The 6th Kansas 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 ...

Union cavalry charge at Honey Springs, 1863

Service

The 6th Kansas Cavalry Regiment was organized at Fort Scott,

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 July 1861. The regiment began as three companies of home guard infantry, followed quickly by five additional companies, one of which was cavalry. On September 9, 1861, these recruits were reorganized and officers were elected. The reorganized regiment was then 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 ...

William R. Judson. The regiment 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. 2nd 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 Missouri, to February 1863 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Frontier, to June 1863. District of the Frontier, Department of Missouri, to January 1864. District of the Frontier,

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 ...

, Department of Arkansas, to March 1864. 3rd Brigade, District of the Frontier, VII Corps, to January 1865. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, VII Corps, to February 1865. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, VII Corps, to August 1865. The 6th 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 ...

, Kansas August 27, 1865.

Detailed service

Duty at Fort Scott until March 1862. Dry Wood Creek, Fort Scott, September 1, 1861. Morristown September 17.

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

September 20, 21 and 22. (The 3 original companies marched to Fort Lincoln September 1, 1861; then returned to Fort Scott.) Little Santa Fe, Missouri, November 6. Regiment reorganized March 27, 1862, and A, B and C (original companies) mustered out. Duty at Fort Scott until May. Carthage, Missouri, March 23. Diamond Grove April 14. Lost Creek April 15. Companies C, H, and K moved to Carthage, Missouri, with the 15th Kansas Cavalry, rejoining in May. Regiment stationed at various points on southern line of Kansas Headquarters at Paola until June. Concentrated at Fort Scott. Expedition into Indian Territory May 25-July (Companies C, H, and K). Reconnaissance from Grand River to Fort Gibson, Tahliquah and Park Hill, and skirmishes June 14–17. Regiment joined June 20. Expedition into Cherokee Country July 2-August 1. Stand Watie's Mill July 4 (2 companies). Expedition from Fort Leavenworth to Independence August 12–14 (1 company). Clear Creek August 19. Taboursville August 20. Osage River August 21. Coon Creek, near Lamar, and Lamar, August 24. Operations in southwest Missouri September to December. Expedition through Jackson, Cass, Johnson and Lafayette Counties, Missouri, September 8–23. Hickory Grove September 19. Granby September 24. Newtonia September 30. Occupation of Newtonia October 4. Old Fort Wayne or Beattie's Prairie, near Maysville, October 22. Operations in Jackson County against Quantrill November 1–5. Drywood, Boston Mountains. November 9. Reconnaissance toward Van Buren and Fort Smith November 20. Near Cane Hill November 25. Cane Hill November 28. Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, December 7. Expedition over Boston Mountains to Van Buren December 27–29. Dripping Springs December 29. (1st Battalion, Companies A, C, F, and H camped on Crane Creek, near Springfield, Missouri, until March 1863.) Operations in Newton and Jasper Counties March 5–13 (Companies A and C). Near Sherwood March 9 (Companies A and C). Companies F and H marched from Westbrook to Salem, thence to Rolla May 7; thence to Fort Scott June 21-July 4. Webber Falls, Cherokee Nation, April 21–23 (3rd Battalion). Big Creek, near Pleasant Hill, May 15 (Company E). Fort Gibson May 22 and 25. Greenleaf Prairie June 17. Cabin Creek July 1–2. Elk Creek, near Honey Springs, July 17. Perryville August 26. Operations in Cherokee Nation September 11–25. Webber Falls October 12. Moved to Fort Smith November 13–18 and duty there until March 1864. Scout to Baker's Springs January 21–25. Baker's Springs, Caddo Gap, January 24. Steele's Expedition to Camden March 31-May 3 (Companies A, C, G, K, and M). Roseville April 4–5 (detachment). Stone's Ferry April 5 (detachment). Prairie D'Ann April 9–12. Moscow April 13. Dutch Mills April 14. Camden April 16–18. Poison Springs April 18 (detachment). Saline Bottom April 29. Jenkins Ferry, Saline River, April 30. Moved to Dardanelle, then to Fort Smith May 6–16. Dardanelle May 10. Clarksville May 18. Fayetteville May 19. Roseville June 4–5 (detachment). Hahn's Farm, near Waldron, and Iron Bridge June 19. Balance of regiment near Fort Smith and duty there until September. Massard's Prairie July 27 (Companies B, D, E, and H). Near Fort Smith July 31. Lee's Creek August 1 (detachment). Van Buren August 12. Fort Smith August 27. March to Cabin Creek, Cherokee Nation, September 14–19. Fort Scott October 22. Cow Creek October 23 (detachment). Training Post October 24. Moved from Fort Smith to Clarksville December 29 and duty there until February 16, 1865. Moved to Little Rock and duty there until June. Consolidated to a battalion April 18, 1865. Moved to Duvall's Bluffs June 5, then to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, July 27-August 11.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 228 men during service; 4 officers and 81 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 3 officers and 140 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel William R. Judson * Lieutenant Colonel Lewis R. Jewell - Namesake of

Jewell County, Kansas Jewell County (county code JW) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,932. Its county seat and most populous city is Mankato. History Early history For many millennia, the Great P ...

, died at the

Battle of Cane Hill The Battle of Cane Hill (also known as the Engagement at Cane Hill) was fought during the American Civil War on November 28, 1862, in northwestern Arkansas, near the town of Cane Hill, Arkansas, Cane Hill. Union Army, Union troops under Brigad ...

, on 28 November 1862.

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 ...

Charles F. Clarke, Company F - Namesake of

Clark County, Kansas Clark County (county code CA) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 1,991. Its county seat and most populous city is Ashland. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau ...

, Assistant Adjutant General in the U.S. Volunteers, died at

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, on 10 December 1862.

Notes

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 6th Kansas Cavalry by the Museum of the Kansas National Guard

Detailed history of the Battle of Massard Prairie, Arkansas
{{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