United States Colored Troops 83rd Infantry (Union)

Baxter Springs

On October 6, 1863, Fort Blair was attacked by William Quantrill and more than three hundred guerilla troops. Though greatly outnumbered, two companies of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry and a company of the Second Kansas Colored Infantry at the fort repulsed the attack. Quantrill turned north and attacked a military supply train under Gen. James Blunt, killing nearly all of Blunt's command, many while trying to surrender. The victims are buried in the national cemetery plot west of the present town of Baxter…READ MORE

Jenkins' Ferry

At Jenkins Ferry on April 29 and 30, 1864, Union troops fought off an attack by the Confederates and, using an inflatable pontoon bridge, crossed the flooded Saline River and retreated to Little Rock. The land where this Civil War battle took place was settled by Thomas Jenkins, who started the ferry in 1815. It was run by his sons, William and John DeKalb, until the Civil War circa 1861.READ MORE