Kansas Forts

American Forts: West

KANSAS

Last Update: 08/JULY/2019

Plymouth Fort
(1856), Brown County
A Free-Staters' stronghold on the Lane Trail. The community, once located three miles south of the state line, no longer exists. See also The Lane Trail from The Civil War Muse.com

Lexington Fort
(1856), Brown County
A Free-Staters' stronghold on the Lane Trail. The community, once located a few miles south of Plymouth, no longer exists. See also The Lane Trail from The Civil War Muse.com

Camp Martin
(1818 - 1820, 1826 - 1832), near Atchison
The first American military post in present-day Kansas. Established on Cow Island (aka Isle au Vache or Isle de Vache) in the Missouri River south of town. Also known as Cantonment Martin, and Fort Kansas (2). Re-established in 1826 as Camp Croghan, and abandoned in 1832. The site was again briefly garrisoned by troop detachments in 1847, 1856, and 1861.

Fort de Cavagnial
(1744 - 1759 ?, 1764), Kickapoo
A French fort located on the Missouri River at or near the mouth of Salt Creek, about 12 miles north of present-day Fort Leavenworth, and about one mile from the Kansa Indian village known to archaeologists as "Fort Village". It was the western-most known post of New France. Initially it was a small circular palisade, known as Post of the Missouri, or Fort de la Trinité, or Fort Kanses (1). Later renamed and reconfigured as an 80-foot square palisade with bastions in each angle (two one-story and two two-story), a 30-foot by 20-foot two-story commander's house, two barracks, a guard house, and a 10-foot square powder magazine. All buildings were constructed of wooden stakes/posts covered with mud and bark. It was originally established by French traders and soldiers under Joseph Dervisseau, hoping to trade with the Spanish at Santa Fe, NM (a failure), and also with the Kansa, Wichita, and Pawnee Indians of the region. In 1758 the garrison was only one officer and seven or eight soldiers. The post was known as Fort Cavagnolle to the British, but British maps of the period placed the fort incorrectly at the mouth of the Kansas River in present-day Kansas City. The Spanish briefly took over the post in 1764, but it was probably already abandoned by the French before 1760. The ruins of this post were noted by Lewis and Clark in 1804. Presumed site (reportedly with stone chimney rubble) is located on private property adjacent to the Kickapoo Memorial Cemetery. A marker (2016) is located at the entrance to the Kickapoo Memorial Cemetery. A stone monument (1967) is located on Sheridan Drive within the nearby Fort Leavenworth military reservation. An exhibit of the fort is located at the Frontier Army Museum at Fort Leavenworth.

Kickapoo Post
(1833 - 1846 ?), Kickapoo
A Chouteau family-operated trade post located at the Kickapoo Indian Reservation on the bluffs above the mouth of Salt Creek.

The American Fur Company also opened a post here at Kickapoo Landing in 1833, operated by Laurence Pensineau.

Fort Leavenworth (U.S. Military Reservation)
(1827 - present), Leavenworth
Previously called Cantonment Leavenworth, the palisaded fort was built to protect eastern segments of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails, and became the main supply depot for all other western posts. The post was briefly occupied by Kickapoo Indians in the summer of 1829, and was given its current name in 1832. This is the oldest continually active American military post west of the Mississippi River. This was also the first permanent white settlement in the state, and once served briefly as the territorial capital in 1854. Remnants of a loopholed stone wall (1827) still exist on Kearny Ave., although recent studies suggest this wall was actually built in 1872 to shield from public view the latrines of the former barracks that were once located here near the old front gate of the original post. Camp Lincoln was established on post (West End Parade) in 1861 to train volunteers. The Leavenworth Arsenal was established in 1859. The Army Prison Stockade was established here in 1875, later named the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, located on the site of the post's original 1840's Quartermaster Depot. The old prison was closed in 2002 and relocated to a new site on the north side of the reservation. It is now the only major military prison serving all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Established in 1881 was the School of Application for Infantry and Cavalry, now known as the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. The post became a major training facility in WWI. A camp for the CCC was built here in 1933. NIKE missiles were emplaced here 1959 - 1969 (KC-80), on a site at Bell Point. The Frontier Army Museum (est. 1959) is located on post in Andrews Hall at 100 Reynolds Ave.. A Wayside Driving Tour highlights many additional historic sites on post.
See also A Brief History of Fort Leavenworth (1983) by US Army Combined Arms Center

Located here, or near here, were other temporary posts which included Camp Bateman (1857 - 1858), Camp Magruder (1860), Camp Thompson (1858), and Fort Sully - also known as Camp Sully, an earthen redoubt located on the ridge just west of the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, that protected the main post in 1864. It was composed of two batteries of four guns and ten mortars that covered the approach to the fort from the south. Markers denote the extant gun pits. Additional Civil War era earthworks were once located in a line along present-day Michigan Ave. in downtown Leavenworth. The Confederate defeat at the Battle of Westport (Kansas City) in October 1864 ended any further threats to the fort. Camp Lindsay was a Spanish-American War muster-out camp in 1898.

Kaw Point Fort
(Lewis and Clark Historic Park)
(1804), Kansas City
A small temporary six-foot high log and brush stockade built in June 1804 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, used to store supplies for several days after fearing an Indian attack. Lewis and Clark Trail interpretive markers located at Lewis and Clark Historic Park. The actual point of land at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers has shifted over time.

Camp at Shawnee Mission
(Shawnee Mission State Historic Site)
(1857), Fairway
A temporary Federal encampment near the Methodist mission. The restored mission is located at 3403 West 53rd Street.

Kansas River Post
(1828 - 1833), Kansas City
A trade post built by François Chouteau, son of Pierre Chouteau Sr., located on the south bank of the Kansas River about six miles west of the present state line and about one mile north of Turner.

Shawnee Post
(1828 - 1855), Kansas City
A trade post built by Cyprian Chouteau, brother of François, for the Shawnee and Delaware Indians. Located on the south bank of the Kansas River about 12 miles upstream from its mouth at the Missouri River, near the "Delaware Crossing". Due to the meandering of the Kansas River, it was located only a few miles upriver from François's Kansas River Post. Peter Sarpy wintered over at this post in 1836-37, gathering supplies to establish Fort Jackson in Colorado. Here in June 1842 John C. Fremont organized a party of U.S. Topographical Engineers and their supply train headed to Fort Laramie, WY.

A Chouteau subpost (Delaware Post) (1833 - 1847) was located on a bluff across the north bank of the Kansas River near Mill Creek, within the Delaware Indian Reservation.

Four Houses
(1822 - 1827 ?), near De Soto
A trading post built by François Chouteau. Four log cabins arranged in a fort-like square which enclosed a courtyard, located on the north bank of the Kansas River one mile above the mouth of Cedar Creek. François and his family sought refuge here after the 1826 spring flood destroyed his first post further east (see François Chouteau's Post, MO). Site near the railroad station at Lempe.

Fort Lane (1)
(1856 - 1857), Lawrence
A Free-Staters' stone-walled stronghold located at the present-day Kansas University campus on the eastern side of Mount Oread. Wooden buildings built here afterwards were burned by Confederate raiders in August 1863.

Camp Ewing
(1862), Lawrence
A Union training and recruiting post.

Camp Stanton (1862) was also nearby.

Camp Lookout
(1864), Lawrence
A Union observation camp and gun battery located at the present-day Kansas University campus on the summit of Mount Oread. Fort Ulysses was the proposed name of an uncompleted fort here after the gun battery was already emplaced (August 1864). No remains.

Fort Wakarusa
(1855), near Lawrence
A Free-Staters' blockhouse during the Wakarusa War of December 1855. Located about five miles southwest of town on the Wakarusa River.

Horseshoe Lake Post
(1829 - 1832), near Lawrence
A trading post established by Frederick Chouteau (brother of Auguste Pierre and Pierre Jr.) for the Kansa (Kaw) Indian trade, located about seven miles west of town on the south bank of the Kansas River.

Fort Clinton
(1840 - 1850), Clinton
A Federal cavalry post.

Fort Defiance
(1855 - 1857 ?), Douglas County
Probably located somewhere along the Wakarusa River. It was kept in use for several years, but was abandoned before the Civil War broke out.

Fort Saunders
(1856), near Clinton
A Pro-Slavers' log fort captured and burned by Free-Staters in August 1856. Located about four miles southeast of town on a bluff on the east bank of Washington Creek.

Fort Titus
(1856), Lecompton
Pro-Slaver leader Col. Henry T. Titus' fortified log cabin located about two miles south of town on the east bank of Coon Creek. After the burning of Lawrence it was the site of a battle between the Free-Staters and Pro-Slavers (August 1856). The cabin was burned down and the fort destroyed. The cabin has been reconstructed in a park near Lane University and the Territorial Capital Museum.

Fort Lecompton
(1855 - 1856), Lecompton
A reference to the fortified town as a whole, not to a specific individual structure per se. The town was declared the territorial capital by the Pro-Slavers in 1855.

Camp Sackett
(1856), near Lecompton
A U.S. Army Cavalry tent camp located about 3.5 miles southwest of town. They were sent here from Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley to try to keep the peace between the feuding Free-State and Pro-Slavery factions.

Fort Simple
(Old Stockade Site)
(1863 - 1866), Topeka
Also called Fort Folly. It was a roofless log stockade built by civilians for protection from Confederate raiders. It was never attacked. It was left standing for several years before it was dismantled. A plaque embedded in the sidewalk at 6th Street and Kansas Avenue marks the location.

Camp Crawford
(1868), Topeka
Created by and named after the then state governor after declaring a state of emergency during Indian troubles. The two legislative halls in the old state house were initially used as barracks for the volunteer force until a large tent camp extended from 2nd to 5th Streets.

Post at Topeka
(1857, 1883), Topeka
Temporary Army garrisons were maintained within the city.

Camp Leedy
(1898), Topeka
A Spanish-American War state muster camp located at the old Fairgrounds at 17th Street and Topeka Ave., now the Kansas Expocenter.

Mission Creek Post
(1832 - 1845), near Valencia, Shawnee County
A trading post built by Frederick Chouteau (brother of Auguste Pierre and Pierre Jr.) for the Kansa (Kaw) Indian trade, located at the mouth of Mission Creek (aka American Chief Creek) at the Kansas River.

Jim Lane's Fort (2)
(1856), Holton
A Free-Staters' fortified log cabin located at the present-day Central Elementary School at 401 New Jersey Ave..

Camp Marysville
(1857), Marysville
A temporary Army encampment near the Oto Indian Agency (1854 - 1881) near Barneston, NE.

Fort Riley (U.S. Military Reservation)
(1853 - present), Junction City
Previously called Camp Center due to being located near the geographical center, at the time, of the United States. It was also called Camp Moon, and given its current name in 1853. It was built to protect eastern segments of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. Permanent stone buildings were constructed beginning in 1855. In 1891 the fort became a cavalry and field artillery school. Located here is the U.S. Army Cavalry Museum.

The second territorial capital (1855) was located at Pawnee Flats, which is now within the modern military reservation. The original two-story stone building still stands. Camp Sanger (1902 - 1903) was later established at Pawnee Flats for field maneuvers. Camp Funston (1917 - 1920), a National Army cantonment training site and demobilization center for the 89th Division, was created on the eastern side of the Fort Riley reservation. All buildings were removed by 1925. Two monuments to Camp Funston are located on Huebner Ave. Camp Whitside, a National Guard camp established at Fort Riley in 1924, was converted into the hospital cantonment during World War II. Camp Forsyth was established on the western side of Fort Riley (Republican Flats) in 1940 and was used for the Cavalry Replacement Training Center after 1941.
1957 Kansas Historical Quarterly article - part 1 || 1958 Kansas Historical Quarterly article - part 2

Council Grove Post
(1845 - 1852), Council Grove
A trading post built by Frederick Chouteau (brother of Auguste Pierre and Pierre Jr.) for the Kansa (Kaw) Indian trade, located at the Kaw Indian Reservation.

Camp Bull Creek
(1856), near Paola
Established by pro-slavery forces from Missouri. Quickly abandoned when they learned they were to be attacked by the Free-Staters.

Marais des Cygnes Post (1)
(1822 - 1833), near Osawatomie
A Chouteau family-operated trade post located on the Marais des Cygnes River at the Wea (Miami) and Piankeshaw Indian Reservation, about one mile east of the main Wea village.

William Meyers' Post
(1832 - unknown), near Osawatomie
An independent trade post built by William Meyers, located at the villages of the Wea (Miami) Indians (aka Wea Post). In 1843 the Chouteau family was granted a new license to trade with the Wea (Miami) and other tribes (Peoria and Potawatomie) then residing in the vicinty (Miami and Franklin Counties).

Potawatomie Creek Post
(1843 - unknown), Linn
A Chouteau family-operated trade post located on Potawatomie Creek.

Camp Halpine
(1862), Osawatomie
A temporary Civil War encampment.

Miami Valley Post
(1861 ?), Miami County
A temporary Army post on or near Miami Creek. Possibly a reference to Camp Halpine (?).

Pierre Chouteau Jr.'s Trading Post
(1834 - 1861 ?), Trading Post
A Northwestern Co. fur post (not to be confused with the Canadian North West Company). Also called Michel Giraud's Trading Post, or Marais des Cygnes Post (2). Pierre Jr. was the son of Pierre Sr., and brother to Auguste Pierre. The U.S. Army occupied the post during a time in 1842. Chouteau sold the post to Phillip Avery in 1848. Located on the south bank of the Marais des Cygnes River, near the mouth of Sugar Creek.

Nearby, in May 1858, five Free-State men were murdered by a pro-slavery gang from Missouri in the so-called "Marais des Cygnes Massacre". A few weeks after the incident, John Brown built a fortified two-story log house here, which was used through the summer. The extant stone Hadsall House was then built here soon after. Marais des Cygnes State Historic Site

Fort Montgomery (1)
(Mound City Historical Park)
(1856 - 1858), near Mound City
The fortified two-story log cabin of Free-Stater Col. James Montgomery, located about five miles west of town. Replica cabin built in 2000 at the Mound City Historical Park, located at 700 Main Street.

Fort Bain
(1857 - 1858), near Fulton
A fortified log cabin built by Free-Staters on the north side of the Little Osage River, about one mile west of town. Also known as Capt. Oliver Bain's Fort.

Fort Lincoln
(1861 - 1864/1879), Fulton
A log stockade and blockhouse, used primarily as a Confederate POW camp. The blockhouse was relocated in 1864 to a new site three miles northwest of Fort Scott.

Fort Scott (National Historic Site)
(1842 - 1853, 1862 - 1865, 1869 - 1873), Fort Scott
Originally called Camp Scott until 1843. Initially garrisoned by the troops from Fort Wayne, OK. Abandoned for Fort Riley and other posts when the frontier moved west, but reactivated in 1862 as a stockaded fort with three detached two-story log blockhouses with earthwork batteries, each with its own name; Fort Henning, Fort Insley, and Fort Blair (1). The Fort Blair Blockhouse, rebuilt in 1958, is now located in Blair Park. The Fort Henning blockhouse once stood at present-day First Street and Scott Ave.. It was sold and relocated after the Civil War. The post was re-occupied again in 1869, known as Post of Southeastern Kansas, to stop settlers from settling on Cherokee lands in Indian Territory, and to guard railroad construction crews. Many of the original buildings have been restored or reconstructed. The Headquarters House was restored in 1939. The former parade ground is now Carroll Plaza. The National Cemetery was established in 1862.

Located nearby in 1858 was Camp Cuyler, which lasted only one month. Also located nearby in late 1864 was Camp McKean, a temporary encampment occupied by Wisconsin cavalry.

Fort Humboldt
(1862 or 1863), Humboldt
A Union post consisting of Kansas Volunteers and other state militia troops.

Camp at Kickapoo
(1858), Allen County
A Federal encampment at the Kickapoo Indian villages.

Fort Belmont
(1864 - 1865), Buffalo
A stage station fortified by the Army during the Civil War, with barracks and an earthen redoubt. The Osage and Creek Indian Agencies were also briefly located here (or nearby) in 1864. Site located two miles west of town. No remains. Osage Chief Hapo, who fought for the Union during the Civil War, is buried in an unmarked grave, along with possibly others, in an area near the fort used as a campsite by the Osages.

Fort Row
(1861 - 1862), Coyville
A Union stockaded post with three blockhouses, located about three miles south of town.

Fort Montgomery (2)
(1861 - 1869), Eureka
A local militia fort.

Camp Drywood
(1871), near Englevale
A temporary Army post to protect the railroad south of Fort Scott.

Fort Franklin
(1856), Franklin
A blockhouse occupied by pro-slavery forces. They were attacked and defeated by free-state forces. The blockhouse was built adjacent to the town's post office.

Camp Limestone
(1871), near Pittsburg
A temporary Army post located on Limestone Creek to protect the railroad south of Fort Scott.

Camp Columbus
(1871), Columbus
A temporary Army post to protect the railroad south of Fort Scott.

Fort Blair (2)
(1862 - 1863), Baxter Springs
A Union post made of logs and sod-covered earthworks. Originally a field encampment named Camp Baxter Springs until enlarged and renamed in 1863. Also called Fort Baxter. Other named encampments in the vicinity were Camp Little Five Mile (1862) near the Spring River, Camp Joe Hooker (1863), and Camp Ben Butler (1863). The "Baxter Springs Massacre" took place here in October 1863 by Confederate forces under William Quantrill against a Union troop column. On site is a reconstruction of one of the log cabins.

Bill Williams' Post
(1823 - 1825), near Oswego
An independent fur trade post built by "Old Bill" William Williams at the "Fork of the Grand River", at the confluence of the Neosho River and Lightning Creek. After a few months, Williams left the post to the care of his trading partner Paul Baillio.

Fort Roach
(no date), Ladore
The town was originally named after its founder J.N. Roach, who wanted the railroad to come through here. There was no actual "Fort Roach". Located just south of the Neosho County line near Parsons.

Paul Liguest Chouteau's Post
(1814 - 1837), Neosho County
The first Chouteau family-operated trading post in present-day Kansas, also known as Liguest's Village. Located on the west bank of the Neosho River, actual site undetermined, about six miles east of the Big Osage Indian village known as "White Hair's Town". Pierre Millicour Papin was also a partner here in the early years of the post. A subagency of the Osage Indian Agency was established here in 1824, with Liguest in charge. He resigned the post in July 1837.

Special thanks to Marshall Sitrin for providing information on several U.S. Army posts and fortified stage stations throughout Kansas.

Western Kansas - page 2

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