Today’s objective for the Scouts is to hike into Fort Leavenworth. We prepositioned some equipment and returned to camp, starting the hike about 0830. Our route brought us to the creek “about one mile south of Weston” where the 1846 Battalion camped and washed clothes. Here the original Battalion completed their month-end muster for the paymaster prior to reaching Fort Leavenworth.
The Olathe Scouts made decent time and at the end of the bluffs we stopped to share some history. Then we offered to let the Scouts march with Bob Tingey’s 26-star flag as we hiked the levee paralleling the Missouri River. The flag changed hands a number of times as we made five miles along the levee.
To reach the river, we had to wade through some underbrush and trees, then we broke out onto the river banks across from the military post. The modern Missouri River is far different from the wide river of 1846. It’s fairly narrow, deep and fast.
Scoutmaster Kent Hansen fulfilled one of my “secret desires” for the Trek. Unbeknownst to him, I REALLY wanted to ferry across the Missouri River onto Fort Leavenworth. The prior Wednesday evening, he mentioned that it “was too bad we couldn’t get permission to ferry the boys across the river.” Well, I jumped at the offer and made arrangements with Jeff Wingo and the levee board.
Once we were safely on the Kansas side of the river, we hiked up to the Main Parade square on post. There we outfitted the Scouts with our 1846 packs, belts and replica muskets. Reenactor Val John Halford of Utah gave some instruction, then he hiked us to the Frontier Army Museum where we were saluted by cannon fire. The Leavenworth reenactors had made us dinner and the Scouts departed the field for home.
In the evening, the Museum hosted a seminar. The topics were 1846 Battalion related and were: “Women in the 1840’s”, “Medical Qualifications & Practice pre-Civil War”, “Military Cooking” and Sherman Fleek presented his take on “Why Study the Mormon Battalion?”
I’d like to say the seminar was well attended. It wasn’t. It was an embarrassment to not have people show up for a high quality, free seminar about the Battalion.
We have quite a few of these events planned along the route and I sure do hope attendance improves.