"A" Battery at Topeka
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: July 20, 1917
Groups of soldiers of Battery A, 130th Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard with field artillery equipment and horses. In 1917, James C. Hughes was Captain of Battery C, 130th Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available on Kansapedia.

"A" Battery at Topeka
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: July 20, 1917
Two lines of soldiers of Battery A, 130th Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard sitting on horse-drawn caissons entering the grounds of a facility in Topeka. In 1917, James C. Hughes was Captain of Battery C, 130th Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available on Kansapedia.

"A" Battery at Topeka
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: July 20, 1917
Three soldiers of Battery A, 130th Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard sitting on a horse-drawn caisson with two soldiers sitting on attached limber with artillery piece. Two or three more units follow. In 1917, James C. Hughes was Captain of Battery C, 130th Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available on Kansapedia.

Battery A on the Kansas State Capitol grounds in Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Farrow, W. F.
Date: February 1893
During the Populist War of 1893, Battery A, a militia unit from Wichita, Kansas, was stationed on the grounds outside of the Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka, Kansas. The dispute began when both the Republican and Populist parties claimed victory in the Kansas House elections in 1892. A number of contests were still being disputed when the legislative session began in January 1893. The conflict between the parties reached a crisis when the Populists locked themselves in the House Hall. The Republicans used a sledgehammer to break down the doors to the hall. The governor requested support from the state militia. After a three-day standoff, Governor Lewelling was able to negotiate an agreement with the Republican speaker of the house, which amounted to a Populist surrender. The state Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the Republicans.

Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma
Date: February 19, 1918
This is a panoramic photo of the 110th Engineers, Field Inspection, 35th Division at Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma. There are many wagons and horses in view as well as the soldiers. Camp Doniphan was located in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and was used to train soldiers during World War I.

Cavalry horses at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Creator: Chaudet Art Co. R. R. Photo Car
Date: Between 1895 and 1900
Here are two photographs showing soldiers with their cavalry horses at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Chief, the last cavalry horse
Date: Between 1960 and 1962
Chief was the last living cavalry horse still carried on government rolls. He was foaled in 1932 and purchased by the Army in 1940 at Ft.Robinson, Nebraska. In December of 1949 he was placed in semi-retirement and was fully retired at Ft. Riley, Kansas, in 1958. Chief died on May 26, 1968 and is buried at the foot of the statue "Old Trooper" at Fort Riley.

Comanche
Creator: Pennell and Zellner
Date: Between 1876 and 1890
This black and white photograph shows a member of the 7th U. S. Cavalry holding the reins of the famous war horse "Comanche." Comanche was ridden by Colonel Miles Keogh at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in late June 1876 in Montana. One of many 7th U. S. Cavalry horses to survive the battle, Comanche was very badly wounded and barely able to stand when found. He was nursed back to health and was officially retired for life with special honors, as a living relic of that terrible struggle. Comanche died at Fort Riley, Kansas in 1890.

Comanche
Date: 1886
This black and white photograph shows a member of the 7th U. S. Cavalry holding the reins of the famous war horse "Comanche" and the 7th U. S. Cavalry flag at Old Fort Meade near Sturgis, South Dakota. Comanche was ridden by Colonel Miles Keogh at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in late June 1876 in Montana. One of many 7th U. S. Cavalry horses to survive the battle, Comanche was found two days later very badly wounded and barely able to stand. He was nursed back to health and was officially retired for life with special honors, as a living relic of that terrible struggle. Comanche died at Fort Riley, Kansas in 1890.

Coronado sets out to discover Quivira
Date: Between 1900 and 1940
This postcard depicts Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and his group of explorers on their search for the fabled city of Quivera. Coronado and his men were among the first of the European explorers to visit the plains. The goal of the early Spanish explorers was to discover riches north of Mexico. Coronado's 1541 expedition to discover gold in Quivera led him to the area that would later become Kansas.

Custer's command shooting down worthless horses
Creator: Davis, Theodore R.
Date: January 16, 1869
An illustration of General George Armstrong Custer's men shooting horses after the Battle of the Washita which occurred on November 27, 1868. This illustration was published in Harper's Weekly on January 16, 1869. Funds for digitization provided by Mr. Steve Peckel in memory of William Chalfant.

Descriptive card of public animals issued to Dr. Seth A. Hammel
Date: August 18, 1917
A Descriptive Card of Public Animals issued to Dr. Seth A. Hammel, Topeka, Kansas. This card was submitted by soldiers requesting permission to purchase their own horses for military service. It provided a general description, markings, and statements certifying the animal's soundness and suitability for military service. Hammel elected to purchase his personal mount when he served in the Kansas National Guard. During his military career, he was a hospital steward during the Spanish-American War with the 20th Kansas Regiment and spent 16 months in service including nine months in the Philippines. After the Spanish-American War, Hammel graduated from a medical school in Chicago, Illinois, and returned to Topeka, where he established a practice and taught at Washburn College. During World War I, he served with Ambulance Company 139 of the 35th Division. The Descriptive Card was issued when he was serving in a field hospital.

Dixie Jumping
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: July 1924
This photo is labeled "Dixie Jumping". The soldier on the horse is unidentified. The photo was taken in July,1924, while Captain Hughes was the Battery Commander of the 15th Field Artillery, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. James Clark Hughes was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1888, and served in the Mexican Border Conflict, World War I, and World War II. He used an autographic camera to take pictures of friends, family, and places in the United States and Europe during World War I. After the Armistice was signed November 11, 1918, Captain Hughes became part of the Army of Occupation. He finally returned to the U. S. arriving July 31, 1919 as part of the 13th Field Artillery, 4th Division. He was assigned to Camp Dodge, Iowa until August, 1920. Then Captain Hughes was assigned to the Motor Transport School, Camp Holabird, Maryland for training in Army vehicles for six months. From there Hughes and the 13th F.A. went to Fort Lewis, Washington. Hughes was the Battery Commander of the 13th F.A. During this time he had applied for enlistment in the Regular Army. On September 7, 1920 he was discharged from the National Guard and appoint to the Regular Army. It was then that Captain Hughes and his family moved to Schofield Barracks, Hawaiian Territory where they stayed until September, 1923. His next appointment was as Battery Commander of the 15th Field Artillery at Fort Sam Houston. In September 1924, Hughes attended the Battery Officers Course in the School of Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma for nine months. From 1924 until 1933 the Hughes family continued to be moved frequently from Ft. Sill to Houston, to Waco, back to Hawaii and eventually to Long Beach. It was here in 1935 that Hughes was promoted to Major. By August of 1940 he had been promoted to Lt. Colonel. In 1941, he commanded a Philippine regiment (Filipino soldiers led by American officers), which surrendered in 1942 on the Bataan peninsula. Hughes spent the next 41 months in various Japanese P.O.W. camps. He was liberated by Russian forces at Camp Hoten, Manchuria, in 1945. He was assigned permanent limited duty status and April 1, 1946 was promoted to Colonel. He retired from the Army March 20, 1948. Hughes died in 1964 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Fort Harker, Kansas
Creator: Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882
Date: 1867
This stereograph shows U.S. Army troops on the grounds of Fort Harker, Kansas. The photo was taken 500 miles west of St. Louis, Missouri, in present day Kanopolis, Kansas. It is from Alexander Gardner's series, Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division.

Fort Harker, Kansas, 218 miles west of Missouri River
Creator: Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882
Date: 1867
This is a photo showing U. S. Army troops on the grounds of Fort Harker, Kansas. Fort Harker (originally called Fort Ellsworth) was established in 1864 in order to provide protection for the Kansas Stage Line and military wagon trains transporting goods along the Smoky Hill Trail and the Fort Riley Road. The fort closed in 1872 and was located in present day Kanopolis, Kansas. It is from Alexander Gardner's series, Across the Continent on the Kansas Pacific Railroad.

Fort Leavenworth
Date: Between 1840 and 1855
Photo of a drawing of Fort Leavenworth

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Date: 1864
This photograph of Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, was taken in 1864 by an unidentified photographer. The building in the background is the guardhouse, and in the foreground is an African-American battery. This battery appears to be the precursor to the 9th and 10th Colored Regiments, formed in 1866.

Fort Scott soldiers
Date: 1863-1865
This photograph of two men on horses at Fort Scott was probably taken between 1863 and 1865. The man in the foreground is Corporal George Henry McCoon, company saddler in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry. The photograph shows the Fort Scott stables in the background. Corporal McCoon married in Fort Scott shortly after the Civil War, then relocated to Oregon and later to California.

General Order No. 1, 18th Kansas Cavalry
Creator: Moore, Horace L. (Horace Ladd), 1837-1914
Date: July 17, 1867
This order for the 18th Kansas Cavalry, located at Fort Harker, regulates the maintenance of cavalry horses. Fort Harker was established to provide protection for the Kansas Stage Line and the military supply trains traveling the Smoky Hill Trail and the Fort Riley Road. As stated in the order, these regulations are essential because "the efficiency of every cavalry command depends much upon the condition of its horses."

General order no. 3. R. H. 2
Creator: United States. Army. Kansas Cavalry Regiment, 19th (1868-1869)
Date: January 3, 1869
Colonel Samuel Crawford of Fort Cobb, Indian Territory, issued this general order to discourage the seizure of Indian ponies by members of the 19th Cavalry.

General order no. 4. R. H. 2
Creator: United States. Army. Kansas Cavalry Regiment, 19th (1868-1869)
Date: January 11, 1869
Colonel Samuel Crawford, Camp No. 19 (possibly in Indian Territory) issues general order no. 4 concerning the care of the horses of the 19th Kansas Cavalry.

History of the 19th Kansas Cavalry--Indian War of 1868-69
Creator: Jenness, George B.
Date: 1869
This history of the 19th Kansas, written by the commander of Company F, George B. Jenness, is mainly composed of extracts from his diary. It includes details about where each company was raised, the names of the officers, organization and implementation of orders, the rigors of army life, and troop movements. Jenness' history also includes information about Samuel J. Crawford, the governor of Kansas, who resigned his position to assume command of the regiment on November 5, 1868. The document contains a copy of a letter from General Philip H. Sheridan to Governor Crawford about the need for calling up troops. Information on Native Americans, including interactions between troops and Native Americans, is also contained within this item. Jenness mentions captive chief including Satanta.

Horse, Mule, and Oxen Shoes from Fort Atkinson, 14FD305
Date: 1850-1854
Several different styles of shoes were recovered from Fort Atkinson in Ford County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2015. Shown here are two smaller mule shoes ("U"-shaped), a veterinary shoe (nearly a complete circle), two horse shoes (for different sized horses), and an ox shoe. Fort Atkinson, occupied for only four years, was located along the Santa Fe Trail.

Horse chain mail
Date: 1540 - 1541 CE
Horse chain mail armor believed to be a part of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's expedition to Kansas between 1540 and 1541.

Horses and mules at Fort Riley, Kansas
Date: Between 1930 and 1935
Here are four photographs showing horses and mules at Fort Riley, Kansas.