Battle of Baxter Springs

Part of the American Civil War

Date	October 6, 1863 (1863-10-06)
Location	Cherokee County, Kansas
Result	Confederate victory; Union holds fort

Belligerents

Confederate States

United States

Commanders and leaders

William C. Quantrill William T. Anderson

James B. Pond James G. Blunt

Strength

400 mounted guerrillas

96 infantry
200 cavalry
1 mountain howitzer

Casualties and losses

2 killed, 2 wounded

103 soldiers killed, 18 wounded, 10 civilians killed

The Battle of Baxter Springs, more commonly known as the Baxter Springs Massacre, was a minor battle of the American Civil War fought on October 6, 1863, near the present-day town of Baxter Springs, Kansas.

In late 1863, Quantrill's Raiders, a large band of pro-Confederate bushwhackers, was traveling south through Kansas along the Texas Road to winter in Texas. Numbering about 400, this group captured and killed two Union teamsters who had come from a small Federal Army post called Fort Blair (frequently referred to as Fort Baxter). The bushwhackers attempted to assault the fort but were repulsed, eventually retreating to the prairie, where they attacked a separate Union column, leaving only a few survivors.

Quantrill decided to attack Fort Baxter and divided his force into two columns, one under him and the other commanded by a subordinate, David Poole. Poole and his men proceeded down the Texas Road, where they encountered Union soldiers, most of whom were African Americans. They chased and attacked the Union troops, killing some before the soldiers reached the earth-and-log Fort Blair. The garrison there consisted of about 25 cavalry and 65–70 infantry of the United States Colored Troops.

Poole's column attacked the fort, but the garrison fought them off. First Lieutenant James Burton Pond received the Medal of Honor for leading the defense of the fort. The citation for his Medal of Honor reads:

The American flag remained standing over the fort thanks to the bravery of the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry, who helped rally the white federal soldiers.

Moving out on to the prairie, Quantrill's column then happened to encounter a Union detachment escorting Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt, who was moving his command headquarters south from Fort Scott, Kansas to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Quantrill's men greatly outnumbered the Union forces.

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