Missouri/Kansas Border War Network

 

With 2011 being the 150th anniversary of the official start of the Civil War, the members of the Missouri Kansas Border War Network are working hard to connect the places, events and stories of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas during the civil strife which took place from 1854 to 1865.

 The Missouri/Kansas Border War Network, which is funded by a Missouri Humanities Council grant, is an association of museums and historical societies that have joined together to promote their sites and preserve the stories of the Missouri-Kansas Border War. Its members include museums and historical societies from Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Cass, Bates and Vernon counties in Missouri and Johnson, Douglas and Miami counties in Kansas.Throughout the year MO/KS Border War Network members sponsor and plan commemorations, reenactments, exhibits, educational programs and other activities to remember and share the stories of the conflict.

 The Battle of Lone Jack, MO

Saturday, August 20, 2011, marked the 149th anniversary of the Battle of Lone Jack. About 1,000 Lone Jack citizens and area Civil War enthusiasts came out to commemorate the battle and those who fought with a memorial service, parade, craft fair, carnival, recognition of veterans and residents, historical reminisces, musical performances and more.

 A Veterans’ Wall was also erected to honor Lone Jack area service members. The wall displays 270 names of veterans from the Civil War up to current military personnel.

 The first Battle of Lone Jack commemoration occurred in 1867 and was a reunion for Union soldiers. The following year Confederate soldiers were also invited. The city has continued to have commemoration events nearly every year since, often combining it with the Lone Jack picnic. In the past, the Governor and other politicians would attend as it was the kickoff of the political season for Jackson County.

 “President Truman used to come out to the picnic as a boy with his parents and grandparents,” said Alinda Miller, president of the Lone Jack Historical Society. “That’s where he got some of his first exposure to politics.”

 Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the battle, and the Lone Jack Historical Society will be sponsoring a reenactment on August 18-19, 2012. For more information on the Battle of Lone Jack visit www.historiclonejack.org.

 The Battle of Morristown, MO

The Battle of Morristown took place September 17, 1861, the same day as the battle of Lexington. Although it’s thought to be somewhat insignificant in the realm of big Missouri battles, it was the biggest battle in Cass County and very prominent because Morristown was the closest jump off point for Kansans coming into Missouri.

 “At the time of the battle, there were probably 200 people living in Morristown. It had an industrious population with a mill and two or three general stores, doctors, ministers, saddlers, carpenters, millwrights and carriage makers. It was catching up with Harrisonville in population,” said Jay Roberts, one of the Battle of Morristown commemoration event planners and a member of the Cass County Civil War Roundtable. “If the Kansans could capture Morristown, they would have a foothold in Missouri.”

To commemorate the battle, a group of about 80 people joined Roberts and others from the Cass County Civil War Roundtable, Cass County Historical Society, Cass County Library and the West Line Community Center on Saturday, August 20, for an educational presentation about what led to the battle and who participated, the plan of attack and the battle itself, featuring maps, artifacts and a diorama of the battlefield. From there, they took a tour of the battlefield and went to the cemetery. At the cemetery, they visited the graves of five townspeople including John C. Morris whom Morristown was named after, fighter John Ed Berry, fighter William Dolan and his wife, Annie Guthrie Dolan, and fighter Fielding Bybee. The group also stopped by property where five Confederate men were killed after being forced to dig their own graves by the attacking Kansans. After the tour, the group returned to West Line Community Center for live impersonations of the five townspeople whose graves they visited followed by a Civil War meal featuring beans, ham and desserts using Civil War recipes and a short meeting on the area’s history.

For more information on the Battle of Morristown and other events in Cass County visit www.casscountyhistoricalsociety.org.

The Dig at Island Mound

The story of the Battle of Island Mound continues to gain notoriety on both a regional and a national scale. In brief, this was the first time African-American soldiers, with African-American officers, fought the enemy in battle. The 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry fought with Confederate guerrillas in Bates County on October 29, 1862—two months prior to President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and the beginning of African-Americans being recruited into the Union Army. 

 This past June, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources sent archaeologists to Bates County for 10 days to survey the property that is the Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site. They used the Bates County Museum as their headquarters and set-up a ‘lab’ in the meeting hall. They set aside one day for visitors and had more than 70 people take advantage of the opportunity to see artifacts and learn more about the battle.

 The Missouri Archaeology Society will be hosting their Annual Fall Symposium as part of Archaeology Month on September 16–18 at the Bates County Museum. The Symposium theme is The Civil War in Missouri and will consist of academic presentations about Civil War archaeology in Missouri. The Symposium presentations and field trip are free and open to the public. For more information on the Symposium or to register visit http://associations.missouristate.edu/mas/archaeologymonth.html#archaemos.

 Upcoming Events

Interested in seeing what these events are all about? Listed below are some of the MO/KS Border War Network’s upcoming events. Be sure to check out their website, http://moksbwn.net, for more information on these events and others across the state lines.

 September 10

Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Blue Mills Landing, Shoal Creek Park, Liberty, MO

 September 16-18

Missouri Archaeology Society Annual Fall Symposium, Bates County Museum, Butler, MO

 September 17-18

Battle of Lexington Reenactment, Lexington, MO

 September 24

Austin Bean Eatin’: Annual commemoration of the traditional campfire beans, cornbread meal with music, and traditional games, crafts Austin, MO

 September 24

Annual Reunion at Papinville, Bates County, MO

 October 8

Bates County 4th Annual Civil War Heritage Day: Bates County native and author of The Border between Them, Dr. Jeremy Neely will speak about the Border War and its important place in history at 10 a.m. A free-will offering Chili & Soup Dinner will follow. Bates County Museum, Butler, MO.

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