This
is the last of a series looking at the battles that involved the 1st
Kansas Colored Regiment. After their participation in the Camden Expedition
(read here), they returned to garrison and fatigue duties. With a year still left
in the war and their placement in war-torn Indian Territory, it was inevitable
that they would experience more violence in some form. This occurred during a
major raid of northern Indian Territory, conducted by Cherokee Colonel Stand
Watie and the Texan General Richard Gano. This raid climaxed with an assault on
a wagon train at Cabin Creek, the sight of a 1st Kansas victory.
Though this blog post is centered around the Second Battle of Cabin Creek, the 1st
Kansas was only present in two smaller, related incidents. The first was a
fight and massacre at Flat Rock Creek and the second a brief encounter after
the raid in which the infantry did not engage. For the historical background of
Cabin Creek, I refer you to my post on the July battle there.
Back
in Indian Territory, the men in the 1st Kansas Colored found
themselves working in hay collecting detachments. This hay fed the horses,
mules, cows, and other animal essential for transporting supplies or providing
food and milk. These detachments were constant targets of raids and many small
fights ensued. In these casualty-light skirmishes, either the Federals drove
off the mounted raiders with a few volleys or the Confederates got to the hay
and set it on fire. Since the assailants came in small bands, the Federals were
not prepared for any sizeable raiding force. This is one factor that would lead
to disaster in September of 1864.[1]
Wagons for
Indian Territory
 |
| Stand Watie |
In three years of war, Indian Territory was in a bad place. Battles, raids, internecine violence, and theft had absolutely devastated the countryside. Most of the Indians still living in the warzone were soldiers themselves. The families of pro-Union soldiers sought refuge in Kansas and those on the other side went to Texas. Neutral Indians either tried to lay low or took refuge with the others. Thousands of pro-Union refugees remained in Indian Territory and clustered around Fort Gibson. This boosted the logistical drain on the Union’s Trans-Mississippi forces and necessitated continual supply runs. In the summer of 1864 the Arkansas River flooded, enabling steamboats to travel in. This was a swifter alternative to long, dragging wagon trains.[2]
Both sides found themselves in straitened circumstances, but the Confederates had the worst of it. Their morale throughout Indian Territory was at an all-time low. Desertions occurred at an alarming rate, and so many of the quitters were going over to join the Union side that one general groused it would be better to simply hunt them down and kill them as soon as they ran off. [3] Desperate to turn things around, Colonel Stand Watie, the head of the pro-Confederate Cherokees, had been pushing for a major raid since the start of the 1864. One officer, reporting the Indian’s request “to create a diversion with the enemy” between Forts Smith and Gibson, commented, “This has been a favorite expedition with Colonel Watie for some time.”[4]
