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Gov. Blunt Commemorates Missouri’s Role in Civil War with New Historic Site
JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt announced today that Missouri’s newest state historic site will commemorate one of the most significant milestones in the Civil War.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has acquired a historic civil war property that is associated with the Battle of Island Mound where black soldiers engaged in combat for the first time in the Civil War. The 40 acres property, located about eight miles southwest of Butler in Bates County, will be developed into a state historic site.
“Missouri played a unique and critical role in the war between the
states. In Missouri, the Civil War truly pitted family against family, neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother,” Gov. Blunt said. “This historic site in Butler County is significant not only to our state’s history but our nation’s. It is very appropriate that this site be added to the Missouri state park system.”
The first black men to wear federal uniforms were recruited in the summer of 1862 along the Missouri-Kansas border, and, within a month, seven companies of the First Kansas Colored Infantry were formed. This was a full two and half months before the Lincoln administration had authorized the enlistment of black fighting units.
During the fall of 1862, two battalions of the First Kansas Colored Infantry were sent into Bates County, which had become a haven for guerrillas and Confederate recruiters who were active along the Missouri-Kansas border. The soldiers operated out of a log home that had been commandeered from local Southern sympathizers. The soldiers called their home “Fort Africa.” The skirmish or “Battle of Island Mound” occurred on October 29, 1862, when approximately 30 black troops were ambushed by some 130 rebel horsemen near a low hill known as Island Mound close to the Marias-des-Cygnes River.
The 40 acres property that will become the historic site includes the site of “Fort Africa”. Gov. Blunt requested that an appropriation within the state park budget be included for the purchase of this property, and it was approved during the 2008 legislative session.
“With the state and the nation preparing for the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, it is very timely that we acquire this site. It adds a significant site to our efforts to interpret this important part of history,” said Doyle Childers, Department of Natural Resources director.
Development at the site will focus on providing access and interpretation. Although the property is now owned by the Department of Natural Resources, the effort to develop and interpret the site will be a cooperative one. The department will work cooperatively with the local Bates County Historical Society to interpret the site. The Missouri State Parks Foundation has agreed to engage in a fund-raising effort to raise money for development and interpretation. A part of that effort will involve gaining access to the portion of Island Mound battlefield where much of the most desperate fighting occurred.
The department’s first step will be to begin an archaeological assessment this winter to determine the extent of the cultural resources of the property. This assessment will help guide a conceptual development plan for the site. As in conceptual development plans for all new state parks and historic sites, there will be many opportunities for public input, including public meetings in the local area and beyond.
The department hopes to have the historic site open by 2011 in time for the Civil War sesquicentennial.
JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt announced today that Missouri’s newest state historic site will commemorate one of the most significant milestones in the Civil War.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has acquired a historic civil war property that is associated with the Battle of Island Mound where black soldiers engaged in combat for the first time in the Civil War. The 40 acres property, located about eight miles southwest of Butler in Bates County, will be developed into a state historic site.
“Missouri played a unique and critical role in the war between the
states. In Missouri, the Civil War truly pitted family against family, neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother,” Gov. Blunt said. “This historic site in Butler County is significant not only to our state’s history but our nation’s. It is very appropriate that this site be added to the Missouri state park system.”
The first black men to wear federal uniforms were recruited in the summer of 1862 along the Missouri-Kansas border, and, within a month, seven companies of the First Kansas Colored Infantry were formed. This was a full two and half months before the Lincoln administration had authorized the enlistment of black fighting units.
During the fall of 1862, two battalions of the First Kansas Colored Infantry were sent into Bates County, which had become a haven for guerrillas and Confederate recruiters who were active along the Missouri-Kansas border. The soldiers operated out of a log home that had been commandeered from local Southern sympathizers. The soldiers called their home “Fort Africa.” The skirmish or “Battle of Island Mound” occurred on October 29, 1862, when approximately 30 black troops were ambushed by some 130 rebel horsemen near a low hill known as Island Mound close to the Marias-des-Cygnes River.
The 40 acres property that will become the historic site includes the site of “Fort Africa”. Gov. Blunt requested that an appropriation within the state park budget be included for the purchase of this property, and it was approved during the 2008 legislative session.
“With the state and the nation preparing for the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, it is very timely that we acquire this site. It adds a significant site to our efforts to interpret this important part of history,” said Doyle Childers, Department of Natural Resources director.
Development at the site will focus on providing access and interpretation. Although the property is now owned by the Department of Natural Resources, the effort to develop and interpret the site will be a cooperative one. The department will work cooperatively with the local Bates County Historical Society to interpret the site. The Missouri State Parks Foundation has agreed to engage in a fund-raising effort to raise money for development and interpretation. A part of that effort will involve gaining access to the portion of Island Mound battlefield where much of the most desperate fighting occurred.
The department’s first step will be to begin an archaeological assessment this winter to determine the extent of the cultural resources of the property. This assessment will help guide a conceptual development plan for the site. As in conceptual development plans for all new state parks and historic sites, there will be many opportunities for public input, including public meetings in the local area and beyond.
The department hopes to have the historic site open by 2011 in time for the Civil War sesquicentennial.
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