Mount Oread Civil War posts
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Lawrence, Kansas
was not well defended in the early part of the Civil War. That ended with William Quantrill
's devastating guerrilla raid August 21, 1863. By early 1864 Union soldiers were permanently camped on the top and slopes of Mount Oread, then to Lawrence's southwest. It seems the camp was originally named Camp Ewing, after Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing
.
Soon a battery of cannon was placed on the top of Mount Oread and in July 1864 construction began on Fort Ulysses, also on Mount Oread. The citizens of Lawrence helped in the fort's construction. Its date of completion is unknown, although it was still under construction in December. It is very possible it was never finished.
The advance of Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price
in Missouri in October 1864 brought an urgency to efforts to protect Lawrence. The town was placed under martial law and a large guard detail protected the town each night. On October 18 the provost marshal at Lawrence decreed all businesses in Lawrence were to remain open only five hours a day. The situation returned to normal once Price was defeated at the Battle of Westport
on October 23 and had to retreat back south.
The military complex on Mount Oread was used until the end of the Civil War. With the War's end the usefulness of the installations ceased and they were soon abandoned.
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
was not well defended in the early part of the Civil War. That ended with William Quantrill
William Quantrill
William Clarke Quantrill was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. After leading a Confederate bushwhacker unit along the Missouri-Kansas border in the early 1860s, which included the infamous raid and sacking of Lawrence, Kansas in 1863, Quantrill eventually ended up in...
's devastating guerrilla raid August 21, 1863. By early 1864 Union soldiers were permanently camped on the top and slopes of Mount Oread, then to Lawrence's southwest. It seems the camp was originally named Camp Ewing, after Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing
Thomas Ewing
Thomas Ewing, Sr. was a National Republican and Whig politician from Ohio. He served in the U.S. Senate as well as serving as the Secretary of the Treasury and the first Secretary of the Interior.-Biography:...
.
Soon a battery of cannon was placed on the top of Mount Oread and in July 1864 construction began on Fort Ulysses, also on Mount Oread. The citizens of Lawrence helped in the fort's construction. Its date of completion is unknown, although it was still under construction in December. It is very possible it was never finished.
The advance of Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price
Sterling Price
Sterling Price was a lawyer, planter, and politician from the U.S. state of Missouri, who served as the 11th Governor of the state from 1853 to 1857. He also served as a United States Army brigadier general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army major general in the American Civil...
in Missouri in October 1864 brought an urgency to efforts to protect Lawrence. The town was placed under martial law and a large guard detail protected the town each night. On October 18 the provost marshal at Lawrence decreed all businesses in Lawrence were to remain open only five hours a day. The situation returned to normal once Price was defeated at the Battle of Westport
Battle of Westport
The Battle of Westport, sometimes referred to as the "Gettysburg of the West," was fought on October 23, 1864, in modern Kansas City, Missouri, during the American Civil War. Union forces under Major General Samuel R. Curtis decisively defeated an outnumbered Confederate force under Major General...
on October 23 and had to retreat back south.
The military complex on Mount Oread was used until the end of the Civil War. With the War's end the usefulness of the installations ceased and they were soon abandoned.