Battlefield Dispatches 193: 'Worse than Guerillas'

Now wait just a minute! How on earth could anyone be "WORSE than GUERRILLAS" in the Civil War? Now if one was from Missouri & of the "Southern Persuasion, this would make perfect sense when referring to the "Kansas Jayhawkers" or "Red legs" as many of these soldiers were 'Bad to the Bone" because that is the way they & YES, the "Guerrillas" of Missouri waged war! However, this statement was made by a loyal MISSOURIAN who was a "Union" officer who described the specific way soldiers from a Kansas regiment waged war in 1864! Now let's just think for a minute! Who was one of the most despised "Union" officers in Missouri, who was from Kansas & conducted periodic raids into "The-Show-Me State" in 1861 & whose name lived on in infamy when he did the same thing as a civilian after he resigned from the "Union Army" in the spring of 1862. This of course was Charles "Doc" Jennison who organized the 7th Kansas Vol. Cavalry Regiment in the summer of 1861 whose nickname was & is Jennison's Jayhawkers!

How was this possible in 1864 when Col. Jennison was not even a regimental commander & his men were accused of being WORSE THAN GUERRILLAS which in deed they were! m the early fall of 1863, after Quantrill's successful raid on Lawrence, Kan., the good governor of Kansas in his infinite wisdom, asked Col. Jennison to recruit & organize a new Kansas cavalry regiment to help defend the Kansas border against the Missouri "bushwhackers" & guerrillas who were one & the same. This of course, Col. Jennison was happy to do & he was commissioned as the Colonel / Commanding Officer of the 15th Ks. Vol. Cavalry Regiment. Many of his soldiers were former members of the 7th Ks. Vol. Cavalry who accompanied the good "Doctor" & as part of Lanes Brigade went on a rampage & inflicted havoc & destruction in extreme western Missouri in the fall of 1861.

Then in the fall of 1864, as part of the Army of the Border, Colonel Jennison was promoted to command a "Brigade" of Union Regiments that was part of the "Union" Army that pursued the Confederates into Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas & eventually to the "Arkansas River" in the Indian Territory or present Oklahoma. This "Brigade" included soldiers from the 15th Ks. Vol. Cav. Regt. that was always posted for most of the pursuit at the rear of the Union army and saw first hand the complete destruction the Confederates did to the farms & homes on their line of march through eastern Kansas. When Jennison's Brigade found itself in Missouri & Arkansas, pursuing & returning from the pursuit of Price's Confederates it was their time to reek havoc, retaliation, revenge & retribution which they did with a vengeance!

The following General Order is located on Pages 891 & 892, Series I, Vol. 41, Part IV, Correspondence of the official Records of the War of the Rebellion.

"Hdqrs. District of South Kansas.

Paola, December 19,1864.

General Orders No. 37.

The following communication having been referred to the commanding general for action, to wit:

Cave Spring, Mo. Nov. 22, 1864.

General John B. Sanbom:

Jennison has just passed through this vicinity on his return from the Arkansas river. The night of the 19th he staid at Newtonia, the 20th at Sarcoxie and the 21st at Dry Fork. Where he passed the people are almost ruined, as their houses were robbed of the beds & clothing. In many cases every blanket & quilt were taken; also their clothing and every valuable that could be found or the citizens forced to discover. All the horses, stock, cattle, sheep, oxen and wagons were driven off. Many of them once sympathized with the rebellion, but nearly all of them have been quiet & cultivated their farms during the last year [1864], expecting the protection of U. S. Troops. Jennison crossed Coon Creek with as many as 200 head of stock cattle, half of them fit for good beef, 200 sheep, 40 or 50 yoke of work oxen, 20 or 30 wagons & a large number of horses. Jacks, jennets, say 100, as they were leading many of their broken-down horses & riding fresh ones. The 15th Kansas had nearly all this property & the men said they had taken it in Missouri. There are cases were the men tore the clothing off of the women in search of money & threatening to bum houses in order to get money is common practice. THEY ACTED WORSE THAN GUERRILLAS. Can the stock be returned to this department [of Missouri] so that the owners can get then" property?

Respectfully,

GREEN C. STOTTS

Capt. Comdg., Co. C 7th E. Missouri Militia in the U.S. Service."

"Headquarters Department of Kansas, Fort Leavenworth, December 16, 1864.

Respectfully referred to major General Blunt, commanding the District of South Kansas.

By command of Major General Curtis.

C. S. Chariot,

Assistant Adjutant General."

Was the afore mentioned property ever returned? There is no record that it ever was. What happened to Col. Charles "Doc" Jennison who was responsible for the actions of his soldiers from the 15th Kansas Vol. Cavalry Regiment. He was tried & convicted by a General Court Martial for actions that were prejudicial to the good order & discipline of the "Union" Army & was DISHONORABLY DISCHARED from the service of the United States and of Course the War Went ON!