Samuel Walker (not to be confused with Samuel Hamilton Walker) (October 19, 1822 – February 6, 1893) was an American soldier, lawman and politician who settled in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

, and served as an officer during

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War, was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Early life

Walker was born on October 19, 1822, in

Franklin County, Pennsylvania Franklin County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 155,932. Its county seat is Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Cha ...

. After marrying Marian E. Lowe in 1842, Walker moved to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

in 1848, and worked there as a cabinet maker. In 1855 he settled permanently in

. There Walker became a founding member of the Bloomington Guards, a local militia company, in late 1855, and he was quickly elected

first sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

. In the following year Walker was elected

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 4th Kansas Cavalry, which participated in all the campaigns of the free-state men during

. In that capacity Walker was present at the sieges of Lawrence and Fort Saunders, and commanded free-state forces on August 16, 1856, at the Battle of Fort Titus, which was a free-state victory. In 1856 Walker served as a member of the short-lived Territorial House of Representatives under the

Topeka Constitution The Topeka Constitutional Convention met from October 23 to November 11, 1855, in Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, Kansas Territory, in a building afterwards called Constitution Hall (Topeka, Kansas), Constitution Hall. It drafted the Topeka Constitution, ...

, and around the same time he also was a Deputy U.S. Marshal. Walker became the sheriff of

Douglas County, Kansas Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 118,785, making it the fifth-most populous county in Kansas. The county ...

, in October 1857 and served until January 1862.

Civil War

After the

began in April 1861, Walker volunteered to fight for the Union, and he was commissioned the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of Company F, 1st Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment on June 1, 1861. In this capacity, Walker commanded the company at the

Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri. In August, Confe ...

, Missouri on August 10, 1861, where his regiment sustained over 50% casualties. Walker was promoted to a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of the

5th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment The 5th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 5th Kansas Cavalry was organized at Leavenworth, Kansas, from July 12, 1861 through January 22, 1862. Comp ...

on May 24, 1862, before being promoted lieutenant colonel of the 16th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment in October 1864. Walker participated in opposing

Price's Raid Price's Missouri Expedition (August 29 – December 2, 1864), also known as Price's raid or Price's Missouri raid, was an unsuccessful Confederate cavalry raid through Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the Ame ...

in Missouri and Kansas during the fall of 1864. In the wave of mass promotions by brevet at the war's end, he received brevet promotions to colonel and brigadier general dated to March 13, 1865.

The Powder River Expedition

In mid 1865, Major General Grenville M. Dodge ordered an expedition as a punitive campaign against the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho. Led by Brigadier General

Patrick E. Connor Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820Rodgers, 1938, p. 1 – December 17, 1891) was an Irish American soldier who served as a Union (American Civil War), Union General officer, general during the American Civil War. He is most notorious for ...

, its strategy was to have three independently marching columns of soldiers converge upon the Sioux and Cheyenne in the

Powder River Country The Powder River Country is the Powder River Basin area of the Great Plains in northeastern Wyoming, United States. The area is loosely defined as that between the Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills, in the upper drainage areas of the Powde ...

. Walker was assigned command of the middle, or center column. The column was made up of eight companies of his own 16th Kansas Cavalry joined by Company H of the 15th Kansas Cavalry with two mountain howitzer cannon. He had an aggregate force of 600 mounted men. The column started north from

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (; founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte Rivers. They joi ...

in early August 1865 and traversed the country west of the Black Hills in Dakota Territory. Marching into

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

, the command suffered from bad water, weather, supply shortages, and harassing Indian attacks. Though the western column led by Connor was able to construct Fort Connor (later renamed Fort Reno), the army was neither able to defeat the Indians nor to pacify the region. All of the forces in the field were recalled to Fort Laramie, and the 16th Kansas Cavalry along with Colonel Walker were mustered out in December 1865.

Later life

In 1865, Walker was named Major General of the Kansas Militia, and he held this rank for ten years. Walker served as the sheriff of Douglas County again, from 1868 to 1872, and as a City Marshall, to which he was elected in 1872. He was also a Republican in the State Senate from 1872 until 1874. Samuel Walker died on February 6, 1893, in Lawrence, Kansas, and is buried there in Oak Hill Cemetery.

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