Jayhawkers: The Civil War Brigade of James Henry Lane
In 1861 James H. Lane, a United States senator from Kansas, received directly from President Abraham Lincoln authority to raise and command troops for service in the area along the Kansas-Missouri border. (The Federal government had not requisitioned troops from the brand-new state of Kansas in the initial call for regiments to suppress the rebellion.) Lane became what Bryce Benedict labels a “civilian general,” raising and for a while commanding what he called the “Kansas Brigade.” (As a senator, Lane could not formally accept an appointment in the military forces.) The brigade came to comprise what evolved into the 3rd, 4th and 5th Kansas Infantry Regiments. From time to time what would become the 6th Kansas Cavalry Regiment also operated with the unit. Early in 1862 command feuds forced Lane to leave military service. He returned to full-time duty in the Senate and served also as a recruiting agent for the army. In 1866 he committed suicide. During Lane’s brief period of command that brigade operated in the eastern Kansas-western Missouri area. Its activities consisted of little more than raids into the latter state to rob, burn, murder and free slaves. Lane believed that the surest way to defeat secession was to free slaves. (One wonders if he realized that Missouri had not seceded.) The brigade occasionally engaged pro-Confederate irregular forces in some very minor fights, but it took part in no significant engagements. After Lane departed the brigade’s regiment served with other Union forces. Benedict has chosen to tell the story of Lane’s brief period of command in such excruciating, mind-numbing detail that most readers will find it a real chore to get through the book. I cannot recommend it to anyone who does not have a special interest in the area, Lane or the units comprising the brigade. Reviewer: Richard M. McMurry Richard M. McMurry's latest book (edited) is An Uncompromising Secessionist: The Civil War of George Knox Miller, 8th (Wade's) Confederate Cavalry. |
Illustrated, notes, bibliography, index, 343 pp., 2009. University of Oklahoma Press, 2800 Venture Dr., Norman, OK 73069, $32.95 plus shipping.