Civil War Town

After the army vacated Fort Scott in 1853, the Civil War brought a major Union return there. The Union used the Fort Scott area to recruit and train soldiers and to supply forces in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Its facilities spread across a large area in and around Fort Scott and included warehouses, a hospital, a military prison, and a cemetery. Fort Scott provided vital support for Union victories that helped prevent Confederate raids and campaigns elsewhere in the Western theater. During the war, the Union leased buildings from the old fort, including the original post hospital and guardhouse, and the scale of the military presence was reflected in an 1862 advertisement seeking feed for army animals. In 1863, Union officers mapped their positions around Fort Scott, and in an October 1863 report Lieutenant Charles Porter wrote that while serving as officer of the picket he rode the circuit of stations for 40 miles and at dark was still 7 miles from the fort.

Fort Scott, Kansas · United States