In early May 1863 a temporary camp, Camp Hooker, was established at the site of what later became

Baxter Springs, Kansas Baxter Springs is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, and located along Spring River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,888. History For thousands of years, indigenous peoples had lived along the waterwa ...

. This area was located in what was known as the

Cherokee Strip (Kansas) The Cherokee Strip of Kansas, in the United States, was a disputed strip of land on the southern border of the state. Description In 1825 the Osage Nation was given a reservation in eastern Indian territory in what is now Kansas. In the Treat ...

. In late May while the camp commander, Col. James M. Williams, was in Fort Scott, the troops moved the camp three blocks to the east to what is now Washington School Hill. The new camp, Camp Ben Butler (named after Maj. Gen.

Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best ...

, was in a highly defendable position. It occupied a plateau that covered more than two square blocks. Only a small area to the south allowed easy access to camp. In fact, much of the surrounding area was practically impenetrable by men or horses. The wisdom of the move became quickly apparent. Before Col. Williams returned to his post, Confederate guerrillas under Maj. Thomas R. Livingston engaged the small Union force two miles from Camp Ben Butler. On June 22 the camp was sent additional troops. It seemed Livingston and Confederate Indians planned joint operations in the area. Livingston, a recurring worry to Union forces in the area, was killed in a fight at Stockton, Missouri, the next month. In late July 1863, a force of men under First Lt. Jason B. Bond began building a new fort a short distance away, Fort Blair (

Fort Baxter (Kansas) 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 force ...

). This new fort was completed in August and the troops moved from Camp Ben Butler to Fort Blair. On October 6 400 guerrillas under

William C. Quantrill William Clarke Quantrill (July 31, 1837 – June 6, 1865) was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. Having endured a tempestuous childhood before later becoming a schoolteacher, Quantrill joined a group of bandits who ...

attacked Fort Blair and then attacked an approaching column of troops commanded by Maj. Gen.

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

. Blunt's force was decimated and many of his troops were murdered when they attempted to surrender. After the attack the troops stationed at Fort Blair and the survivors from Blunt's force moved into Camp Ben Butler. When word of the massacre reached Fort Scott, at least five companies of troops were sent to reinforce Baxter Springs. Soon after they arrived, they and Blunt's men returned to Fort Scott. On October 20, the rest of the troops were ordered back to Fort Scott. Everything not taken from Camp Ben Butler and Fort Blair was destroyed and burned. Baxter Springs was not again used as a military post.Kyrias, "The Civil War in Baxter Springs," p. 4; Kyrias, letter, p. 1; Thompson, pp. 32-4.

References

{{coord missing, Kansas Ben Butler Forts in Kansas Buildings and structures in Cherokee County, Kansas 1863 establishments in Kansas