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GREAT-GRANDFATHER
JOHN ALEXANDER MARTIN
LEADER OF THE EIGHTH KANSAS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY

by
Ralph David Martin
English U N
Dr. Swanson
Spring, 1984
John Alexander Martin was born March 10, 1839, in

Brownsville, P e n n s y l v a n i a . He received his education from public

schools, and the local printing office. In 1 8 5 7 , he moved to

A t c h i s o n , K a n s a s , and bought the local n e w s p a p e r , which he

renamed the Champ ion. Soon he became one of K a n s a s ' most

prominent political leaders.<1> In 1859 he was secretary of the

Wyandotte convention. The Democrats had some objections to the

constitution and only Republicans signed it. John A . Martin

said:

Each party, I think, was guilty of one blunder it


afterwards seriously regretted; the Republicans in
refusing to include the South Platte country within the
boundaries of K a n s a s ; the Democrats in refusing to sign
the Constitution they had labored so diligently to
perfect....I am confident that within a brief time
after the Convention adjourned, there were few
Democrats who did not seriously regret their refusal to
sign the Constitution . <2>

John A. Martin then became a senator in the first session of the

state's legislature. He resign*«lhis position on October 2 7 , 1861,

to become lieutenant colonel of the Eighth Kansas Volunteer

Infantry . <3 >

The states were responsible for raising troops for the Union

army. They were required to supply a certain number of regiments

for Federal service. Creating these regiments was the job of the

state governor. He would appoint prominent citizens as officers.

Then the officers were to recruit their own m e n . Usually the

officer would be a community leader and the soldiers would be

people from his town.<4> This was the case with Governor

Crawford of K a n s a s :

Most of Crawford's major appointments were confined to


the state m i l i t i a , and the majority of these went to
2

Crawford's army associates. This personal


consideration seemed to have been more important than
the appointment of those officers weye. readily
identified as "Lane men ." .''.TJohn A. Martin, and T.J.
Anderson, for example, who were considered "Lane men";
but the majority of Crawford's appointments were
personal army acquaintances ..."<5>

The Eighth Kansas was organized in August of 1861 for duty on the

state border to protect Kansas from raids. The original

appointments were Colonel Henry W. Wessels, Major Sixth United

States Infantry, and Lieutenant Colonel John A. Martin.<6>

The Eighth Kansas was lucky to have a leader from the

Regular Army.

In most cases, the officers knew no more about fighting


than the enlisted men. They had everything to
learn...and while they learned they had to teach the
men under them. The colonel was suppose to conduct
officer-training classes at night so the officers, next
morning, could go out and instruct the soldiers.
Inasmuch as the colonel usually knew no more about it
than the officers he called into class..."<7>

At this point they also received guns and uniforms from the

United States government.

The experiences of the Kansas Eighth Infantry provide a good

insight to the Civil War. Most of the following information of

the regiment came from John A. Martin's book: Military History

o_f the, Eighth Kansas Volunteer Infantry. After a cold winter of

border patrol, the regiment's leader Colonel Wessels returned to

the Regular Army leaving Lieutenant Colonel Martin in command.

After much reorganization newly appointed Colonel Graham received

orders to join Federal troops in Corinth, Mississippi. At St.

Louis, the regiment got word of the Union evacuation of Corinth.

In May, 1862, the Eighth Kansas proceeded to Cairo, Kentucky.

Leaving Colonel Graham behind because of illness, command was


3

returned to Lieutenant Colonel Martin. At Cairo, Kentucky, they

joined other Union troops and in June, 1862, marched to Union

City, Tennessee. The Eighth was dispatched to support troops

expecting an attack in Trenton, Tennessee. The rebels never

attacked because of the reinforcements. In July, the regiment

took a train to Corinth, Mississippi, and joined Federal troops

there. Surprisingly, the Union's district officer there, General

Quinby was pro-slavery. He heard that the Eighth Kansas had

freed some slaves in Tennessee, and had threatened to muster the

regiment out in case they interfered with slavery. General

Quinby reported to the commanding General Rosecrans that the

regiment was "mutinous, undisciplined, and demoralized."

Rosecrans did not believe the report and had the troops

inspected.

General Rosecrans personally complimented Lieutenant


Colonel Martin upon the "discipline and drill of the
men, and the perfect order in which the arms,
accouterments and clothing were kept. Ho volunteer
regiment...received so favorable a report from his
inspector."<8>

In August, the Eighth saved millions of dollars of supplies from

rebel guerrillas in Eastport, Mississippi. Later that month they

marched to Nashville Tennessee. The conditions were horrible:

,..the dust was almost insufferable, at times rising in


such clouds that it was difficult to see three feet
ahead; and water was very scarce, the only
re 1 iance ... being ponds digged by the farmers . ..for
catching the rain...in nearly all cases, covered with a
foul green scum, which had to be pushed aside for the
water .<9>

Hundreds of men dropped from exhaustion, but at Nashville, almost

all of the Eighth arrived. While some other regiments barely had

fifty. This was typical of most Civil War marches.


4

The ordinary Civil War regiment, North as well as


South, straggled abominably when it moved from here to
there. At the end of a long day's m a r c h , less than
half of the present-for-duty regimental strength might
be on hand to make camp; the absentees would come
ambling in at all hours...<10>

The regiments continued north with only one wagon each, and each

man taking only the clothes he had o n . Their group was going to

stop the Confederate invasion of K e n t u c k y . They had few supplies

to eat and depended on f a r m e r s ' fields for food. Apparently this

was the case with many regiments during the war.

Roving about the countryside all along the army's line


of m a r c h , they foraged and looted with a free hand.
They bore down most heavily on the enemy's
c o u n t r y . . .But they were not gentle with their own
civilians either, and a farmer whose chickens and swine
survived the march of an army was extremely lucky.<11>

In L o u i s v i l l e , K e n t u c k y , their division received many new

recruits. Lieutenant Colonel Martin noted that the new troops

were so inexperienced that they were w o r t h l e s s . "the increase

was...in numbers; the efficiency of the army was but little

enhanced."<12> Most of the training soldiers received during the

war was in combat.

In a great many cases, nobody taught the raw recruit


how to load and fire his rifle. That such a failure
should exist seems incredible, but...the records speak
for t h e m s e l v e s . At the battle of Shiloh there was an
account of one green regiment under fire which...no one
had ever shown it how to use its weapons ... <13>

With their new recruits the troops marched to Bardsville,

Kentucky, in pursuit of Bragg's rebels. They finally caught him

at P e r r y v i l l e , K e n t u c k y , on October 8th, 1 8 6 2 . Bragg soon

realize he was badly outnumbered and retreated after the first

day of f i g h t i n g . The Eighth followed them to Lancaster,

Kentucky, where they noticed a train passing though the town.


5

They advanced to within a half a mile without casualty, but were

ordered not to attack. The next day the regiment entered the

town and discovered they should have been allowed to advance.

They would have captured a supply train, enemy b a t t e r i e s , and

hundreds of p r i s o n e r s . The towns people informed them that the

main rebel force had already gone south, and the only thing

guarding the train was some cavalry. The regiment marched to

Bowling Green, K e n t u c k y , arriving on November 1st. On that same

day Lieutenant Colonel Martin was promoted to colonel by the

governor of K a n s a s . In December they marched to Nashville.

Later that month General Rosecrans appointed Colonel Martin as

Provost Marshal of the city.

At the close of the year (1862) the regiment numbered,


in the a g g r e g a t e , 776 m e n . Forty-nine deaths occurred
during the year; 72 were discharged for disability, and
fifty-nine d e s e r t e d . The regiment marched 1,254 m i l e s .
<14>

Although three-forths of Nashville sympathized with the •

Confederacy, Colonel Martin did his best to run the city.

Nashville was a large supply depot for the Union army. Also

there were dozens of hospitals to be run, even for the enemy. On

December 28th, the rest of the army battled at Murfreesboro .

,..and hundreds of stragglers sought safety in


Nashville. Within three days the patrols of the Eighth
arrested over two thousand of these men, and they were
returned at once to the front. Two thousand five
hundred rebel prisoners were also received . . . <15>

The Eighth was at Nashville for six m o n t h s , and in that time they

received prisoners almost daily. Previously, the city theaters

had been closed because they always ended in f i g h t s . Colonel

Martin's troops saw to it that the theaters were open every


6

night. Rebel newspapers were brought to a halt. Also Colonel

Martin was order to have every citizen pledge a non-combatants

role, and give bonds as a show of their pledge. The Eighth took

the oaths from all citizens over eighteen, except for two hundred

that were sent south of the lines. Much to the regret of

Nashville, and the protest of the mayor and other prominent

citizens, the regiment returned to its division. They headed

south capturing rebel guerrillas in the Cumberland Mountains.

They arrived in Stevenson, Alabama, and crossed the Tennessee

river in the face of enemy fire. General Rosecrans later

commended the regiment on it bravery. On September 20th, they

caught up at Chickamauga were their unit was already battling the

rebels. They went into the woods to block the rebel advance.

For a half hour this desperate struggle continued. . In


that brief time over a third of our Brigade were killed
and wounded ... "<16>

Generally wounded men soon died, because of the low level of

medical science. According to the Eighth Kansas' record about

one third of all wounded men died. The regiment was badly

outnumbered, but they did wound Confederate General Hood. This

picture captured that exact moment.

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M 41;-is#^Tvia^VH*te V¥C«#« li,
7

The ground was strewn with the dead and wounded, and
almost every foot of the shot-torn field was red with
the crimson of loyal b l o o d . . .General Hood ( C o n f e d e r a t e )
was severly wounded directly in front of the Eighth
Kansas and had his leg amputated on the field. <17>

Later when the regiment past though here Colonel Martin counted

over thirty shots in a tree trunk smaller than a man. The Union

soldiers had to retreat to C h a t t a n o o g a , T e n n e s s e e . Only after

the Eighth had received over sixty-five percent casualties. A

week later the confederates tried to surround Chattanooga. The

city lies in a valley and the rebels held the high ground

including Missionary R i d g e , and Lookout Mountain. General Grant

and his forces arrived on October 23rd, and General Sherman and

his troops arrived on November 21st. On November 23rd, the

Eighth Kansas was ordered to take Orchard Knob. From here they

moved to the foot of Missionary Ridge.

We had no directions to go beyond this line of w o r k s ,


and a brief halt was ordered; but it was instantly seen
by every soldier in the ranks that no one could live
there, raked from every direction as was by both
artillery and infantry. Almost simultaneously several
regiments moved forward..."<18>

The Eighth and some other regiments raced to the top of the

ridge, each trying to be the first to plant their regiment's flag

on the top. The attack on Chattanooga was lifted by the bravery

of men like these. The regiment then marched to K n o x v i l l e ,

T e n n e s s e e , to relieve Burnside. They reached there on December

16th, and camped near there at Strawberry Plains.

Aggregate strength of the regiment, December 31, 1963,


five hundred and eighty-three . Present for duty, one
hundred and ninety-nine . <19>

"Regiments rarely operated at full strength, on paper a regiment

was about a thousand m e n , however in the Civil War a regiment was


8

lucky to have half present for duty."<20> During the winter

there, inspection revealed their clothes and shoes were

completely worn-out from constant use. However they made the

best of things by building log c a b i n s . In January they

skirmished with rebels in D a n d r i d g e . In February they received a

thirty-five day furlough to return to K a n s a s . They took the

train most of the way, and there arrival at Atchison was a great

celebration including a parade and b a n q u e t . They return to

Chattanooga on April 21st, and marched towards Atlanta to rejoin

their d i v i s i o n . On May 26th, their unit drove the enemy from

Kennewas Mountain, G e o r g i a . They advanced and drove the enemy

from the banks of the Cattahoochie river, and Peach Tree Creek as

well. They surrounded Atlanta:

From the 28th of June until the 5th of September ... it


built two thousand six hundred and eighty yards of
b r e a s t w o r k s , . . . fired away one hundred and twenty
thousand rounds of cartridges . <21>

In October, they returned to Chattanooga where they took a train

to P u l a s k i , T e n n e s s e e . On November 17th, Colonel Martin's term

of service expired. When the governor later commissioned him to

remain as c o l o n e l , he could not be mustered in because the

regiment was too small to allow an officer of that rank. Colonel

Martin returned to K a n s a s , while his regiment chased General

Hood's army to N a s h v i l l e . The battle there almost destroyed

Hood's forces. Hood retreated to H u n t s v i l l e , Alabama, and the

Eighth followed them. In A p r i l , 1865, they rejoiced over Lee's

surrender, and later grieved over the assassination of Lincoln.

Although the war was over, the Eighth Kansas was ordered to San

Antonio, Texas. There they remained on Provost duty until


9

January, 1 8 6 6 , when they returned to A t c h i s o n , K a n s a s . After the

w a r , John A . Martin was made Brigader General by the President of

the United States.

After John A. Martin returned home his political career

began again. He was county chairman of the Republican party.

From 1 8 5 8 , to 1884, he was part of the state Republican

committee. In the early 1880's he was secretary of the national

Republican commit tee.<22> He was elected governor of Kansas in

1 8 8 4 , and re-elected in 1 8 8 6 . In his first term he created the

state and local health boards. He also made the state

responsible for o r p h a n s , and retarded children. In 1886, he

peacefully settled the railroad strike. In his second term he

passed laws preventing the railroad monopolies from taking

advantage of county b o n d s . Before leaving office he gave women

the right to vote in local and school board elections. He died

on October 2, 1889, only a few months after leaving office.<23>

John A . Martin will be remembered for many things he did

during his life. He is credited with helping to form the state's

c o n s t i t u t i o n , and the state's Republican party. In the Civil War

he lead the Eighth Kansas through many major b a t t l e s , and he

restored law and order as Provost Marshal of N a s h v i l l e . Later

the people of Nashville thanked him with the presentation of a

gold sword. At age twenty-six the president made him the second

youngest general in the Union army. Finally, he was elected

governor of K a n s a s , and the state is indebted to his progressive

administrat ion.
10

<1> Dumas Malone, Diet ionary of Amer ican Biography, Vol.


XII (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933), p. 342.

<2> Robert W. Richmond, Kans as: Land of Contras t s (St.


Louis, Missouri: Forum Press, 1974), p. 71.

<3> Malone, p. 342.

<4> Bruce Catton, Reflect ions on the Civil War (New York:
Berkley Books, 1982), pp. 49-50.

<5> Mark A. Plummer, Front ier Governor: Samuel J. Crawfo rd


of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas: The University Press of Kansas,
1971 ) , p. 46 .

<6> John A. Martin, Military History of the Eighth Kansas


Volunteer Infantry (Leavenworth, Kansas: The Daily Bulletin Steam
Book and Job Printing House, 1869), pp. 3-4.

<7> Catton, p. 50.

<8> Martin , p . 11 .

<9> Martin, p. 13.

<10> Catton » p p . 52-53.

<11> Catton » P - 5 3 .

<12> Martin » p . 1 8 .

<13> Catton » p . 5 4 .

<14> Martin » p . 2 5 .

<15> Martin » P • 2 8 .

<16> Martin » p . 4 5 .

<17> Martin » P - 4 5 .

<18> Martin » p . 6 4 .

<19> Martin » p . 7 1 .

<20> Catton » P « 4 3 .

<21> Martin . P • 8 9 .

<22> Malone » p . 3 4 3 .

<23> Richmond, pp. 171-172.


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