1st Independent Battery Kansas Light Artillery was an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

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 battery was organized at Mound City,

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 ...

and mustered in for a three years on July 24, 1861, under the command of

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 ...

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 ...

. This unit was formed from artillery companies that were raised for the 3rd Kansas Infantry and 4th Kansas Infantry. Because both regiments did not complete organization, recruits to the artillery were reassigned and consolidated by authority of Special Orders No. 42, District of Kansas, dated April 24, 1862. The 1st Kansas Battery's organization was effected about June l, 1862. A previous attempt had been made to transfer Captain Bickerton's Artillery Company of the 3rd Kansas Infantry to the 1st Kansas Infantry as an artillery organization, and to break up Captain Thomas Moonlight's Artillery Company of the 4th Kansas Infantry and distribute it among the companies of the same regiment as infantry. However, the recruits were unhappy with this idea and on advice from

Brig. Gen. Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Samuel D. Sturgis the order was modified and the consolidation was made in accordance with Special Orders No. 42. The battery was attached to

Department of Kansas The Department of Kansas was a Union Army command department in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. This department existed in three different forms during the war. 1861 The first "Department of Kansas" was created on No ...

to August 1862. 2nd Brigade, Department of Kansas, to October 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division,

Army of the Frontier The Army of the Frontier was a Union army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the Civil War. It fought in several minor engagements in Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas. In June 1863 the Army was discontinued but many of it ...

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 ...

, to February 1863. District of Rolla, Department of the Missouri, to June 1863. District of Columbus, Kentucky, 6th Division, XVI Corps,

Department of the Tennessee Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, to November 1863. Defenses of the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad, District of Nashville,

Department of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

, and 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XX Corps, Department of the Cumberland, to November 1864. 2nd Colored Brigade, District of the Etowah, Department of the Cumberland, to January 1865. Reserve Artillery, District of Nashville, Department of the Cumberland, to July 1865. The 1st Kansas Battery mustered out of service on July 17, 1865.

Detailed service

Attached to Lane's Kansas Brigade and operations about Fort Scott and on line of the Marmiton August and September 1861. Actions at Ball's Mills August 28. Morse's Mill August 29. Dogwood Creek near Fort Scott September 2. Morristown September 17. Osceola September 21–22. Duty at Fort Scott until May 1862. Expedition into Indian Territory May 25-August 15. Action at Grand River June 6. Locust Grove July 3. Bayou Bernard July 27. Blunt's Campaign in Missouri and Arkansas September 17-December 3. Expedition to Sarcoxie September 28–30. Action at Newtonia September 29–30. Occupation of Newtonia October 4. Old Fort Wayne or Beattie's Prairie near Maysville October 22. Cane Hill November 28. Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, December 7. Expedition over Boston Mountains to Van Buren December 27–31. Moved to Springfield, Missouri, January 1863, and duty there until February 17. Moved to Forsyth, Missouri, then to Fort Scott, Kansas. Duty in Missouri and Kansas, District of Rolla, until July 1863. Ordered to St. Louis, Missouri, July 5, then to Cairo, Illinois, July 18. Duty in District of Columbus, Kentucky, until November. Ordered to Nashville, Tennessee, and assigned to duty on line of the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad until November 1864. Moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Battle of Nashville December 15–16. Post duty at Nashville until January 1865, and at Chattanooga, Tennessee, until July.

Commanders

* Captain Thomas Moonlight * Captain Marcus D. Tenney

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * ''Official Military History of Kansas Regiments During the War for the Suppression of the Great Rebellion'' (Leavenworth, KS: W. S. Burke), 1870. ;Attribution *

External links

History of the 1st Kansas Battery by the Museum of the Kansas National Guard
{{Kansas in the Civil War Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union Army from Kansas 1861 establishments in Kansas Artillery units and formations of the American Civil War 1865 disestablishments in Tennessee

Service

Detailed service

Commanders

See also

References

External links