The Other Butterfield Overland Trail

Gove County, Kansas
October 7, 2010

This limestone post is one of 138 markers placed from Fort Ellsworth, Kansas to the Colorado state line to mark the route of the Butterfield Overland Despatch. Howard Raynesford mapped the route of this stagecoach line on the Smoky Hill Trail and between 1936 and 1965 placed these markers along the route. The marker consists of a limestone post mounted in a concrete base with BOD 1865 inscribed near the top of the post.

This post marks the trail near Monument Station, a waystation for the stagecoach. One of the reasons why the trail and station are found here is Monument Rocks (also known as Chalk Pyramids), the nearby natural landmark that is visible for miles and miles on these plains. Shortly after the station was established, the U.S. Army soon found it necessary to place troops here, and the military post became known as Fort Monument or Fort Pyramid.

On the concrete base is written:

Smoky Hill Trail

Butterfield Overland

Despatch

Atchison to Denver

Traversed by Gen. Fremont 1844

First Denver Stagecoach 1859

Most Dangerous Overland Route

Retraced and Mapped by

Howard C. Raynesford, Ellis Kansas

Marker Placed 1963

The Second Battle of Sabine Pass

Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site, Texas
March 14, 2010

1936 Texas Centennial Monument

In 1936 the State of Texas erected hundreds of historical markers, monuments, and memorials throughout the state to celebrate the centennial of Texas independence. Although there was not much military action in Texas during the Civil War, a number of sites in Texas where people witnessed the carnage of war were marked in 1936. This is one such place, the ground of the Second Battle of Sabine Pass.

On September 8, 1863, a flotilla of Union gunboats and transports with infantry troops attempted to silence the Confederate guns and 44 men here with a plan to disembark the troops and invade this corner of Texas. It was a minor battle, but received much attention as the Union attack was thwarted with little or no casualties amongst the Confederates.

Since there is not much to see here, my visit was a short one. Just long enough for me to read the markers and monuments and visualize how the battle may have unfolded.