Instrument of Death and Destruction

Sunday, September 17, 2006

In the summer of 1861, the "Kansas Brigade" was organized by Gen. James Henry Lane and was the first brigade organized to defend Kansas and carry the war to the enemy in Missouri. The life span of this brigade was very brief, as it only existed for approximately 20 months, but during that time it became an instrument of death and destruction in the state of Missouri and in the mind of its citizens, who had and have long memories to this day! The "Kansas Brigade" was also referred to as Lane's Brigade, and it was an unusual, atypical military organization. This was not surprising when one considers the erratic, compulsive nature of its commanding officer. A normal "regulation" Civil War brigade consisted of two regiments of infantry or cavalry soldiers comprised of 2,000 soldiers or 1,000 per regiment. However, Lane's Brigade was a hybrid, because it contained three regiments that included the 3rd and 4th Kansas Volunteers and 5th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Each regiment contained multiple companies of infantry, cavalry and artillery, except the 5th Kansas Cavalry, which did not have any artillery. Many of the soldiers in Lane's Brigade were veterans of "Bleeding Kansas" and were very anxious to wage war in the enemy state of Missouri for the depredations, murders, robberies and terror that were inflicted on "Kansans" between 1856 and 1860. Right from the very beginning, the Civil War on the Kansas-Missouri border was a war of revenge, retaliation and retribution! In many ways, the murder and mayhem that was "Bleeding Kansas" became a premonition of and manifested itself in the brutal, barbaric reality of the "declared" Civil War. The citizens and soldiers of the Kansas-Missouri border became so fond of hating each other that they actually enjoyed killing each other. Lane's Brigade was the first and most infamous Kansas instrument of death and destruction to wage total war in Missouri against both the military and civilian population. Also, its actions became a premonition of what the balance of the Civil War would become in Missouri, Arkansas and the Indian Territory. Because of this, "Kansas" Gen. James Henry Lane was feared and hated in Missouri and still is to this day! He is despised in Missouri as much as William Clarke Quantrill was and is despised in Kansas! By Sept. 10, 1861 Union forces, including Kansas troops, had been defeated in Missouri at the Battle of Carthage on July 5, Wilson's Creek on Aug. 10, Drywood on Sept. 2 , and Humboldt was successfully attacked by Confederate guerrillas on Sept. 8. Now it was time for Lane's Brigade to raise havoc and a path of destruction in Missouri. The beginning of this effort is indicated in the following documents that explain where Lane was going, what he intended to do and what his brigade did at Moristown, Mo. on Sept. 17, 1861. Both documents are located on pages 485 and 196 in Series I, Vol. 3 ofthe Official Records of the War of the Rebillion and are as follows: " Headquarters Kansas Brigade, Fort Lane, Barnesville (Kan.), September 10, 1861.

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