Undated photograph of the Signal Corps Quarters at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Fort Leavenworth is located in northeast Kansas, just west of Kansas City; built in 1827, it is the oldest active military installation west of the Missouri River. During the Civil War, Leavenworth was used as a mustering and training area for Kansas volunteers; its location on the Missouri River made it an important supply depot.

Many of the fort’s buildings from the late 1800s are still in use.

On October 11, 1864, Captain Edward I. Meeker, chief signal officer of the Department of Kansas, led his Signal Corps detachment from Fort Leavenworth to “the front.” His men carried messages via courier during the fighting with General Sterling Price’s troops near Westport on October 22. Over the next several days the Signal Corps men were kept busy conveying important information about the movements of Price’s troops.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31770