USA > Kansas > A history of Kansas > Part 15
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HISTORY OF KANSAS.
433. Relic of 1794 .- The antiquity of the navigation of the Kansas river was demonstrated by the finding, in digging for the foundation of the bridge across the river at Topeka, of the rudder of a boat, with the date "1794" carved upon it.
434. Sunday School by Telephone .- Kansas, in 1897, furnished the only example of a Sunday School conducted by telephone. The school was that of the First Methodist Church, at Wichita, which was directed through the phone from his siek bed by Mr. W. E. Stanley, afterwards Gov- ernor of Kansas.
The 29th of January was, in 1897, formally observed by both branches of the Legislature as "Kansas Day."
435. Omaha Exposition .- The year 1898 was a period of hope and prosperity, and one of the matters which engaged early attention was a proper representation of the State at the Omaha Exposition. A commission was appointed, and the State divided into four districts for the purpose of furnishing exhibits.
On the 27th of May, 1898, Professor Henry Worral, of Topeka, who assisted in the arrangement of the Kansas exhibit at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, stated that the Kansas display at Omaha would be ready on the day of opening, the first State to have its exhibit prepared. The Exhibition closed in October, 1898; was visited by many thousands of Kansas people; and throughout its continu- ance the Kansas department, which was particularly fine in its agricultural and mineral divisions, was a leading attraction.
436. Tax Receipts. - An added evidence of the renewed prosperity of the State was the receipt at the
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THE YEARS 1897 AND 1898.
State treasury, in the month of January, of $1,500,000 in taxes. There had never been before an instance of so large a payment of taxes due so early in the year.
437. Fire at the State University .- On the 22d of March, the powerhouse, engine-room, and machine shops of the Kansas State University were destroyed by fire. The citizens of Lawrence advanced $20,000 for machinery and apparatus for the restoration, and Mr. George A. Fowler, of Kansas City, Mo., generously erected a new building, at a cost of $21,000.
438. Ev-Governor Thomas A. Osborn .- Ex-Gover- nor Thomas A. Osborn died at Meadville, Pa., on the 4th of February, 1898. He was born at Meadville, October 26, 1836. He learned the printer's trade, and read law in Pennsylvania, and came to Kansas Territory in 1857. On his arrival he worked first at his trade, in Lawrence, and received the thanks of the editor and proprietor of the Herald of Freedom for his efficiency as foreman; afterwards he practised his profession at Elwood, Doniphan county. The bent of his genius lay, however, in Ex-Governor Thomas A. Osborn. the direction of politics, and he was elected from Doniphan county to the State Senate, and chosen president pro tem. of that body. In 1862 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor. In 1864 he was appointed United States Marshal. In 1872 he was elected Governor, and re-elected in 1874. In 1877 he was appointed United States Minister to Chili, and in 1881 to Brazil. After his return from abroad, Governor Osborn fixed his residence in Topeka, and represented Shawnee county in
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HISTORY OF KANSAS.
the State Senate. He was on a visit to his native place at the time of his death. Governor Osborn was a man of winning manners and distinguished appearance, one of the most popular of the publie men of Kansas. His funeral at Topeka was attended by the fast diminishing company of Kansas Governors, and a great concourse of people.
439. State Election .- At the November election of 1898, the Republican ticket for State officers was eleeted: Governor, W. E. Stanley; Lieutenant-Governor, H. E. Richter; Secretary of State, George A. Clark; Treasurer, Frank E. Grimes; Auditor, George E. Cole; Attorney- General, A. A. Goddard; Superintendent of Public Instrue- tion, Frank Nelson; Associate Justice, William R. Smith.
Of the members of Congress, the Republicans elected: W. J. Bailey, Congressman-at-Large; Charles Curtis, First District; J. D. Bowersock, Second District; J. M. Miller, Fourth Distriet; W. A. Calderhead, Fifth Distriet; W. A. Reeder, Sixth District; Chester I. Long, Seventh Distriet. The Populists elected E. R. Ridgely, in the Third Dis- triet.
440. War with Spain .- In Kansas, peaceful and pros- perons during the year 1898, the thought of the people was yet of war-the war with Spain, and the war in the Phil- ippines, brought on by the attack on the United States troops by the natives.
The event which created the most enthusiasm was the victory of Admiral Dewey at Manila, on the 1st of May, 1898. Kansas never before saw so many American flags unfurled to the air as in honor of the triumph of the American navy.
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THE YEARS 1897 AND 1898.
Kansas, far from the ocean, in the heart and centre of the continent, could hardly be expected to furnish men for the navy, and great enthusiasm was aroused by the discovery that a number of Kansas sailors participated in the battle of Manila. Their names were published with great pride throughout the length and breadth of the State.
SUMMARY.
1. The longest Legislative session held in Kansas was that of 1897; Wm. A. Harris was elected U. S. Senator.
2. Garden City illustrates successful irrigation; an underground river discovered in Central Kansas.
3. Large oil refinery built at Neodesha.
4. The reduction of indebtedness in seven years was $100,000,000.
5. Many old citizens died in the year 1897.
6. The first chapter of the Sons of the Revolution organized in February.
7. Kansas made good display in all departments at the Omaha Exposition.
8. Fire at University destroyed valuable property.
9. W. E. Stanley elected Governor.
10. Ex-Governor Osborn died in Meadville, Pa.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
KANSAS IN THE WAR.
441. Colonel Fred. Funston and Cuba .- Kansas people sympathized from the first with the Cubans in their struggle against the tyranny of Spain, and their knowledge of the situation was increased by the arrival from Cuba, in January, 1898, of Colonel Fred. Funston, a "Kansas boy," a former student of the State University, with home and friends in Kansas, after a service of two years in the insur- gent army in Cuba, and who spoke in many places on the incidents and the lesson of the Cuban war for freedom. The people of Kansas were deeply moved by the sufferings of the hapless Cuban non-combatants; the starving to death of 150,000 people, and the evident determination of the Spanish to exterminate the Cuban race.
442. Destruction of the Maine .- The treacherous destruction of the Maine, in the harbor of Havana, stirred the indignation of the citizens of Kansas, as it did of all loyal Americans. They waited, however, the result of the investigation, and in the meantime were generous partici- pators in the effort to relieve the starving Cubans, especially at Matanzas.
443. Events of Moment .- The succession of events was watched with the most intense interest; the passage of the emergency bill appropriating $50,000,000 for the defence of the United States; the message of President
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KANSAS IN THE WAR.
Mckinley with the Maine report; the President's message recommending the intervention of the United States; the passage by Congress of the intervention resolutions; the sub- mission of the President's ultimatum to Spain; the beginning of the war by the act of Spain in breaking off diplomatic relations with us. Kansas, in every step for the protection of the honor of the United States, stood by the Government.
444. Volunteers. -- The President's call for 125,000 men was issued on the 23d of April. But Kansas did not wait for the call. On the 18th of April a company of eighty men marched to the office of Governor Leedy, followed by a great crowd, and offered their services for the war, which the Governor promised to accept on the first call. On the 18th of April a tender was made Secretary of War Alger by General Charles McCrum, of the Kansas National Guards, for any needed service at any time.
The quota of Kansas when the call came was announced as 2,230 men. Governor Leedy summoned to his aid Colonel Fred. Funston, probably the only man in Kansas who had seen military service in Cuba, and the work of recruiting three regiments of volunteer infantry began at once.
445. Action of Kansas University and the State Normal .- The desire to enlist ran high among the young men of Kansas, and was manifested in the higher educational institutions. The council of the State University felt impelled to issue a circular, advising students to weigh the question well in their hearts and consciences before enlisting, but if they heard the voice of honor and country call, to receive the blessing of their alma mater and the admonition, "Go, and God bless you." Members of the senior class enlisting were granted their diplomas without waiting for graduation.
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HISTORY OF KANSAS.
The State Normal School extended the same courtesy to its soldier-students.
446. At Camp Leedy .- It was soon announced that in Kansas the policy adopted in some of the States, of enlist- ing the National Guard organizations into the volunteer service, would not be followed, but that the regiments would be raised without regard to existing militia organiza- tions. The first Kansas company recruited at Kansas City, Kan., was largely made up of men from Company B of the First Regiment, Kansas National Guard. This company was enrolled on the 29th of April, and left for Topeka on the 30th, and would have been the first in "Camp Leedy," as the State Camp laid out at the Fair Grounds at Topeka was called, had not the Topeka company marched out to camp in the morning, before the Kansas City soldiers arrived. The Topeka and Kansas City companies, however, "opened" Camp Leedy. There was a vigorous effort made to have Fort Leavenworth, where many of the Kansas regiments were mustered in the Civil War, adopted as the State ren- dezvous, but "Camp Leedy" continued during the war to be the spot where the Kansas soldier entered his country's service, while Fort Leavenworth was his place of exit from it.
Recruiting offices were established at various points in the State, but the recruiting officers had an easy task. To raise a company was, at most, a matter of a few days. At Emporia the quota was filled in four hours.
447. Major Joseph K. Hudson, a Brigadier-General. -Governor Leedy, by the 5th of May, was able to inform the War Department that two regiments were ready at Camp Leedy.
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KANSAS IN THE WAR.
On the 27th of May, Major Joseph K. Hudson, who had won his title in the old Tenth Kansas and the Sixty-Second United States Volunteers, was nominated as a Brigadier- General from Kansas.
448. The Twentieth .- It was decided that in number- ing the regiments, allowance would be made for the seventeen regiments Kansas raised in the Civil War, and the two recruited afterwards to fight the Indians, and accordingly the first Kansas regi- ment enrolled in the war against Spain should be numbered the Twentieth, which number came to be heard of on both sides of the world. The Twentieth Kan- sas Volunteers was made up of the twelve General J. K. Hudson. companies recruited at Topeka, Kansas City, Kan .; Leaven- worth, Fort Scott, Independence, Ottawa, Osawatomie, Abi- lene, Salina, Lawrence, Leroy, and Pittsburg, and was mustered into the service of the United States on the 13th of May, 1898, with the following regimental officers: Colonel, Frederick Funston; Lieutenant-Colonel, Edward C. Little; Senior-Major, Frank H. Whitman; Junior-Major, Wilder S. Metcalf; Adjutant, William A. Deford; Quartermaster, Lafayette C. Smith; Surgeon, John A. Rafter; Assistant- Surgeon, Charles S. Huffman; Assistant-Surgeon, Henry D. Smith; Chaplain, John G. Schliermann.
449. The Twenty-First .- The companies from King- man, Wichita, Eldorado, Winfield, Great Bend, Larned, Osage City, Hays City, Norton, Smith Centre, and Wellington, contributed to form the Twenty-First Regi- ment, and were mustered on the 14th of May, with
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HISTORY OF KANSAS.
Colonel Thomas G. Fitch, commanding; Lieutenant-Colonel, Charles MeCrum; Senior-Major, Harry A. Smith; Junior- Major, W. L. Brown; Adjutant, John Nicholson; Quarter- master, John C. Little; Surgeon, Frank C. Armstrong; Assistant-Surgeon, C. E. Biddell; Assistant-Surgeon, F. W. Turner; Chaplain, W. E. Woodward.
450. The Twenty-Second. - The Twenty-Second Regiment was mustered on the 17th of May, made up of the TUSY companies from Columbus, Parsons, Atchison, Seneca, Holton, Concordia, Clay Centre, Blue Rapids, Beloit, Colonel Thomas G. Fitch. Emporia and McPherson. Company H of this regiment was made up of students volunteering from the State Normal School, the State Agricultural College, the State University, Washburn College, and the College of Emporia. The regimental officers of the Twenty- Second were: Colonel, Henry C. Lind- sey; Lieutenant-Colonel, James Graham; Major, A. M. Harvey; Major, Charles Doster; Adjutant, Clay Allen; Quarter- master, H. A. Lamb; Surgeon, John P. Stewart; Assistant-Surgeon, L. C. Duncan; Assistant-Surgeon, W. F. DeNeideman; Chaplain, V. H. Bidde- Colonel Lindsey. son.
The three regiments were sworn into the service of the United States by Lieutenant W. F. Clark, U. S. A., on duty as professor of military science at Baker University, Baldwin City, Kan.
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KANSAS IN THE WAR.
451. To the Field .- On the 16th of May, 1898, the Twentieth Regiment broke camp at Topeka, and took the Union Pacific for San Francisco, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Little, Colonel Funston having been called for a time to Washington. The regiment traveled in a train of two sections to Junction City, and westward from that point in three. All through Kansas the soldiers were enthusiastically received. The regiment reached Oak- land and San Francisco without accident, and began at once their actual life as soldiers. The Twenty-First was the next to leave, journeying to the great camp on the old field of Chickamauga, and after a brief interval, on the 25th of May, 1898, the Twenty-Second left Camp Leedy for Camp - Alger, near Falls Church, Va. Thus, by the 1st of June, Kansas had three regiments mustered into the service of the United States, and in camps of instruction.
452. Colored Troops; the Twenty-Third .- On the 21st of June, Governor Leedy announced his intention of raising two battalions of colored troops, under the Presi- dent's call for 25,000 men. James Beck, of Riley county, and John M. Brown, of Shawnee county, were bulletined as Majors. It was given out that the command of the battalions, as Lieutenant-Colonel, would be assumed by Major H. H. Young, U. S. A., but that officer remained with the Ninth Ohio, at Camp Alger. In face of many predictions of its impossibility, the enlistment of colored soldiers proceeded. By the 4th of July there were 400 men at Camp Leedy; two days later there were 550 men. On the 13th of July Governor Leedy telegraphed the War Department that two battalions were ready, and asked permission to raise a third, and was informed that the
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HISTORY OF KANSAS.
Lientenant-Colonel Beck.
volunteers under the President's call had been entirely apportioned. On the 28th of July, Captain Reynolds, U. S. A., mustering officer of the Twenty-Third Kansas, as the command was now called, was notified that its arms would be forwarded from Springfield, Mass., ammuni- tion from the Frankfort arsenal, and the remainder of the equipment from Rock Island.
The regimental officers of the Twenty- Third were: Lieutenant-Colonel, James Beck, Sr .; Majors, John M. Brown and George W. Ford; Assistant-Surgeons, Charles S. Sunday and Frederick D. G. Harvey; Adjutant, Samuel T. Jones; Quartermaster, Frederick M. Stone.
453. At the Camps .- The summer of 1898 was a period of suspense. The Kansas regiments went through the first experience of new soldiers, including the measles. The Twentieth had the advantage of being "in town," at San Francisco, while the Twenty-First and Twenty-Second were in the "country resorts" of Camp Alger and Camp Thomas. The Kansas soldiers at San Francisco were, at first, subjected to considerable newspaper criticism on the matter of their external appearance; but it was observed, also, that more than half of the officers of the regiment were graduates of the Kansas State University.
The Twentieth grew in grace and in favor with the people of San Francisco. The Twenty-First and Twenty- Second found themselves camped in historic localities. "Camp Alger" was situated on the old plantation of Lord Fairfax, with which Washington was familiar when a
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KANSAS IN THE WAR.
young soldier, and Camp Thomas on the bloody field of Chickamauga in the old war.
During the summer, recruiting officers visited Kansas on behalf of the Kansas regiments. In one day 100 men left Lawrence to join the Twentieth.
454. The Twenty-Third to Santiago .- As it turned out, the colored regiment, the Twenty-Third, was the first to leave the soil of the United States. The regiment left Topeka August 22, 1898, went directly to New York, and sailed on the Vigilencia for Santiago, arriving there on the Ist of September. The Twenty-Third arrived at Santiago 850 strong, in time to see the embarkation of the last of the Spanish troops for Spain. The Twenty-Third was within twenty-four hours loaded on a railroad train and transported to San Luis, an old Cuban town, where it was destined to remain until its return to the United States.
455. The Delay .- On the 1st of September Kansas was represented by four regiments, the Twentieth at San Fran- cisco, the Twenty-First at Chickamauga, the Twenty-Second at "Camp Alger," the Twenty-Third at San Luis in the island of Cuba. Thus the situation remained for weeks. The Kansas regiments were the objects of the solicitude of the people of the State, and news from the camps was eagerly sought for. As heard from, the Kansas regiments bore well the test of camp life and discipline. The old soldier population took a keen interest in the progress of the young soldiers. The Kansas troops soon overcame the deficiencies and difficulties of the first days in camp, and won the good will alike of their comrades and their commanders, their only source of grief being what seemed to them the unaccountable delay in sending them to meet the enemy.
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HISTORY OF KANSAS.
456. Strike the Tents .- With the middle of August came the signing of the protocol, and the evident end of the war with Spain. Many of the enlisted men felt that their mission was completed, as the foe had disappeared. In addition, both Camp Alger and Camp Thomas became subjects of complaint on account of their unhealthiness and discomfort. With the reduction determined on by the Government, of the volunteer force, came the order for the discharge of the Twenty-Second. All the regiments had in the meantime changed camps. The Twentieth had been transferred from "Camp Merritt," a dreary and inhospit- able spot, to "Camp Merriam" at the Presidio. The Twenty- Second marched to Middletown, Pa., the Twenty-First was transferred from Chattanooga to Lexington, Ky.
457. The Twenty-Second Arrives in Kansas. - The first regiment to arrive at Fort Leavenworth, for muster out, was the Twenty-Second. The regiment arrived from Camp Meade, Middletown, Pa., on the 11th of September, 1898, in excellent condition, with but twelve men in hospital. A most kindly and enthusiastic reception was given the regiment by the people of Leavenworth. The Twenty-Second went into camp on the reservation, but the larger number of the men were given verbal furloughs for thirty days, and departed for their homes. As the com- panies reached the towns and cities of their enlistment they were given a hearty welcome home in the shape of dinners and receptions.
458. The Twenty-First .- The Twenty-First Regiment arrived at Leavenworth from Lexington, Ky., on the 28th of September. The regiment had suffered severely at Camp Thomas. The first section to arrive at Leavenworth
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KANSAS IN THE WAR.
was the hospital train, with ninety sick men. The regi- ment was not held at Fort Leavenworth, but the men, sick and well, sent home on verbal furloughs. The men returned to Fort Leavenworth at the expiration of their leave, and were mustered out, the Twenty-Second on the 3d of November, and the Twenty-First on the 10th of December.
459. The Twentieth at San Francisco .- The Twen- tieth, which had left Topeka on the 16th of May, in the meantime remained at San Francisco. Seven times in five months, it is said, the regiment was assigned to transports, and as often the orders were countermanded. The last of October came, and still the regiment remained at San Francisco.
Whatever deprivations the Kansas troops were subjected to, they were not deprived of the elective franchise. As the election in Kansas drew near, the regiments were sup- plied with poll books and other voting conveniences.
460. To Manila .- On the 27th of October, the Second and Third Battalions of the Twentieth Kansas Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Funston in command, sailed on board the transport Indiana for Manila, and the Philippines, where the Filipino war had succeeded the Spanish War. The Indiana arrived at Honolulu on the 8th of November, election day, and the polls were opened on the Irmgard wharf, and the legal voters of the Twentieth went ashore and voted. On the same day the Newport left San Fran- cisco with the First Battalion under Lieutenant-Colonel Little. The men went to the polls immediately after going on board, and then, in company with the Wyoming Light Battery, set sail across the wide Pacific.
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HISTORY OF KANSAS.
The Second and Third Battalions passed four days at Honolulu, and resumed their journey. Thanksgiving Day was observed at sea, and on December 1, 1898, the Indiana dropped anehor in the harbor of Manila. The Newport, with the First Battalion, arrived on the 6th of December. The regiment was soon landed, and as- signed to quarters in buildings in the vieinity of the Pasig river.
461. The First to Fall .- More seri- ous business was to follow. On the night of the 7th of February, 1899, the men of the Twentieth were engaged with the Filipinos, and the gallant Lieutenant Alford was killed, and, with Private Lientenant Alford. Charles Pratt, was the first to fall under the colors of the Twentieth.
462. Battle of Caloocan .- In this, which may be described as their first action, the Kansas soldiers displayed the qualities which have since distinguished them. The Filipinos were massed in front of the Kansans for a night attack. Companies B, C, I, and a part of E were ordered to charge the woods. With Colonel Funston on the right and Major Metcalf on the left, the line moved forward for a mile before the enemy opened fire. Company B, led by Lieutenant Alford, answered the fire. "Keep going, but move steadier," said the young offieer, and fell within sixty feet of the muzzles of the enemy's guns, but the hostile line was driven. This was the fight which gave the Kansas Twentieth the right to inseribe the name "Calooean" on its colors, for its charge carried it into the heart of that town.
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KANSAS IN THE WAR.
463. Death of Captain David G. Elliott .- Every day during the operations following the fight at Caloocan, the Twentieth, with their comrades of General Harrison Gray Otis' brigade, were kept at the front, when not taking the offensive against the masses of the enemy, enduring the fire of their hidden sharpshooters. It was thus, on the 20th
of February, that the gallant Captain David G. Elliott was killed.
464. Colonel Funston at Malolos. -- The Kansas regiment took part in the movement of March 25th, by which the enemy's line was broken in two. In the movement of March 27th, Colonel Fun- ston and twenty of his men swam the Marinao river and captured eighty of the enemy. Colonel Funston and a party Captain Elliott. of his men were first to enter Malolos, the Filipino capital. 465. Advance on Calumpit .- In the advance on Cal- umpit the Twentieth Kansas moved along the railroad guarding the armored train. When the Bagbag river near the town was reached, it was found that an attempt had been made to destroy the railroad bridge and that one span had sunk in the river. Colonel Funston called for volunteers, and with Lieutenant Ball, Trumpeter Barsfield, Corporal Ferguson, General Fred. Funston. and two men from Companies K and E, crawled along the iron girders, and when the broken span was reached, slid down into the water and swam to the opposite bank and drove the Filipinos, who had been
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HISTORY OF KANSAS.
broken by the fire of Company K, out of their trenches. Company K, which covered the landing of Colonel Funston, was commanded by Captain Boltwood, of Ottawa, a veteran of the Civil War. The Twentieth was with the first to enter Calumpit.
After Calumpit, the Twentieth advanced fighting ahnost continuously. In the attack at San Tomas, on the 4th of May, Lieutenant Wm. A. MeTaggart, of Montgomery county, was killed, the third commissioned officer lost in the brief campaign. At the crossing of the Rio Grande river the regiment highly distinguished itself. Under a heavy fire, repeated efforts were made to reach the enemy. At last Privates Trembly and White swam the river with a rope, fastened it to the enemy's trenches, and by this, a raft was towed over with Colonel Funston and his men, who swept the Filipinos out of their works. The Kansas regiment oeenpied San Fernando, and through the month of May thereafter was engaged with parties of the enemy, the latest recorded fight in the month being a victory at Santa Anita, north of San Fernando. General Harrison Gray Otis, in taking leave of the brigade, paid a high compliment to the Kansas regiment and Colonel Funston. The command was then assumed by General Lloyd Wheaton, U. S. A. Early in May it was announced that Colonel Funston had been promoted to be Brigadier-General. On the 20th of May General Wheaton was assigned to other duty, and Gen- eral Funston assumed the command of the brigade.
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