1st Independent Battery Kansas Light Artillery
Encyclopedia
1st Independent Battery Kansas Light Artillery was an artillery
battery
that served in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
.
and mustered in for a three years on July 24, 1861 under the command of Captain Thomas Moonlight
.
This unit was formed from artillery companies that were raised for the 3rd Kansas Infantry and 4th Kansas Infantry. Because both regiments did not complete organization, recruits to the artillery were reassigned and consolidated by authority of Special Orders No. 42, District of Kansas, dated April 24, 1862. The 1st Kansas Battery's organization was effected about June l, 1862. A previous attempt had been made to transfer Captain Bickerton's Artillery Company of the 3rd Kansas Infantry to the 1st Kansas Infantry
as an artillery organization, and to break up Captain Thomas Moonlight's Artillery Company of the 4th Kansas Infantry and distribute it among the companies of the same regiment as infantry. However, the recruits were unhappy with this idea and on advice from Brigadier General
Samuel D. Sturgis
the order was modified and the consolidation was made in accordance with Special Orders No. 42.
The battery was attached to Department of Kansas
to August 1862. 2nd Brigade, Department of Kansas, to October 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Frontier
, Department of the Missouri
, to February 1863. District of Rolla, Department of the Missouri, to June 1863. District of Columbus, Kentucky, 6th Division, XVI Corps, Department of the Tennessee, to November 1863. Defenses of the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad, District of Nashville, Department of the Cumberland, and 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XX Corps, Department of the Cumberland, to November 1864. 2nd Colored Brigade, District of the Etowah, Department of the Cumberland, to January 1865. Reserve Artillery, District of Nashville, Department of the Cumberland, to July 1865.
The 1st Kansas Battery mustered out of service on July 17, 1865.
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
that served in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Service
The battery was organized at Mound City, KansasMound City, Kansas
Mound City is a city in and the county seat of Linn County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 694.-Geography:Mound City is located at...
and mustered in for a three years on July 24, 1861 under the command of Captain Thomas Moonlight
Thomas Moonlight
Thomas Moonlight was a United States politician and general.-Birth:Thomas was baptised on 30 September 1833 in St Vigeans, Angus, Scotland with birth record number 319/0040 0169...
.
This unit was formed from artillery companies that were raised for the 3rd Kansas Infantry and 4th Kansas Infantry. Because both regiments did not complete organization, recruits to the artillery were reassigned and consolidated by authority of Special Orders No. 42, District of Kansas, dated April 24, 1862. The 1st Kansas Battery's organization was effected about June l, 1862. A previous attempt had been made to transfer Captain Bickerton's Artillery Company of the 3rd Kansas Infantry to the 1st Kansas Infantry
1st Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry
The 1st Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 1st Kansas Infantry was organized at Camp Lincoln near Leavenworth, Kansas, May 20 - June 30, 1861 and mustered in for three years. The greatest number of...
as an artillery organization, and to break up Captain Thomas Moonlight's Artillery Company of the 4th Kansas Infantry and distribute it among the companies of the same regiment as infantry. However, the recruits were unhappy with this idea and on advice from Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Samuel D. Sturgis
Samuel D. Sturgis
Samuel Davis Sturgis was an American military officer who served in the Mexican-American War, as a Union general in the American Civil War, and later in the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
the order was modified and the consolidation was made in accordance with Special Orders No. 42.
The battery was attached to Department of Kansas
Department of Kansas
The Department of Kansas was a Union Army command department in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. This department existed in three different forms during the war.-1861:...
to August 1862. 2nd Brigade, Department of Kansas, to October 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Frontier
Army of the Frontier
The Army of the Frontier was a Union army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the Civil War. It fought in several minor engagements in Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas...
, Department of the Missouri
Department of the Missouri
Department of the Missouri was a division of the United States Army that functioned through the American Civil War and the Indian Wars afterwards.-Civil War:...
, to February 1863. District of Rolla, Department of the Missouri, to June 1863. District of Columbus, Kentucky, 6th Division, XVI Corps, Department of the Tennessee, to November 1863. Defenses of the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad, District of Nashville, Department of the Cumberland, and 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XX Corps, Department of the Cumberland, to November 1864. 2nd Colored Brigade, District of the Etowah, Department of the Cumberland, to January 1865. Reserve Artillery, District of Nashville, Department of the Cumberland, to July 1865.
The 1st Kansas Battery mustered out of service on July 17, 1865.
Detailed service
Attached to Lane's Kansas Brigade and operations about Fort Scott and on line of the Marmiton August and September 1861. Actions at Ball's Mills August 28. Morse's Mill August 29. Dogwood Creek near Fort Scott September 2. Morristown September 17. Osceola September 21–22. Duty at Fort Scott until May 1862. Expedition into Indian Territory May 25-August 15. Action at Grand River June 6. Locust Grove July 3. Bayou Bernard July 27. Blunt's Campaign in Missouri and Arkansas September 17-December 3. Expedition to Sarcoxie September 28–30. Action at Newtonia September 29–30. Occupation of Newtonia October 4. Old Fort Wayne or Beattie's Prairie near Maysville October 22. Cane Hill November 28. Battle of Prairie Grove, Ark., December 7. Expedition over Boston Mountains to Van Buren December 27–31. Moved to Springfield, Mo., January 1863, and duty there until February 17. Moved to Forsyth, Mo., then to Fort Scott, Kansas. Duty in Missouri and Kansas, District of Rolla, until July 1863. Ordered to St. Louis, Mo., July 5, then to Cairo, Ill., July 18. Duty in District of Columbus, Ky., until November. Ordered to Nashville, Tenn., and assigned to duty on line of the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad until November 1864. Moved to Nashville, Tenn. Battle of Nashville December 15–16. Post duty at Nashville until January 1865, and at Chattanooga, Tenn., until July.See also
- List of Kansas Civil War Units
- Kansas in the Civil WarKansas in the Civil WarEven before the outbreak of the American Civil War, the territory of Kansas had been the scene of fighting between anti-slavery and pro-slavery forces...