The 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

that served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Service

The 11th Kansas Cavalry was organized at

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

in late April 1863 from the 11th Kansas Infantry, which ceased to exist. It mustered in for three years under the command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Thomas Ewing Jr. Thomas Ewing Jr. (August 7, 1829 – January 21, 1896) was an attorney, the first chief justice of Kansas and leading free state advocate, Union Army general during the American Civil War, and two-term United States Congressman from Ohio, 18 ...

The regiment was attached to District of the Border and District of Kansas,

Department of the Missouri The Department of the Missouri was a command echelon of the United States Army in the 19th century and a sub division of the Military Division of the Missouri that functioned through the Indian Wars. History Background Following the successful ...

, until February 1865. District of Upper Arkansas to March 1865. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division,

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII R ...

Department of Arkansas The Department of the Arkansas was a territorial department of the United States Army during the American Civil War. History The Department of the Arkansas was created on January 6, 1864, to consist of Union occupied Arkansas, except Fort Smith. F ...

, to April 1865. District of the Plains, Department of Missouri, to September 1865. The 11th Kansas Cavalry mustered out of service at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

on July 17, 1865.

Detailed service

Assigned to duty on eastern border of Kansas until October 1864. Expedition from Salem to Mulberry Creek, Kansas, August 8–11, 1863 (detachment). Scout on Republican River, Kansas, August 19–24, 1863 (detachment). Operations against Quantrill on his raid into Kansas August 20–28. Independence, Missouri, August 25. (Companies C and F duty on southern border of Kansas December 1863 to August 1864.) Company L stationed at Fort Riley; Company G at Fort Leavenworth as body guard to General

Samuel Curtis Samuel Curtis (born in Walworth, Surrey on 29 August 1779-died at La Chaire, Rozel Bay, Jersey, on 6 January 1860

. Action at Scott's Ford, Missouri, October 14, 1863. Deep Water Creek, Missouri, October 15. Expedition into Missouri June 16–20, 1864. Scout from Salem to Mulberry Creek August 8–11 (detachment). Operations against Indians in Nebraska August 11-November 28 (1 company). Operations against Price in Missouri and Kansas. Lexington October 19. Little Blue October 21. Independence, Big Blue, and State Line October 22. Westport October 23. Cold Water Grove October 24. Mine Creek, Little Osage River, October 25. Regiment ordered to Fort Riley December 1864. Companies C and E to

Fort Larned Fort Larned National Historic Site preserves Fort Larned which operated from 1859 to 1878. It is approximately west of Larned, Kansas, United States. History The Camp on Pawnee Fork was established on October 22, 1859 to protect traffic al ...

February 1865. Regiment moved to Fort Kearney, Nebraska, February 20-March 4, then moved to Fort Laramie March 6-April 9, and to Platte Bridge. Duty guarding telegraph lines and operating against Indians until June. Sage Creek, Dakota Territory, April 21. Deer Creek May 21. Platte Bridge, Dakota Territory, June 3. Companies A, B, E, F, L, and M moved to Fort Halleck June 11–24. Protect stage route from Camp Collins, Colorado, to Green River until August 13. White River, Dakota Territory, June 17. Rock Creek July 1. Fort Halleck July 4 and 26. Moved to Fort Leavenworth.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 173 men during service; 61 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 110 enlisted men died of disease.Smith, Ronald D. ''Thomas Ewing Jr.: Frontier Lawyer and Civil War General'' (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press), 2008.

Commanders

* Colonel Thomas Ewing Jr. * Colonel

Thomas Moonlight Thomas Moonlight (September 30, 1833February 7, 1899) was a United States politician and soldier. Moonlight served as Governor of Wyoming Territory from 1887 to 1889. Birth Moonlight was born in Forfarshire, Scotland. He was baptized on 30 Sep ...

Notable members

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Grenville Lew Gove, Company G - died of disease November 7, 1864;

Gove County, Kansas Gove County (county code GO) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,718. Its county seat is Gove City, and its most populous city is Quinter. History Early history Eighty (80) million y ...

is named in his honor *

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Preston B. Plumb Preston Bierce Plumb (October 12, 1837December 20, 1891) was a United States senator from Kansas, as well as an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Biography Born in Delaware County, Ohio, at 9 his family removed to Marysv ...

- U.S. Senator from Kansas (1877–1891) * Private John C. Rooks, Company I - killed at the battle of Prairie Grove;

Rooks County, Kansas Rooks County (standard abbreviation: RO) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 4,919. The county seat is Stockton, and the largest city is Plainville. The county was named for Privat ...

is named in his honor *

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Edmund G. Ross Edmund Gibson Ross (December 7, 1826May 8, 1907) was a politician who represented Kansas after the American Civil War and was later governor of the New Mexico Territory. His vote against convicting President Andrew Johnson of "high crimes and ...

- printer and newspaperman, later a Republican U.S. Senator from Kansas who is most noted for his "no" vote against the 1868 impeachment of Andrew Johnson.

Notes

References

;Attribution *

External links

History of the 11th Kansas Cavalry by the Museum of the Kansas National Guard

{{Kansas in the Civil War Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union Army from Kansas 1862 establishments in Kansas