. The regiment was mustered in on June 3, at Leavenworth, Kansas, and commissioned by Governor Charles Robinson. The regiment was led by Colonel George W. Deitzler from Lawrence, Kansas.
The men of the regiment gained notoriety almost immediately for the first capture of a rebel flag during the Civil War. On the night of June 4, 1861, the men were celebrating their arrival at Camp Lincoln near Ft. Leavenworth. During the course of the drunken revelry, a number of the men from companies D and I decided to attack the rebel camp near Iatan, Missouri. After the eight-mile hike to the river bank opposite the rebel camp, the men of Company I realized the foolishness of such an act; however, six men of company D, led by Sergeant Frank H. Drenning, swam the river determined to attack. By the time the party reached the camp, dawn had arrived, and a sergeant was raising a red flag bearing the words, "States Rights." The Kansas men demanded the flag at gunpoint "in the name of Abraham Lincoln, the Congress of the United States, and the American Union"; then, they lowered the flag with the aid of a butcher knife. They retreated to the river under fire from cavalry. After firing two volleys, the Kansans had no more ammunition. All six men then swam across the river, returned to their own camp with three wounded (Sergeant Drenning had been wounded twice), and presented the rebel flag to their Colonel.
The regiment was soon ordered to Kansas City, Missouri, and then to Clinton, Henry County, Missouri. On this march, the men got their first taste of hardship. Not only were they required to march over twenty miles each day, but they also ran out of supplies to the point where "fresh beef without salt was the only luxury the commissary afforded." While waiting to join the forces of General Nathaniel Lyon, the printers in the regiment bided their time by publishing a paper named "First Kansas" in a deserted rebel office.
The first engagement for the regiment came at Dug Springs, Missouri, on August 3. The battle was short, indecisive, and wounded a few Kansas men. General Lyon observed that Confederate Generals Price and McCulloch had united their forces and were continually receiving reinforcements and intelligence.
Lyon also realized the Rebels were concentrating their forces at Wilson's Creek, about twelve miles southeast of Springfield. Aware of the imminent dismissal of his men--the entire Second Kansas regiment had signed 90 day papers--and the steady buildup of rebel forces, Lyon was determined to force an engagement as soon as possible. During a council of his field officers on the night of August 8, he made the following statement: Gentlemen, there is no prospect of our being reinforced at this point; our supply of provisions is running short; there is a superior force of the enemy in front, and it is reported that Hardee is marching with 9,000 men to cut our line of communication. It is evident that we must retreat. The question arises, what is the best method of doing it? Shall we endeavor to retreat without giving the enemy battle beforehand and run the risk of having to fight every inch along our line of retreat? Or shall we attack him in his position and endeavor to hurt him so that he cannot follow? I am decidedly in favor of the latter plan. I propose to march this evening with all our available force, leaving only a small guard to protect the property which will be left behind, and, marching up the Fayetteville road, throw our whole force upon him at once and endeavor to rout him before he recovers from his surprise.
Lyon decided to attack at dawn on August 10. After an overnight march, Lyon divided his command into two columns; the first, a group of about 3,700 under his own command, would attack the rear of the enemies' encampment while the second, a group of about 1,500 men under the command of General Franz Sigel, was ordered to move to the Fayetteville road to strike the enemy at daybreak from the front of the encampment. Being attacked from both sides, the enemy would have no choice but to fight. By 3:00 A.M. Lyon's men were in position. The Union scouts penetrated near enough to the enemy camp to see that there were no pickets.
The Confederates, numbering 20,000 effective and 5,000 unarmed soldiers, were confident in their superior numbers and strong position and had not arranged any advance defenses. About 5:00 Colonel Deitzler addressed the First Kansas from his horse, raising their spirits with cries of "Boys, we've got them, damn them!" The booming sound of General Sigel's cannons was the signal for the attack to begin. A line of battle was formed with the First Iowa Regiment in the lead position. The First Kansas formed on the right of the First Iowa, and the First and Second Missouri regiments filed to the right of the First Kansas. The Second Kansas was held in reserve with General Lyon himself.
Although the hard and driving rain worked to the advantage of the attackers by hiding their movements, the Confederates quickly formed their lines and the battle was joined in earnest. General Lyon's troops advanced from the west up and around a 150-foot spur of land that would soon be known as Bloody Hill. The hardest fighting fell to the First Kansas and the First Missouri who were ordered up Bloody Hill. Andreas' History of Kansas reports: The rebels led battalion after battalion against the determined little band, only to be repeatedly driven back in confusion, and from the beginning to the close of the struggle, in the language of the official report, "all the officers and men of this command fought with a courage and heroism rarely, if ever, equaled." The Second Kansas, with General Lyon, moved up to reinforce the line at Bloody Hill, and in the resulting storm of bullets, General Lyon was killed.
All through the morning's battle the question often heard was "Where is Sigel?" Unknown to those in Lyon's column, Sigel's men broke ranks shortly after firing the opening volley thinking the battle was over. The Confederates counterattacked while the men were disorganized capturing Sigel's artillery pieces, flag, and 300 men. Sigel's men routed in disorder all the way back to Springfield.
After General Lyon fell, there was a respite of about twenty minutes. During this time, a column of heavy infantry carrying the Union flag advanced from the direction of Sigel's position. Supposing them to be Sigel's men, they were allowed to move to a covered position near Dubois' Union battery. When the Confederate guns opened fire from the top of the hill, the disguised rebel infantry threw down the Stars and Stripes and fired their muskets into Dubois' battery. The whole line came under attack and the battle grew most fierce as shrapnel and canister from the rebel artillery gouged great holes in the federal lines. The combatants at this time were "literally fighting muzzle to muzzle." At this desperate junction, Companies A, C, and E of the First Kansas moved to the right and discovered a prominence that overlooked the enemy position on Bloody Hill. As the rebels charged up the Hill they were exposed to fire from both the front and the right flank "killing or wounding almost every enemy within sixty or seventy rods of our front, until their killed and wounded lay literally in piles."
The rebels' moral was broken and they began a rout, not even attempting to rally their flying, disorganized forces. At the start of the day, the First Kansas numbered six hundred and forty-four men and officers. When the battle was over six hours later, seventy-seven had been killed and two hundred fifty-five wounded accounting for fifty-one percent of those engaged. The Kansas boys, who "went upon the field distrusted, and as 'raw and undisciplined' troops, were complimented at night, by old and experienced officers in the regular army, as having 'behaved and fought like veterans.'"
Having made sure that the enemy could not follow, the union men moved to Rolla and then by rail to St. Louis without harassment. They took with them a large amount of valuables, including $250,000 from the Springfield Bank, in a baggage train five miles long.
For the rest of the year, the regiment was employed in guarding important rail and communications lines. They were posted first in Hannibal guarding the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, then in Tipton guarding the Missouri Pacific Railroad and finally in Lexington as garrison for that town. In February, 1862, the First was ordered back to Fort Leavenworth where they received ten days furlough, and then proceeded to Fort Scott to join General Curtis. Curtis' forces spent the spring at Fort Riley in anticipation of an expedition to New Mexico. When the New Mexico expedition was abandoned in May, the First was ordered to Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee. Along the way, their destination was changed to Columbus, Kentucky, where they arrived in June. From then until the end of September, the Kansas men performed a familiar duty: guarding the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. On October 3, the First Kansas became a part of McPherson's Brigade, and was ordered to reinforce General Rosecrans at Corinth.
Arriving October 4, just before sunset, the fresh troops of the First were given the advance position for the pursuit of Van Dorn the next morning. For the next fifty miles, the First engaged in numerous engagements, capturing a large number of prisoners. During this advance, the retreating rebels counterattacked at the Tallahatchie river. The Seventh Kansas Cavalry Regiment (the Jayhawkers) was caught alone by the Confederate advance.
A member of the Seventh Cavalry later reported: Forty siege-guns were filling the atmosphere with bursting shells, and things looked dubious. But just then the infantry column came up at double time, the First Kansas in the advance--"Jayhawkers, ye'll have help now!" All hell couldn't have taken that hill.
This incident began a friendship between the two regiments that was to last throughout the war. They were both transferred to Col. Deitzler's (former commander of the First Kansas) brigade to be part of the forces of General Grant near Oxford, Mississippi. It was there, in sympathy for a presumed injustice against the Seventh, that the First publicly snubbed Grant by refusing the order to cheer while passing his headquarters. For this infraction the First was also disciplined.
Soon after arriving at Oxford, the regiment was ordered to return and garrison Holly Springs, because Van Dorn had doubled back and cut Grant's communication and destroyed stores and munitions. From Holly Springs the First moved toward Salem, Mississippi, in an attempt to intercept Van Dorn's retreat. Failing to engage Van Dorn, the First returned to Holly Springs and then moved by rail to Collierville near Memphis. December was a month of rest in Memphis for the Kansas men.
Beginning in January, 1863, the regiment participated in the siege of Vicksburg as mounted infantry. They were transported by steamer to Young's Point, opposite Vicksburg. There, they were employed chiefly as scouts or pickets until the fall of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863. After Vicksburg, the regiment joined the expedition to Natches, Louisiana. While there, they crossed the Mississippi river and "routed a rebel force of about 2000 men."
The winter of 1864 was spent at Black River Bridge, twelve miles south of Vicksburg, continuing their duty as scout and pickets. In the spring, the First became part of General McArthur's expedition up the Yazoo River, attacking the Central Mississippi Railroad at Benton. For the remainder of spring, the Kansans returned to the vicinity of Vicksburg once again as scouts and pickets. On June 1, 1864 the regiment embarked on the U.S.S. Arthur to be mustered out at Fort Leavenworth at the end of its term of service. The next day the boat was attacked by an artillery battery in Arkansas, killing two men. The regiment was mustered out in Leavenworth, Kansas on the seventeenth of June, 1864.
Two companies, New Company B and New Company D, were formed from veterans who volunteered to remain in service until the end of the war. They served in various capacities in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas until finally garrisoning Little Rock, Arkansas, where they were honorably discharged on August 30, 1865.
During the term of its service, the First Kansas participated in thirty battles or skirmishes. Its movements covered over 6,000 miles through portions of six rebel States, not counting Missouri and Kentucky. The service and actions of the First are a mark of pride for all Kansans. No words can better describe the honor due the memory of these men than those penned by Simeon M. Fox Adjutant of the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, "The First Kansas fought on the bloody field of Wilson Creek, and their heroism there has given a luster to the name of Kansas that time can never dim. One hundred and six men was the death record of the First Kansas alone during that terrible day, and this regiment marched off the field in perfect order." God bless the First Kansas Volunteers.
Works Cited
1. Kansas, Adjutant General's Office. Military History of Kansas Regiments During the War for the Suppression of the Great Rebellion. (Leavenworth: W. S. Burke, 1870) 3.
2. A. T. Andreas. History of the State of Kansas, 1883, (Chicago: By the author, 1883) 180.
3. William E. Connelley. History of Kansas State and People. 1928. (New York: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1928) 828.
4. Kansas, Adjutant General's Office. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kansas, for the year 1864. ( Topeka: P. H. Hubbell & Co.,1865) 3-50.
5. Simeon M. Fox. The Early History of the Seventh Kansas Cavalry. (Topeka: State Printing Office 1910) 9.
6. Simeon M. Fox. The Seventh Kansas Cavalry: Its Service in the Civil War, an Address Before the Kansas State Historical Society. (Topeka: State Printing Office) 6.