Colonel George Veale had made sure that fifteen of his "fallen heroes" were laid to rest in their proper place and with a proper funeral, but what became of the remaining men from the 2nd Kansas Militia who gave their lives at the Big Blue River?
Private James Eagle owned a hotel on the California Trail near Big Springs in Douglas County. After he was killed at the Battle of Mockbee Farm his body was brought back to Big Springs and was laid to rest at the East View Cemetery. Although Big Springs was in neighboring Douglas County, it supplied Shawnee County with Company F of the 2nd KSM.
Private Robert Campbell was also from F Company and his remains were returned to Kansas by family members as well. Private Campbell was interred near the family farm in Southeast Shawnee County at the Zion Cemetery near present day Watson, Kansas.
Lt.William DeLong of Co. G died from his injuries long after the battle, in a Kansas City hospital. His remains were then brought back to his hometown, the tiny berg of Auburn, Kansas, and were interred at the Auburn Cemetery in southwest Shawnee County.
The burial site of Merrick Race has been previously established but what became of the remains of the other six men who gave their lives for Shawnee County? This question remains (to me) unanswered but the memory of their passing shouldn't be. These are the names of the "missing six" of the 2nd Kansas Militia, whose burial place is lost or unknown:
Ben Hughes
Dennis Ray
Moses Banks
William Waln
Elias Roberts
David Fultz
There is scant information about the lives of these men but what little I have found will be discussed in the next entry.
The Battle of The Blue
Rebel forces charge the Topeka Battery at Mockbee farm, original painting by Benjamin Mileham
Jeff, I am super excited to find your site. This information is really helping me to solve my own mystery, and I may be able to provide a small lead. I am working on a paper about the Huron Indian Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. Within the cemetery there is a plaque indicating a mass grave of Union soldiers who died at the Battle of Westport. Lyda Conley, the "defender of the Huron Cemetery" would later speak of the dead from the "Battle of the Blue" buried within the cemetery. On following research trying to find out who these soldiers were, I found a book written by Richard J. Hinton regarding the Battle of Westport, written in 1865. "Rebel Invasion of Missouri and Kansas and the Campaign of the Army of" You can find it in the UM digital library. On page 140 and 141 Colonel Veale's words tell of taking the 24 killed and burying them in a cemetery in Wyandotte (now Kansas City), then later moving the majority of them to Topeka. These six may be still interred there in a small mass grave.
ReplyDeleteAnyway--I hope this little bit of info helps. I am very pleased to have stumbled upon your site because it has filled in some of my gaps. Thanks.
C. Perez