Camp Defiance
Encyclopedia
In December 1861 Potosi, Kansas, along the Kansas
-Missouri
border, was attacked by Confederate guerrillas. Very soon Col. James Montgomery (see James Montgomery (colonel)
)stationed the Kansas 3rd Regiment about 4 miles (6 km) to the northeast.
The new camp, named Camp Defiance, was established December 17. Camp Defiance was located on the south side of Mine Creek and just barely inside the Kansas border.
Mine Creek provided a natural defense on the camp's north side, as neither man nor horse could have negotiated the water and steep bank. Today the site is heavily wooded and it had at least some timber when it was used.
Dr. Joseph H. Trego, stationed at Camp Defiance, said the camp had a mill and 7000 board feet (16.5 m³) of lumber was used to construct stables, mess tables and floors for tents. Very few structures were built and the men stayed in tents. Instead of having a guardhouse, the post had a guard tent.
The camp possibly had more than 2,500 men, as many men from the Lane Brigade were present. Discipline was a major problem at Camp Defiance, as men from the Lane Brigade were in trouble with civilians wherever they went. Trago and John Francis documented numerous problems. Unauthorized absences, vandalism, drunkenness and attempted murder were all documented.
Many of the men in camp were ill and some of the troops were short of tents, clothing, arms and other supplies. In March it was decided to abandon Camp Defiance. The last troops left on March 20 or possibly a bit later.
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
-Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
border, was attacked by Confederate guerrillas. Very soon Col. James Montgomery (see James Montgomery (colonel)
James Montgomery (colonel)
James Montgomery was a Jayhawker during the Bleeding Kansas Affair and a controversial Union colonel during the American Civil War...
)stationed the Kansas 3rd Regiment about 4 miles (6 km) to the northeast.
The new camp, named Camp Defiance, was established December 17. Camp Defiance was located on the south side of Mine Creek and just barely inside the Kansas border.
Mine Creek provided a natural defense on the camp's north side, as neither man nor horse could have negotiated the water and steep bank. Today the site is heavily wooded and it had at least some timber when it was used.
Dr. Joseph H. Trego, stationed at Camp Defiance, said the camp had a mill and 7000 board feet (16.5 m³) of lumber was used to construct stables, mess tables and floors for tents. Very few structures were built and the men stayed in tents. Instead of having a guardhouse, the post had a guard tent.
The camp possibly had more than 2,500 men, as many men from the Lane Brigade were present. Discipline was a major problem at Camp Defiance, as men from the Lane Brigade were in trouble with civilians wherever they went. Trago and John Francis documented numerous problems. Unauthorized absences, vandalism, drunkenness and attempted murder were all documented.
Many of the men in camp were ill and some of the troops were short of tents, clothing, arms and other supplies. In March it was decided to abandon Camp Defiance. The last troops left on March 20 or possibly a bit later.