Local residents can learn about the history of the Osage during the Civil War during a program Saturday in Humboldt.
The Allen County Historical Society is bringing “Last Stand at Rebel Creek: The Osage as Union Allies in Civil War Kansas,” a presentation and discussion by Isaias McCaffery. The event is offered as part of the historical society’s annual winter meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday at the St. Peter’s Lutheran church, 910 Amos St., Humboldt.
As conflicts between states increased during the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederacy tried to use the Osage to achieve their own aims.
Initially divided over how to respond in the face of escalating struggles, the Osage eventually emerged as important allies of the Union forces, thwarting an 1863 Confederate expedition tasked with reviving Southern resistance in Colorado and New Mexico territories.
The presentation explores the Osage contributions to the Union cause in Kansas during the Civil War.
McCaffery is a history professor at Independence Community College and is past president of the Kansas Association of Historians. He authored “Wi Leahre Plautdietsch: A Beginner’s Guide to Mennonite Low German,” which was published in 2009.
“The Osage as Union Allies in Civil War Kansas” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Speakers Bureau and “21st Century Civics,” a collection of resources that invite Kansans to participate in community discussions and learn more about the history of American democracy and the shared responsibilities of citizenship. “21st Century Civics” is made possible with support from “A More Perfect Union: America at 250,” an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
There is no charge to attend the program in Humboldt.
