Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1901-12-14
FAMOUS OLD FORT.

Fort Cobb. noted in the annals of the
southwestern country, will soon be
nothing more than memory The
land upon which the fort and the ada
cent buildings Stood writes a Wichita
(Kan) correspondent, has been pur-
chased by a colonization company and
will soon be cut up into farms. Some
famous battles have been fought
around Fort Cobb, and some desperate
chances have been taken there by
white men in settling up the country
surrounding the historic old spot In
1861 Fort Cobb. Arbuckle and Washita
were the principal trading posts and
government forts west of the Missis-
sippi river The headquarters of the
military department of the Texas were
located at Fort Cobb, and its soldiers
old duty along the entire Mexican from
tier, as we'll as guarding against Indian
uprisings along the Washita and Lit
tie Missouri rivers. Fort Cobb attained
it's greatest fame because of the sur
render of Gen. David E. Twiggs there
at the outbreak of the civil war. Gen.
Twiggs was at the time the command
er of the United States forces in the
department of the Texas. and on Feb
16, 1861, he surrendered his entire
command to Gen. Mccullough, a Unit
ed States officer who had gone over to
the cause of the south, with his COM
mand, and who was at that time sta
toned at Indianola. 1t was one of the
earliest OBJECTIONS from the Union
forces of the civil war and was solely
due to the leaning that Gen. Twiggs
had to the cause of the south, and not
because he was outclassed by a supe-
rfor force. Gen. Twiggs was dismissed
from the Union army in disgrace He
afterward Joined the southern forces
and was given a commission in its
army. Fort Cobb had not been long in
the possession of the Confederates be-
fore it was recaptured by the Union
forces and placed in charge of Mai. s.
d. Sturgis, of the Fourth United States
cavalry. This was in the early part of
1862 Some o the men under his com
mand were dlsaffected, and they had
formed a plan to turn the fort and all
it's supplies over to the Confederate
forces again. The latter were to APP
proaci under the guise of hostile Co
maaches, and make a feint at attack.
when the post would be surrendered
to them without resistance When
Maj Sturgis learned of this he re-
solved upon the burning of the ammu-
milton and supplies to prevent their
falling into Confederate possession He
succeeded in carrying out his plan. but
barely escaped with his life In Octo-
Der, 1862. Fort Cobb again came into
notice, because of fight between the
Cherokees as southerners and tie Sem
inoles as loyal Indians Several hur.-
bred were killed in battle til Semi
noles finally winning The Cherokees
soon afterward freed their slaves of
their own accord and gave them the
right of citizenship. The battle deter
mined the status of the Indians-they
nearly all Iecame Unionists Up to
that time the Cherokee, Choctaw and
Chickasaw Indians had been strong
sympathizers with the south and a
great many fights had taken place be-
tween them and the Seminoles and
Creeks. In 1870 the old fort was aban-
doned, but has since then been used
as rendezvous for travellers and In
dian agents 1t has been the place
where artists and writers centered IN