Fort Baxter

Fort Baxter, also known as Fort Blair, was a small US Army post located in the southeast corner of Kansas near present-day Baxter Springs. This area was known as the Cherokee Strip. It was one of a few Kansas forts attacked by Confederate forces during the American Civil War. At one point the Confederate government claimed authority over the Neutral Lands. Both Union and Confederate troops operated in the area, as did guerrilla forces and militias prevalent in the Kansas-Missouri border area. Fort Baxter was established during the war by Gen. James G. Blunt in May 1863. It was later described by the writer William E. Connelley as "consist[ing] of some log cabins with a total frontage of about 100 feet, facing east toward Spring river. Back of the fort, and of the same width, was a large space enclosed by embankments of earth thrown up against logs and about 4 feet high." The west wall of the embankment was torn out on October 5, 1863, to extend the north and south walls some 200 yards farther west. While still unfinished, the fort was attacked by Quantrill's raiders the next day, while about 60 men were out foraging on the prairie. They had happened on to some Union forces while on the way to winter camp in Texas. The Union garrison, about 25 white cavalry and 65-70 infantry men of the United States Colored Troops defended the fort. Quantrill moved his men against the Union fo

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