The Battle of Talsman Farm

**The Battle of Talsman Farm** was a minor battle of The Great Plains War, fought on March 10, 1842, in village of Talsman Farm. The battle was fought between the Nebraskan Republican Army and a Nebraskan Militia under the command of Lieutenant Jack Plodermen, and the Calcaterrican Army under the command of Captain Wes Killian.

## Prelude

After the defeat at The Battle of Strangefields[1], General Dane Murphy of the Calcaterrican Army managed to ride back to Fort Abram. Upon his return, he was informed that the Nebraska Republic had ordered their Militias to attack any supply shipments heading into forts that were near the Nebraskan Republic border. Knowing that Fort Abram would starve before any shipments could successfully come through, he ordered Captain Wes Killian to go and raid several nearby villages for food and supplies. Captain Kilian mustered a raiding party of 51 men (himself included) out of troops in Fort Abram's garrison. His first target was Talsman Farm, simply because it was the closest village to Fort Abram (22.5 miles). He set out for Talsman Farm on March 9, 1842, at 8:12 AM. Learning from General Murphy's mistakes, he brought whatever food he could and allowed his troops plenty of resting time. This slowed his march, but he was never spotted by a Nebraskan Republic scout his entire march. On March 10, 1842 at 2:38 PM, villagers out tending to cattle from Talsman Farm spotted Captain Kilian about 2 miles from the village. They quickly mounted their horses, and rode to the village at full pace. Upon the Village Elder receiving the news, he ordered a messenger sent to Fort South Bend. General Kelmen, upon receiving the message, knew that he could not march his army to Talsman Farm in time to save the village, so he sent Lieutenant Jack Plodermen ahead with a detachment of 24 cavalrymen to aid the villagers. He guessed, correctly, that the village would put up some sort of resistance. He did not know, however, that the surrounding villages had sent a militia numbering in at 62 men to aid Talsman Farm.

## Battle

### Evening

#### Calcaterra

Captain Wes Kilian was fully aware that the village would send out messengers to nearby villages and Fort South Bend. So he sought to make the looting of Talsman Farm quick. He also sought to do so at night, so as to make a battle and march difficult for any forces trying to aid Talsman Farm. So he set up camp on a nearby hill overlooking the village at 4:56 PM, and he let his troops rest and prepare for battle.

#### Nebraskan Republic

Captain Wes Kilian began to raid the village on March 10, 1842 at 6:17 PM. The women and children were ordered to flee to the nearby village of Frankfort. This left 12 men to defend Talsman Farm. They set up their positions on the south side of village. When the nearby villages of Frankfort, Groining, and Lunbervile received word that Talsman Farm was going to be put to the torch, they mustered a militia of 62 men, and the began heading to Talsman Farm at 6:34 PM. At 7:12 PM, Lieutenant Jack Plodermen met up with the militia, and together they marched at full speed towards Talsman Farm.

### Night

Captain Wes Kilian, seeing the makeshift defenses that the villagers had put up, ordered his men to fire at them from atop the hill. They fired a total of seven volleys, killing 10 of the 12 villagers defending Talsman. The other two quickly retreated and ran at full speed to Frankfort. They encountered Lieutenant Plodermen and the militia about a mile away from Talsman Farm, and they joined the militia.

Upon looking over the village and not seeing any other defenders, Captain Kilian ordered his men to descend upon the village, which they did at 6:23 PM. They looted what little food and supplies the village had when at 6:47 PM, a soldier spotted Lieutenant Plodermen's forces approaching from the north. Captain Kilian, knowing that he had not yet collected enough supplies from the village, ordered his men to take up defensive positions. Even though he was outnumbered, 51 to 88, he sought to use the village as a defensive position. None of Lieutenant Plodermen's forces saw Captain Kilian's forces in the village. Lieutenant Plodermen assumed that they were still stationed on the hill, so he ordered the 64 militiamen in the village to set up defensive works. He would take his cavalry and cause chaos in the encampment atop the hill. So, he swung his cavalry around the village and descended came upon the hill from the west.

The 64 militiamen, not expecting a fight, did not ready their weapons, and they were all on low alert. Captain Kilian had his forces hide in the houses and buildings, and had them wait until a shot was fired to begin firing. Once all roughly all the militiamen were inside the village, Captain Kilian opened fire, and with that, so did the rest of his men. At point-blank range, the first volley was devastating, killing 43 of the 64 militiamen.

Lieutenant Plodermen, upon not finding anything atop the hill, heard gunshots and screams coming from Talsman Farm. Immediately, he ordered his cavalrymen to ride at full force towards Talsman Farm.

Captain Kilian, rather than having his men reload and fire, order his men into a melee with the now confused and stunned militiamen. The melee killed 13 militiamen and 3 Calcaterrican soldiers. What was left of the militia (only eight militiamen survived) ran from the village and scattered off to their respective villages. Just when Captain Kilian thought he achieved victory, Lieutenant Plodermen's cavalry came smashing down into Talsman Farm, killing 19 Calcaterrican soldiers. Lieutenant Plodermen was tempted to make another run at the soldiers, but he couldn't risk losing any of his cavalrymen, and with no infantry left, he ordered a retreat.

### Aftermath

Captain Wes Kilian and his men continued to raid Talsman Farm, and put the village to the torch at 7:38 AM. He had his men set up a camp in the nearby forest. They consolidated what was looted, and sent two soldiers back to Fort Abram with the food and supplies looted. He then marched towards the village of Frankfort, in hopes of capturing more food and supplies before the main Nebraskan Republican force arrived.

Lieutenant Jack Plodermen and his cavalry rode back to General Kelmen's forces. Upon informing General Kelmen personally about the defeat, General Kelmen responded, "I sent you to defend that damned village! Not ride away from it!" Despite his anger at Lieutenant Plodermen, General Kelmen kept him, knowing he would need good cavalry commanders.

The battle showed that this wouldn't be just a "clean" war, with just armies fighting, it would involve the whole of the Nebraskan Republic. It also strengthen unity among the Nebraskan Republic, as previously many had doubts about the war. Propagandists used that battle as a rallying cry, recruiters sometimes even used the battle to scare villages into aiding the Nebraskan Republic.