Fort Scott in the Civil War: A Union Base on the Kansas–Missouri Border

The Civil War at Fort Scott, a segment of the park's film "Fort Scott Movie — Dreams and Dilemmas." NPS film.

The Army returns

The struggles of a young nation, divided over slavery and self-determination, became full-fledged rebellion in the Civil War — and the war brought the U.S. Army back to Fort Scott.

• Why here: Union commanders saw the town as a strategic point in southeast Kansas, a base for military operations that could protect Kansas against a possible Confederate invasion.
• What they built: troops reoccupied many of the old fort's buildings, including the stables and the hospital, and put up a variety of new buildings and more than 40 miles of fortifications.

Depot, hospital and haven

Fort Scott served as:

• a major supply depot for Union armies in the West;
• a general hospital for soldiers in the region;
• a haven for people fleeing the war — displaced Native people, people escaping slavery, and white farmers.

Refugees in a wagon bound for Fort Scott. NPS photo.

Many of the refugees joined the Union Army, greatly diversifying its ranks. American Indian and African American regiments were recruited in the area, among them the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry. Sworn in on the grounds of Fort Scott, it was the first African American regiment to fight Confederates in combat.

A target on the border

• Price's attempts: the fort's military stores made it a target for Confederate General Sterling Price, who tried twice to capture it during the war, without success.
• Guerrilla war: guerrilla warfare plagued the region and threatened the town, and fierce fighting on the Kansas–Missouri border between Jayhawkers and Bushwhackers kept the military busy.

The Union presence probably spared Fort Scott the pillaging and destruction that other towns in the area suffered.

Sources

Based on "Full Fledged Rebellion—War on the Border," Fort Scott National Historic Site, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The film segment, from "Fort Scott Movie — Dreams and Dilemmas," is restored from the NPS page.