Preston Plumb was born in Ohio in 1837; he moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1856 to support the Free State movement and was one of the founders of Emporia, Kansas. With the start of the Civil War, Plumb joined the 11th Kansas Infantry as a second lieutenant; in August 1863 the regiment was re-organized as the 11th Kansas Cavalry. Plumb was promoted through the ranks, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel on May 17, 1864. During his service, the 11th Kansas Cavalry was assigned to the Kansas-Missouri border, engaging Missouri partisans and William Quantrill’s guerrillas, and also defending Kansas during General Sterling Price’s raid in 1864.

Plumb mustered out of the service on September 26, 1865; he was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1877, re-elected in 1883 and 1887, and died in Washington, D. C. in 1891.

Carte-de-Visite by Brown’s, Paola, Kan.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31785