The Battle of Fort Titus was a battle that occurred during conflicts in the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

between abolitionist and pro-slavery militias prior to 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 ...

. The era is known as

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

Background

Fort Titus Fort Titus was the fortress residence of pro-slavery advocate Henry T. Titus, built in Kansas in April 1856, during a period when forces aligned with Titus came into conflict with free-state settlers. The wider conflict, which emerged from a po ...

was built about April 1856 to be the fortress home of Henry T. Titus, a colonel in the militia of the Southern-oriented of the two governments of

. It was said Titus squatted on the claim of a free-state settler while he was away and built his cabin on this land. Fort Titus was a fortified log cabin with gun loopholes built into its walls to allow it to be defended from the inside. This fort had at least one window and it had a small log addition on the north side that served as a kitchen. In August 1856 Camp Sacket, a U.S. Army post, was about a mile away from Fort Titus. Camp Sacket was established to provide some aid to the pro-slavery government of the

, in Lecompton. The Territorial government was sympathetic to the expansion of slavery into Kansas. In January 1856, to counter those sympathetic to the expansion of slavery, Free-State advocates illegally elected

Charles L. Robinson Charles Lawrence Robinson (July 21, 1818 – August 17, 1894) was an American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1851-52, and later as the first Governor of Kansas from 1861 until 1863. He was also the first governor o ...

as Territorial Governor of Kansas under the

Topeka Constitution The Topeka Constitutional Convention met from October 23 to November 11, 1855 in Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, Kansas Territory, in a building afterwards called Constitution Hall (Topeka, Kansas), Constitution Hall. It drafted the Topeka Constitution, w ...

. Robinson's government was not recognized by the Federal government. From the spring of 1856 until September, Robinson and several other free-state leaders, including the son of

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, were held in custody in Camp Sackett. The troops at Camp Sacket were supplied by

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 ...

and did their best to maintain a neutral stance between the two sides. Both sides accused the Army of favoring the opposing side. Some distance south of Fort Titus was another pro-slavery partisan stronghold known as Fort Saunders. When Fort Saunders came under attack and was destroyed by free-state partisans on August 15, 1856, pro-slavery partisans sought revenge. Since it was known that free-state men at times garrisoned in another nearby fortified residence, known as Judge Wakefield's house, this became the focus of retaliation for the destruction of Fort Saunders. At 2 A.M. on August 16 pro-slavery partisans, including Henry T. Titus, attacked Wakefield's fortress home, but they were unable to take it. Later that day free-state men retaliated against Titus, and attacked and destroyed Titus' fortress home.

Battle

About 400 free-staters under the command of Samuel Walker attacked Fort Titus. Titus had a force of at least twenty-one men, including thirteen German stonemasons from nearby

Lecompton, Kansas Lecompton (pronounced ) is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 588. Lecompton was the ''de jure'' territorial capital of Kansas from 1855 to 1861, and the Douglas County seat f ...

, with him. The attack was launched before a brass cannon had arrived on the site. This attempt was unsuccessful and the leader of this first attack was killed. Apparently some of the men from this attack placed themselves between Lecompton and the Army troops, so no messages could be sent between

Wilson Shannon Wilson Shannon (February 24, 1802 – August 30, 1877) was a United States Democratic Party, Democratic politician from Ohio and Kansas. He served as the 14th and 16th governor of Ohio, and was the first Ohio governor born in the state. He was th ...

, the governor, and the troops. Once the cannon arrived the battle ended quickly, since the fort's walls were no match for the cannonballs, which passed entirely through the fort. This cannon, named Old Sacramento, had changed hands between the Northern and Southern partisans three times prior to this battle. The cannonballs were made from type from a Lawrence newspaper. The battle probably lasted no more than thirty minutes. The Camp Sacket commander, Maj.

John Sedgwick John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was a military officer and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He was wounded three times at the Battle of Antietam while leading his division in an unsuccessful assault against C ...

, moved toward Fort Titus to stop the battle, but it was over before troops arrived. As soon as the battle was finished, the prisoners were taken to Lawrence and Fort Titus was burned, never to be rebuilt.

Aftermath

A correspondent for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote the following, dated Lawrence, Sunday, August 17, 1856, after the battle: The Southern partisans sought retaliation for their string of defeats in August, when not only Fort Titus, but New Georgia's fort, Franklin's Fort, and Fort Saunders were all taken by free-state partisans. On the night of September 1, 1856, the Southerners burned six houses and one other building, including Judge Wakefield's house. The Wakefield family lost all their possessions.John H. Gihon, M.D., ''Geary and Kansas'' (Philadelphia: Charles C. Rhodes, 1857), chapter XVI, on line at http://www.kancoll.org/books/gihon/g_chap16.htm .

Notes

External links

Historic Lecompton with Fort Titus replica
{{Kansas in the Civil War 1856 riots 1856 in the United States Bleeding Kansas August 1856 events 1856 in Kansas Territory

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

Notes

External links