Lindberg to speak at annual Battlefield

By Jason E. Silvers

The Fort Scott Tribune

Former Mine Creek Battlefield Site administrator Kip Lindberg will be the featured speaker during the Mine Creek Battlefield Foundation's 10th Annual Blue and Gray Banquet at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Liberty Theatre, 113 S. Main St.

The event will feature Lindberg, who is currently the director of the United States Army Chemical Corps Museum in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., musical entertainment by local musical duo Fuss and Feathers, a quilt raffle, and an auction of items associated with the Civil War. Guests will also be able to enjoy a full-course dinner and dessert during the event, which will benefit the Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site near Pleasanton.

Lindberg, an important part of the site's history, is scheduled to speak about the formation of the historic site and it's first few years of development, as well as the history of the site's 3,000-square-foot visitor center, which opened in late 1998, according to Mine Creek Battlefield Foundation Board Member Darren Crays.

"He's pretty important," Crays said. "He was the (site's) first curator and he was an instrumental component in getting things off the ground up there. He worked alongside the foundation. He will talk about the beginnings of the site and how things got started."

Lindberg served as administrator of the historic site from 1997 to 2001. During his tenure, he completed extensive research on the Civil War battle, and co-founded the Mine Creek Battlefield Foundation. He has written numerous articles on Trans-Mississippi Civil War topics, including the Battle of Mine Creek, the Battle of Lone Jack, the Battle of Honey Springs, and the Baxter Springs Massacre.

Lindberg also served as an advisor for Bill Kurtis Productions during the company's filming of "Mine Creek -- The Lost Battle of the Civil War" in 2004 in Linn and Bourbon counties. Kurtis, a noted television host and producer, was the guest speaker at last year's banquet.

The auction will feature several Civil War-related items and memorabilia, many of which are replicas of actual items or products from the war. Items that will be sold include books, clothing, artwork, ammunition, items that would be sold in a post sutler store during the mid-1800s, and others.

The historic site, operated by the Kansas State Historical Society, is a repository and tells the story of the Oct. 25, 1864 Civil War battle between U.S. Army and Confederate forces along the banks of Mine Creek. The Mine Creek Battlefield Foundation, a non-profit group, helps support the site. Ownership of the site is divided equally between the foundation and the KSHS, Crays said.

The public is invited to attend the banquet. Tickets, which cost $25 each, are available at the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, the Country Cupboard, the Liberty Theatre, and the Mine Creek Battlefield Site just south of Pleasanton. The doors of the theater will open at 6:30 p.m., with dinner being served at 7 p.m.

All proceeds from the event go toward the foundation to help fund battlefield and site development, Crays said.

"It's our main fundraiser each year," he said.

For more information about the event, call the site at (913) 352-8890.