Contacts: Dann Hayes, University Relations, (785) 864-8855 or [email protected]; or John Spencer, director, Mine Creek Battlefield Foundation, (316) 223--4100 (July 12 and 13) and (913) 352-8379 (July 14), or Kip Lindberg, curator, Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site, (913) 352-8890.
Editors: Volunteers from the University of Kansas, the Kansas State Historical Society, Boy Scout Troop # 510 (Bel Aire/Wichita) and members of the Kansas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans will be at the Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site on Wednesday, July 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
KU SPECIALISTS HOPE TO LOCATE CONFEDERATE SOLDIER GRAVES IN KANSAS
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Historians know that during the battle of Mine Creek, more than 300 Confederate soldiers were killed, many buried where they fell in unmarked graves. Along with the burial sites, scattered and lost during the past 135 years, are other historical secrets that could help tell the tale of the battlefield.
Kip Lindberg, curator of the Mine Creek Battlefield State Historical Site near Pleasanton, Kan., about 50 miles south of Olathe, is hoping that with some help from researchers and their sophisticated equipment at the University of Kansas, he'll learn more about the 1864 battle.
"We'd like to locate the original Fort Scott road that went through this area," he said. "That would help us in placing the events of the battle. And by locating the road, we should be able to find the foundations of several of the buildings that were in the area."
The state historic site is the location for one of the largest cavalry engagements of the War Between the States, and the only major battle site found in Kansas. The Battle of Mine Creek is known for its fierce hand-to-hand combat.
Researchers from KU and the KU-based Kansas Geological Survey are assisting officials with the Kansas State Historical Society locate the historical road. They also hope to find a few of the unmarked graves of the Confederate soldiers who fell in the area.
"This isn't going to be easy," said Timothy Robert Carr, senior scientist with the Survey. "Farmers have plowed the land over the years, hiding much of the information. For example, we know that the gravesites were shallow, so years of plowing and erosion to the ground could have removed any indications of where the graves might be."
By using high-frequency ground-penetrating radar -- a device which emits high-frequency signals to locate buried items and disturbances such as graves and old roads beneath the surface -- specialists hope to locate some of the sites Lindberg is interested in, especially the location of the Fort Scott road. The GPR sends signals into the ground which then bounce back. The signals are highlighted on a computer with potential sites standing out.
Constant plowing since the 1864 battle has obscured the exact location of the original Fort Scott road. However, during an earlier visit, the GPR unit was used to uncover what could be the road's location.
The Survey is also providing aerial photos from the 1930s which, after close examination, indicate where the old Fort Scott road is located, according to Carr. A copy of the photo will be at Mine Creek on July 14.
Volunteers from KU; Boy Scout Troop #510 from Bel Aire, a suburb of Wichita; the Sons of Confederate Veterans Kansas Division; and the Kansas State Historical Society will assist in trying to locate items of historical importance from July 13 to 15. They will also begin the initial cleanup stages for the relatively new park including developing new trails, clearing brush at the site of the battle and general maintenance. The visitor center's grand opening was held in October 1998.
"Mine Creek is easily the site of the largest battle of the War Between the States in Kansas -- soldiers from at least eight states fought along the banks of Mine Creek," said John Spencer, director of the Mine Creek Battlefield Foundation. "It was also the site of the most decisive Union victory in the trans-Mississippi region."
Recently, the Mine Creek Battlefield acquired an additional 80 acres east of the visitor center. That acreage is where most of the historical search will take place.
What led to the battle? Confederate forces under commander Maj. General Sterling Price had moved into Missouri in the autumn of 1864. After several hard fought battles, Price's men were defeated in the battle of Westport (in present day Kansas City, Mo.), but were able to slip away, retreating towards Arkansas with the intent of attacking Fort Scott.
At Mine Creek, Confederate forces under Brig. General John S. Marmaduke mounted a rearguard action so a long wagon train of supplies could cross the rain-soaked creek. But Marmaduke's forces were overrun by Union troops under Maj. General Alfred Pleasanton. More than 600 Confederates were captured.
The battle site is located two miles south and one mile west of Pleasanton on K-52.
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