Extracted from The Official Military History of Kansas Regiments During the War for the Suppression of the Great Rebellion by W. S. Burke. MILITARY HISTORY OF THE SECOND KANSAS CAVALRY, 1863
On the first of January, 1863, the regiment reached Rhea's Mill, to which place all baggage of the army had been sent, and placed under command of Colonel Judson, who was left with the First Brigade to guard it. (See Report No. 10.)
Captain Ayres returned to duty with his company from detached service, and First Lieutenant E. C. D. Lines rejoined his company from detached service as A. D. C. on the staff of Brigadier General Mitchell, and at the same time, a large portion of the men who had been detached in May, 1862, for duty with Hollister's battery, rejoined their companies.
On the second day of January the Second moved to Illinois Creek, and on the 3rd to Elm Springs, where it remained until the 11th. Hopkin's battery was detached from the regiment, and assigned to duty with the Indian Brigade, and as it never afterwards rejoined the regiment, but subsequently was permanently detached, by order of the Secretary of War, and designated the Third Kansas Battery, no further mention will be made of it in connection with the history of the Second Kansas Cavalry.
First Lieutenant J. C. French was assigned duty as A. A. G. at Brigade Headquarters, vice Lieutenant Bassett, returned to duty with his company. Lieutenant Lee was assigned duty as Acting Adjutant, vice Lieutenant Cross, returned to duty with his company, and First Lieutenant John Johnston was detailed and sent to Kansas in charge of a recruiting party.
On the 11th of January the Second moved to Mud Town, on the Springfield and Fayetteville road. On the 12th Captain Cameron was sent on a scout to Huntsville, and did not rejoin the regiment until the 20th, as Springfield, Missouri. No written account was ever made of that scout, and consequently nothing definite can be stated regarding it.
On the 12th the regiment was ordered back to Elm Springs to escort a supply train to Springfield, Missouri, and the later place was reached on the 16th. On the 17th the Second was ordered on a scout towards Hartsville, in pursuit of a rebel force which had attacked Springfield on the 8th, but finding the "track cold"--so cold that more than twenty (20) men froze their feet-- and so old that the "oldest inhabitants" could scarcely remember it, officers and men returned to Springfield on the 20th, to reflect on the brilliancy of the movement, and admire the genius that planned it.
Captain Cameron was placed on arrest on the 20th, under charges preferred by his First Lieutenant, J. C. French.
During the month of February the regiment was employed on picket duty and escorting forage and supply trains, and on the 10th of that month Lieutenant Colonel Bassett was sent on detached service to St. Louis, and the command of the regiment devolved upon Captain Moore, who mustered it for pay on the 28th.
On the 14th of February Second Lieutenant John B. Dexter was assigned, by order of the Department Commander, as Post Quartermaster at Springfield, Missouri; and by same authority, Second Lieutenant G. M. Waugh was assigned to duty as Judge Advocate of the District of Southwest Missouri. First Sergeant Morris Enright, having been commissioned and mustered First Lieutenant and Adjutant, vice First Lieutenant John Pratt, promoted Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers, was placed on duty, and Lieutenant Lee was returned to duty with his company. Lieutenant Colonel Bassett returned to duty on the first day of March. On the 8th the regiment was paid by Major Wilson, to include the 31st of October, 1862, and on the 26th Lieutenant B. B. Mitchell was placed in arrest on charges preferred by Colonel Cloud.
On the 27th of March the resignations of Captain Byron P. Ayers and Second Lieutenant William M. Hook were accepted on account of disability. In the resignation of Captain Ayers the regiment lost an intelligent and brave officer, and his company an excellent commander. But the fatigue and experience incident to the active campaign of the past eight months had been too severe for him, and he was compelled to leave the service, which he had been among the first to enter.
On the 1st of April Major Charles W. Blair was assigned to the command of Fort Scott, Kansas. During the month First Lieutenant Ballard was sent to Fayetteville to bring up some wounded and sick soldiers left there in February. On the 15th the regiment was paid by Major Adams to include the 28th of February, 1863; and on the 30th it was inspected and mustered for pay.
May 1st the regiment was paid by Major Adams to include April 30th, 1863.
On the 4th of May Lieutenant Colonel Bassett was placed in arrest under charges preferred by Captain Samuel J. Crawford.
On the 5th of May First Lieutenant Edward C. D. Lines was promoted Captain of C company, vice Whittenhall, discharged; First Sergeant Edgar A. Baker was promoted First Lieutenant, vice Lines; Sergeant Henry S. Jenks was promoted to Second Lieutenant, vice Hook, resigned, and Captain A. Moore was granted leave of absence on account of disease contracted in the line of duty.
In the month of May Captain Crawford, who succeeded to the command of the regiment, made a scout, with other troops, in the direction of Carthage via Bentonville, where a number of bushwhackers were captured. A rebel force under Colonel Coffey was encountered near Carthage and dispersed; also Livingston's band was routed near Sherwood.
Second Lieutenant Charles Dimon was promoted to First Lieutenant I company, vice Hunt, resigned, and First Sergeant Edward Ross was promoted Second Lieutenant, vice Dimon. First Lieutenant John M. Mentzer, having received a commission, was mustered Captain of company K, vice Russell, deceased.
On the 10th of June the trial of Lieutenant Colonel Bassett commenced before a General court Martial, and continued until the 20th, when the Judge Advocated asked a continuance for 30 days.
On the 16th of June Chaplain Charles Reynolds, was, by order of the Department Commander, detached and assigned to duty at Fort Scott, and on the 29th, Major Fisk returned and assumed command of the regiment, and inspected and mustered it for pay on the 30th.
On the 6th of July Brigadier General McNeil assumed command of the District of Southwest Missouri, and company A was detached and entered on duty at District Headquarters as personal escort to the General commanding. First Lieutenant J. C. French was detached and assigned to duty at District Headquarters as A.D.C.; Second Lieutenant H. S. Jenks was detached and assigned to duty at Brigade Headquarters as A.A.A.G., and First Lieutenant and Quartermaster C. L. Gaston, having been relieved from duty with Colonel Judson, was detached and assigned to duty at Brigade Headquarters as A.A.Q.M.
On the 23rd of July the regiment, under command of Captain Gunther, was sent to Cassville, Missouri; Major Fisk was detailed on a General Court Martial; Lieutenant John Johnston returned to duty with his company, and Captain John Gardner was detailed for duty on a Military Commission for the trial of citizen prisoners.
On the 26th of July the General Court Martial resumed the consideration of Lieutenant Colonel Bassett's case; and pending a motion by the prosecution to discontinue it, Brigadier General McNeil directed the Judge Advocate to send all the proceedings to him for examination.
Captain Crawford resumed command of the regiment at Cassville about the 1st of August; First Lieutenant L. H. Wood was detached and assigned to duty at Brigade Headquarters as A.C.S., and Surgeon J. P. Root was assigned to duty as Surgeon in Chief of Troops in the Field.
On the 6th of August Lieutenant Colonel Bassett was released from arrest, the General commanding having decided after examining the testimony for the prosecution that there was no evidence presented that could sustain the charges. The Court Martial was dissolved. Lieutenant Colonel Bassett and Major Fisk were detailed upon a General Court Martial to convene at Springfield, Missouri, August 12th; and the disability of Captain Amziah Moore still continuing, he was honorably discharged from the service.
On the 14th of August the Second moved from Cassville under command of Captain Crawford to Bentonville, Arkansas on the 16th to Fayetteville, on the 17th to Cane Hill, on the 18th to Rhea's Mill, on the 19th to Cincinnati, and the same day started for Fort Gibson, Cherokee Indian territory, and arrived there on the 21st. On the 23rd it crossed the Arkansas river to Honey Springs, in the Creek Indian territory; on the 24th to the Canadian river, Choctaw Indian territory.
At this place, by direction of General Blunt, Captain Crawford, with the 2nd Kansas Cavalry and detachments of the 14th Kansas Cavalry, 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry and Captain Kauffman's howitzers, 3rd Indiana Home Guards, was sent to the West by way of North Fork Town for the purpose of getting to the rear of the enemy and destroying their supplies at Perryville, and capturing the enemy's train. Gen. Cooper at this time was in front and south of General Blunt's command about ten miles. Captain Crawford, on reaching North Fork Town, sent messages back to General Blunt that he had safely reached the latter place and destroyed their warehouses of supplies; had taken all the clothing the men could in any way use; had burned the depot of ordinance supplies, and would, by daylight next morning, reach the junction of the roads and proceed to Perryville to the accomplishment of the designated work. He moved forward from North Fork Town, captured a paymaster's outfit with $40,100, captured a number of horses and mules, destroyed some wagons, and arrived at the junction to find that the rebel army had retreated before General Blunt made any move towards them; and that they had already passed the junction toward Perryville. He here joined the forces of General Blunt and hotly pursued General Cooper's command--overtook it, and drove it beyond Perryville. On the 27th the command, on the return, camped near the junction; the next night--the 28th--at Scullyville. The 29th, 30th and 31st marched to Poteau river about 16 miles south of Fort Smith. From Scullyville Captain Mentzer, with one company, went to, and took possession of Fort Smith, and again raised the stars and stripes to the breeze, never again, it is to be hoped, to be taken down by enemies of the Government.
On the 1st of September, the brigade, the Second at the head, moved east from Poteau to the road leading from Fort Smith toward Backbone mountain, where a rebel force under General Cabbell was overtaken. Company C, commanded by Captain E. C. D. Lines, in the advance, was ambushed, the Captain and a number of his men killed and wounded.
On the 2nd the command moved north to Fort Smith.
Captain John Gardner having been relieved from duty on Military Commission at Springfield, Missouri, was ordered to rejoin his regiment at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and on the 10th of September, between Elk Horn Tavern and Cross Hollows, was captured by the enemy, held a prisoner for several days, released on parole and returned to Springfield, but afterwards made the trip with better success.
Sometime later in the month of September a detachment of the regiment was sent with other troops to Dardanelle, Arkansas, where a rebel force was encountered and defeated.
On the 1st of October B company was permanently detached by order of the Secretary of War and created into a battery to be thereafter known as Third Kansas Battery, Captain Henry Hopkins, First Lieutenant John F. Abuddell, and Second Lieutenant, B. S. Bassett.
On the 13th of October Major Charles W. Blair was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, Fourteenth Kansas Cavalry.
On the 28th of October the Regiment was paid by Major Sullivan to include the 31st of August, and on the 31st of October it was mustered for pay by Captain A. W. Matthews.
On the 2nd of November Lieutenant Colonel Bassett and Major Fisk rejoined the regiment at Waldron.
On the 10th Captain Gardner was sent with one hundred (100) men to Charleston, twenty miles east of Fort Smith, where a large amount of cotton was seized and brought into Fort Smith.
On the 15th Captain Gardner was sent with fifty (50) men to Waldron, forty-five miles southeast of Fort Smith, to report to Colonel Johnson, commanding troops at that place, who ordered him to scout in the direction of Boonville; and near that place he met the rebel Colonel Brooks with six hundred (600) men. Discovering the rebel advance and supposing it to be a small band of guerrillas, he gave the order to charge; and such was the impetuosity of the men that some of them passed entirely through the enemy's lines. Some were captured, and a few, discovering the large force in time to do so, wheeled about, and with the enemy in pursuit, charged the other way with all possible speed.
Captain Hopkins, Third Kansas Battery, having been regularly commissioned and mustered in as Major, vice Blair, promoted, reported and was assigned to duty. First Lieutenant Charles Dimon was promoted to Captain company I, vice Ayers, resigned. First Lieutenant Edgar A. Barker was promoted to Captain company C, vice Lines, killed in action, and Charles J. Williams was promoted First Lieutenant company I, from private same company.
On the 29th of November an order was issued constituting a new company out of the recruits enlisted by Lieutenant Stover, and assigned that officer to the command as Captain, designating it company B.
The regiment was ordered on the 30th to report to Colonel Johnson, First Arkansas Infantry, as Waldron, and reached that place on the 1st of December, and on the 2nd marched on a scout via Mt. Ida to Caddo Gap, where it remained over night.
Lieutenant Stover was sent with a squad of men ten miles directly south; and Lieutenant Cosgrove with another party on the Arkadelphia road. Both encountered the enemy's scouting parties, and returned.
On the 5th the regiment marched toward Dallas, and on the 6th and 7th returned to Waldron, where Lieutenant Colonel Bassett was assigned to the command of the Third Brigade, and the command of the regiment devolved on Major Fisk.
December 6th Captain Crawford was promoted Colonel of the Eighty-third U.S. Colored Troops. He was ordered to the command of the regiment, on duty with it for two months prior to this time, and mustered to November 1st.
On the 10th of December Assistant Surgeon John W. Robinson died at Fort Smith, Arkansas.
During the month of December the regiment was actively engaged in scouting east, west and south of Waldron, and frequently met scouting parties of the enemy. The weather was rainy and cold, the men were on short rations and suffered more than they had done at any time before. On the 24th snow fell to the depth of ten inches, and the thermometer indicated 18º below zero.
On the 24th Captain Mentzer met a force of the enemy near Dallas and was repulsed.
On the 27th Captain Gardner, who was stationed with his company as an outpost, was attacked in the middle of the night, while most of his men were asleep, by a superior force; but he drove his assailants off, killing their commander and killing and wounding a number of the men, losing on his own part two (2) killed and several wounded. No written report was made. The attack was a complete surprise, although Captain Gardner had on third of his men on picket at the time. It is due Captain Gardner to say that he had taken proper precaution for the safety and protection of his position.
On the 31st of December the camp equipage of the regiment arrived, the regiment was inspected and mustered for pay by Major Fisk, and a permanent camp was established.
Continue to 1864