Fort McKean
Encyclopedia
Fort McKean is a fort located inside Kansas
along the Kansas-Missouri
border. On November 14, 1862, Company C of the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry, led by Lieut. James B. Pond, established a camp at Morris Mills on Drywood Creek. It was fifteen miles southeast of Fort Scott. Sometime later this camp was given the name of Fort McKean. The post was probably on the Fort Scott-Fort Gibson
Military Road, and many, including Pond, thought the post was inside Missouri. Throughout its history, Fort McKean was a small post, ranging in strength from 20 to 60 men. It is unknown what buildings or defenses were erected there.
Pond wrote the duties of Fort McKean's troops were "escorting trains, scouting the country, and protecting the border." On October 2, 1863, Pond's men were ordered to leave the post and report to Fort Blair (see Fort Baxter (Kansas)
), in present-day Baxter Springs, Kansas
. Three days later Pond's men were attacked by Confederate guerrilla William C. Quantrill and 400 men.
On October 12, ten days later, Company C was back at Fort McKean. Pond remained in command until at least August 1864. After February 1865 Company C was replaced by Company G of the 17th Illinois Cavalry, which remained until at least June 1865. Then or probably shortly afterward, Fort McKean was abandoned.
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...
along the Kansas-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. On November 14, 1862, Company C of the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry, led by Lieut. James B. Pond, established a camp at Morris Mills on Drywood Creek. It was fifteen miles southeast of Fort Scott. Sometime later this camp was given the name of Fort McKean. The post was probably on the Fort Scott-Fort Gibson
Fort Gibson
Fort Gibson, now located in Oklahoma and designated Fort Gibson Historical Site, guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 until 1890...
Military Road, and many, including Pond, thought the post was inside Missouri. Throughout its history, Fort McKean was a small post, ranging in strength from 20 to 60 men. It is unknown what buildings or defenses were erected there.
Pond wrote the duties of Fort McKean's troops were "escorting trains, scouting the country, and protecting the border." On October 2, 1863, Pond's men were ordered to leave the post and report to Fort Blair (see Fort Baxter (Kansas)
Fort Baxter (Kansas)
Fort Baxter, also known as Fort Blair, was a small US Army post located in the southeast corner of Kansas near present-day Baxter Springs, Kansas. This was known as the Cherokee Strip. It was one of a few Kansas forts attacked by Confederate forces...
), in present-day Baxter Springs, Kansas
Baxter Springs, Kansas
Baxter Springs is a town situated along the Spring River in the extreme southeastern part of Cherokee County, located in southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,238...
. Three days later Pond's men were attacked by Confederate guerrilla William C. Quantrill and 400 men.
On October 12, ten days later, Company C was back at Fort McKean. Pond remained in command until at least August 1864. After February 1865 Company C was replaced by Company G of the 17th Illinois Cavalry, which remained until at least June 1865. Then or probably shortly afterward, Fort McKean was abandoned.