The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-30
HE SAVED LEAvENwoRTH.
The PerflOus Adventure OF q Union
Scout I'm 1854.
New York Mail and EXPRESS

The man who saved Fort Leavenworth in
1884, receiving physical injuries which have
incapacitated him for the support of his
government. He desires reasonable COM
pensation for the privations, perils and in
juries which he suffered in his country's
cause. He was not an enlisted man at the
time he performed this patriotic and ex-
traordinary service. having served three
years in the army and been honorably dis
charged. He was then acting as volunteer
scout, and his services can only be re-
Quilted by the bill now pending In Congress
for his relief.
eral, was threatening Fort Leavenworth
and all Of eastern Kansas. That State and
Missouri were both under martial law. Gov
ernor Carney and General Deitzler, at the
head Of the Kansas State militia, had their
forces in the field on the Missouri border
under General Curtis. General Pleasanton,
the federal commander, was near Independ-
ence, No., separated from Curtis by Price.
and doing nothing. If Carney could not
communicate with Pleasanton and get him
to cooperate with Curtis Kansas was at
At this juncture the Governor sent for d.
w. Boutwell,, an honorably discharged
Union soldier. who had frequently done
scout duty and knew the country thorough
ly A concise statement of the situation.
giving the position and strength of Curtiss
command in detail, was written out by Gov
ernor Carney and committed to memory by
Boutwell,, as it would not do to trust such
dangerous information to paper. The rest
of the story is best told in Mr.. Boutwelps
own words:
81 went to Kansas City and took skin
about 6 o'clock in the evening. This was
the 22d day of October, 1864. When I ar
rived at the mouth of the Little Blue my
s<if got behind a sand bar. and had to
abandon it and swim ashore. When / went
up the bank of the river the pickets of Gen.
eral Price shot at me, but ii was so dark
that they could not follow me. 1 went up
the Blue until i came to a narrow place.
where, by throwing in rails and poles,
effected a passage. but i'm doing so slipped
from the rails and went into the mud up to
my waist.
''Being somewhat acquainted with the
country, avoided the roads and went
through the woods, and when daylight came
1 could see right into the rear of Prices
1t and soon arrived at the crossing of the
Big Blue, where / found General Pleas
anton's command. He questioned and cross
questioned me until he was satisfied OF the
correctness of the statement.
while being questioned by General Pleas
anton. General McNeal was present and
said that he tmeaning mel ought to be tried
and executed for being a spy After a dia-
logue between the two 1t was decided in my
favor, and In less time than ii takes to tell
1t Pleasanton's troops were in motion and
action. and the battle ragged all day and
nearly all night. That night passed TO the
rear OF General Prices command, captured
turned my prisoner over TO Colonel ID.
Rrockway. who was provost marshal at
Kansas City"
Mr.. Boutwell, suffered severely from hum
ger and exposure during his rerilous edven-
ture. Beyond complimentary joint reso-
luton Of the Kansas Legislature. he has re-
ceived no official recognition Of his patriotic
service