Opinion

A piece of history

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Recently, a gift package of local history items arrived in Fort Scott courtesy of the U. S. Postal Service and was delivered to Don Miller. This was not unusual as both he and I often receive interesting items in the mail or find them left on our doorstep. This particular package contained a variety of items from the Civil War to the present day and one that jumped out to me was the following "Special Order" that concerned 1st Lieutenant Charles H. Haynes who served with the 6th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment in 1863. This order is the ORIGINAL DOCUMENT and was written on what was white blue lined paper that is still used today in pad form by the U.S. Government. It has faded to a light sepia color, but the ink is as black as the day it was used in 1863 and it is not a copy, because if it was, it would be so stated on the document. The order is very legible and is printed here along with the following transcription:

Original Order
Transcription"Head Quarters
Special Order Dist. of Kansas, No. 47 March 11, 1863.

First Lt. C. H. Hayne, 6th Reg. Cavalry Vols., is hereby detailed on Engineer duty and will report to Capt. W. Hoelke A. D. C., superintendent of erection of fortifications at Fort Scott, Kan.

By order of Brig. Genl. Blunt.T. H. Moonlight Lt. Col. & Chief of Staff.

Lieut. C. H. Haynes,

Fort Scott, Kas.

Paid Lieut. Haynes from September 1, 1862 to Feb. 28, 1863. $678.48.

Henry J. Adams

Paymaster, U. S. A.

This order included the Stockades and Breast Works for protection of Marmaton River Fords and extending North and East of City and 4 Lunettes (Block Houses) viz Fort Insley, Henning, Blair and Block House No. 1.

This order is very important for the following reasons:

1. It indicates that Capt. Hoelke, not Lt. Haynes as previously stated by various authors, was the officer in charge of the construction of the "Stockades, Breast works and 4 Lunettes."

2.It indicates that Lt. Haynes was paid $678.48 in back pay for seven months or $124.75 per month. This was a tidy amount in comparison to a privates pay of $13 per month or $91 for seven months.
3.The last statement is the most important because:
a.It confirms the locations of the fortifications that Capt. Hoelke placed on his 1863 defensive map of Fort Scott.
b.The Breast works were located along the base of the bluff on the south side of the Marmaton River on the north side and along the west bank of Buck Run where First Street crossed Buck Run and where the Old Military Road crossed Buck run at what is now Third Street.
c.Note: The stockades were made of logs 8 feet above ground and connected Lunette Blair, between Second and Third streets on the west side of Scott Avenue and Lunette Henning which was located where Memorial Hall, the Court House and Post Office are on National Avenue today. The stockades provided a defensive fortification against an enemy attack from the south going up what is now National Avenue.
d.Lunette Insley was located on the bluff north of what is now Fort Scott National Historic Site. That portion of the bluff was known as "Red Hill" that no longer exists because it contained red clay and was mined by the Fort Scott Brick Plant.
e.The fourth block house was not named and is indicated as Blockhouse No. 1 on Hoelke's 1863 map and was located on the east bank of the Marmaton River in the vicinity of West Second Street which was the main road entering Fort Scott from the west during the Civil War.

Now, most individual orders such as this one simply did not survive the passage of time. Occasionally, a collection of orders that pertained to an individual officer has survived because it has been passed down from one generation to the next. However, this particular one gives a better understanding of the Civil War in Fort Scott and a grateful THANK YOU to DON MILLER for sharing this and other pieces of Fort Scott History for folks to enjoy.