Livingston's Hideout was most likely the only permanent Confederate

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

inside

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 ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. It was in the very corner of southeast Kansas, in the very corner of Cherokee County, Kansas. It was about north of the border with

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

and it was less than west of the border with

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. It was west of Baxter Springs, where a series of Union military posts existed from 1862 to 1863. Thomas R. Livingston became a leader of a group of Confederate guerrillas in the area, becoming first a captain and then a major. He needed locations to hide himself and his guerrillas from pursuing Union troops and this hideout suited the guerrillas well. The guerrillas sought to spy on Union forces and raiding units he found small enough to defeat. No one knows when Livingston found his hideout, but he possibly began using it in spring 1862. No Union troops knew of its existence during the Civil War. The campsite was in a heavily wooded area. A road runs just west of the campsite and is about above it. The area of the campsite cannot be seen from the road, as it is in the woods and the area beyond the road drops off sharply before the camp begins. The site is flat and somewhat oval shaped. It is wide and long. A creek is about below the campsite and a hill to the east, inside Missouri, is on the east side of the creek, about above the campsite. The creek runs through a long valley. This camp would have been almost in plain sight, yet invisible. The use of Livingston's hideout proved a great frustration for the area's Union troops. Many times the troops chased the guerrillas, only to have them scatter and seemingly vanish. The hideout was used at least July 1863, when Livingston was killed in a fight with Union troops in

Stockton, Missouri Stockton is a city in Cedar County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,683 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Cedar County. History Stockton was platted in 1846. It was originally named Lancaster, but was renamed Fremont in 1 ...

. After its use ceased, it was not rediscovered until after the War. Eventually, in the 1980s someone decided to build a house there and Betty Kyrias, of the Baxter Springs Historical Society, discovered the site yet again.Charles Sheppard, report, ''The War of the Rebellion'' (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888), Series I, Vol. XXII, Part I, p. 445.

References

{{reflist Forts in Kansas Buildings and structures in Cherokee County, Kansas 1862 establishments in Kansas