Battle of Baxter Springs

Battle of Baxter Springs
Part of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the
American Civil War
DateOctober 6, 1863 (1863-10-06)
Location
Cherokee County, Kansas
Result Confederate victory; Union holds fort[1]
Belligerents
Confederate States of America Confederate States United States United States
Commanders and leaders
Confederate States of America William C. Quantrill
Confederate States of America William T. Anderson

United States James B. Pond

United States James G. Blunt
Strength
400 mounted guerrillas. 96 infantry
200 cavalry
1 mountain howitzer[2]
Casualties and losses
2 killed, 2 wounded[3] 103 soldiers killed, 18 wounded, 10 civilians killed[4]
Map of Baxter Springs Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program

The Battle of Baxter Springs, more commonly known as the Baxter Springs Massacre, was a minor battle of the American Civil War fought on October 6, 1863, near the present-day town of Baxter Springs, Kansas.

In late 1863, Quantrill's Raiders, a large band of pro-Confederate bushwhackers led by William Quantrill, was traveling south through Kansas along the Texas Road to winter in Texas. Numbering about 400, this group captured and killed two Union teamsters who had come from a small Federal Army post called Fort Baxter (frequently referred to as Fort Blair).[5] The bushwhackers assaulted the fort but were repulsed, eventually retreating to the prairie, where they attacked a separate Union column, leaving only a few survivors.

  1. ^ CWSAC Battlefield Summary https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battles-detail.htm?battleCode=KS002
  2. ^ Nichols, p. 285
  3. ^ Quantrill's report in O.R., p. 701, 2 killed, 2 wounded
  4. ^ Nichols p. 286
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference allison was invoked but never defined (see the help page).