 as there were few civilians and most of the soldiers had other duties to perform . Wood was available , but the mill was built 1 @.@ 5 miles ( 2 @.@ 4 km ) away , making transport time consuming . Swords found his efforts plagued by lack of wood , skilled labor and working equipment . Freak accidents destroyed much of the wood intended for the fort 's construction . As a result , only one duplex of the five planned officers quarters ( four duplexes and post commandant 's house ) was built by 1844 , and the intended enlisted barracks were not completed . In his 1844 inspection of the fort , Colonel George Croghan reported that , in comparison to other frontier forts , he considered Fort Scott " above average " .   Due to the rising tensions that escalated in the Mexican @-@ American War , the US Army redeployed troops to the Southwest . With Fort Scott still uncompleted , officials decided on April 25 , 1850 , that no more construction would be done there , after eight years and $ 35 @,@ 000 . By the time it was finished , it was obsolete ; three years later , it was abandoned by the military in favor of the more western Fort Riley .   For the average soldier , life at the fort was " monotonous " . Until the permanent structures were built , soldiers had to live in tents , which lacked comfort . Aside from a few whiskey peddlers and prostitutes , few civilians lived at the fort . Officers had brought their personal slaves with them , including Captain Swords . Five miles East in Missouri was a grog shop that supplied soldiers , and quite a few courts @-@ martial followed soldiers ' going AWOL at the shop . The desertion rate from the fort ranged from 12 % -16 % , due to boredom , irregular pay , and hatred for military life . As no combat took place near the fort , it seemed more of a frontier village than a military base . Hunting was a popular pastime ; according to Captain Swords , " wolf chasing and duck hunting " was the only way one officer could tolerate the place .   = = = Bleeding Kansas = = =   Two years after the army abandoned the fort , the buildings were sold by auction to civilians , with two being converted to hotels . In 1854 the Kansas @-@ Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 , which had kept slavery out of Kansas . Missourians in favor of slavery soon moved to Kansas to try to sway the vote of whether or not Kansas would permit slavery . Settlers from New England arrived equally determined to keep it out . Each of the two competing factions of the Bleeding Kansas conflict claimed one of the hotels at Fort Scott : Free @-@ Soil at the Fort Scott Hotel and Pro @-@ Slavery at the Western Hotel . Most of the residents in Fort Scott supported slavery , but those outside the town tended to the free @-@ soil side . During this time , there were local incidents of murder and attempted arson , typical elements of the guerrilla conflicts that were prevalent in the fighting .   = = = Army returns = = =   During the American Civil War , the fort was renewed as a US military post . In August 1861 , the Union Army took command of Fort Scott , and readied it for the war times . The United States Army also took over several blocks within the town for commissary and quartermaster functions . The Union Army rented the properties from the current civilian owners . Troops from Indiana , Iowa , Colorado , Ohio , and Wisconsin would come to the fort , and either stayed by the fort , or traveled farther , to subjugate Missouri , Arkansas , or the Indian Territory . Fort Scott was one of the few installations that recruited and trained black soldiers for the United States Colored Troops of the Union Army .   A major supply depot was situated at the fort . Confederate general Sterling Price hoped to capture the town , but the closest the Confederate force came to the garrison was 10 miles ( 16 km ) away at Battle of Dry Wood Creek . The site was strategically important as it was within a Southern @-@ sympathizing area and close to the Confederate state of Arkansas and the " unstable " Indian Territory ( present @-@ day state of Oklahoma ) , where many of the members of the Five Civilized Tribes were allied with the Confederates . The fort served as a " general hospital " ( large military hospital ) and prison until after the war . Following the end of the war , in October 1865 the US Army left the facilities and sold off by auction what they controlled .   On January 14 , 1870 , the Army returned with the formation of the Post of Southeast Kansas . The Post was based at Fort Scott , but the soldiers camped along the rail tracks , and seldom used the original fort . They were sent to protect the railroads and workers from settlers . Some of the latter feared that the railroad , which had been awarded land for development by the US Government in rights @-@ of @-@ way , would evict them
Ġas Ġthere Ġwere Ġfew Ġcivilians Ġand Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġsoldiers Ġhad Ġother Ġduties Ġto Ġperform Ġ. ĠWood Ġwas Ġavailable Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġmill Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġ1 Ġ@ . @ Ġ5 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġkm Ġ) Ġaway Ġ, Ġmaking Ġtransport Ġtime Ġconsuming Ġ. ĠSwords Ġfound Ġhis Ġefforts Ġplagued Ġby Ġlack Ġof Ġwood Ġ, Ġskilled Ġlabor Ġand Ġworking Ġequipment Ġ. ĠFreak Ġaccidents Ġdestroyed Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġwood Ġintended Ġfor Ġthe Ġfort Ġ' s Ġconstruction Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġonly Ġone Ġdup lex Ġof Ġthe Ġfive Ġplanned Ġofficers Ġquarters Ġ( Ġfour Ġdup lex es Ġand Ġpost Ġcommand ant Ġ' s Ġhouse Ġ) Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġby Ġ18 44 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġintended Ġenlisted Ġbarracks Ġwere Ġnot Ġcompleted Ġ. ĠIn Ġhis Ġ18 44 Ġinspection Ġof Ġthe Ġfort Ġ, ĠColonel ĠGeorge ĠCro ghan Ġreported Ġthat Ġ, Ġin Ġcomparison Ġto Ġother Ġfrontier Ġfor ts Ġ, Ġhe Ġconsidered ĠFort ĠScott Ġ" Ġabove Ġaverage Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDue Ġto Ġthe Ġrising Ġtensions Ġthat Ġescalated Ġin Ġthe ĠMexican Ġ@ - @ ĠAmerican ĠWar Ġ, Ġthe ĠUS ĠArmy Ġrede ploy ed Ġtroops Ġto Ġthe ĠSouthwest Ġ. ĠWith ĠFort ĠScott Ġstill Ġuncom pleted Ġ, Ġofficials Ġdecided Ġon ĠApril Ġ25 Ġ, Ġ1850 Ġ, Ġthat Ġno Ġmore Ġconstruction Ġwould Ġbe Ġdone Ġthere Ġ, Ġafter Ġeight Ġyears Ġand Ġ$ Ġ35 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ. ĠBy Ġthe Ġtime Ġit Ġwas Ġfinished Ġ, Ġit Ġwas Ġobsolete Ġ; Ġthree Ġyears Ġlater Ġ, Ġit Ġwas Ġabandoned Ġby Ġthe Ġmilitary Ġin Ġfavor Ġof Ġthe Ġmore Ġwestern ĠFort ĠRiley Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFor Ġthe Ġaverage Ġsoldier Ġ, Ġlife Ġat Ġthe Ġfort Ġwas Ġ" Ġmon oton ous Ġ" Ġ. ĠUntil Ġthe Ġpermanent Ġstructures Ġwere Ġbuilt Ġ, Ġsoldiers Ġhad Ġto Ġlive Ġin Ġtents Ġ, Ġwhich Ġlacked Ġcomfort Ġ. ĠAside Ġfrom Ġa Ġfew Ġwhiskey Ġpedd lers Ġand Ġprostitutes Ġ, Ġfew Ġcivilians Ġlived Ġat Ġthe Ġfort Ġ. ĠOfficers Ġhad Ġbrought Ġtheir Ġpersonal Ġslaves Ġwith Ġthem Ġ, Ġincluding ĠCaptain ĠSwords Ġ. ĠFive Ġmiles ĠEast Ġin ĠMissouri Ġwas Ġa Ġg rog Ġshop Ġthat Ġsupplied Ġsoldiers Ġ, Ġand Ġquite Ġa Ġfew Ġcourts Ġ@ - @ Ġmartial Ġfollowed Ġsoldiers Ġ' Ġgoing ĠAW OL Ġat Ġthe Ġshop Ġ. ĠThe Ġdesert ion Ġrate Ġfrom Ġthe Ġfort Ġranged Ġfrom Ġ12 Ġ% Ġ- 16 Ġ% Ġ, Ġdue Ġto Ġboredom Ġ, Ġirregular Ġpay Ġ, Ġand Ġhatred Ġfor Ġmilitary Ġlife Ġ. ĠAs Ġno Ġcombat Ġtook Ġplace Ġnear Ġthe Ġfort Ġ, Ġit Ġseemed Ġmore Ġof Ġa Ġfrontier Ġvillage Ġthan Ġa Ġmilitary Ġbase Ġ. ĠHunting Ġwas Ġa Ġpopular Ġpast ime Ġ; Ġaccording Ġto ĠCaptain ĠSwords Ġ, Ġ" Ġwolf Ġchasing Ġand Ġduck Ġhunting Ġ" Ġwas Ġthe Ġonly Ġway Ġone Ġofficer Ġcould Ġtolerate Ġthe Ġplace Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠBle eding ĠKansas Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠTwo Ġyears Ġafter Ġthe Ġarmy Ġabandoned Ġthe Ġfort Ġ, Ġthe Ġbuildings Ġwere Ġsold Ġby Ġauction Ġto Ġcivilians Ġ, Ġwith Ġtwo Ġbeing Ġconverted Ġto Ġhotels Ġ. ĠIn Ġ18 54 Ġthe ĠKansas Ġ@ - @ ĠNebraska ĠAct Ġrepealed Ġthe ĠMissouri ĠComp rom ise Ġof Ġ18 20 Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhad Ġkept Ġslavery Ġout Ġof ĠKansas Ġ. ĠMissouri ans Ġin Ġfavor Ġof Ġslavery Ġsoon Ġmoved Ġto ĠKansas Ġto Ġtry Ġto Ġsway Ġthe Ġvote Ġof Ġwhether Ġor Ġnot ĠKansas Ġwould Ġpermit Ġslavery Ġ. ĠSett lers Ġfrom ĠNew ĠEngland Ġarrived Ġequally Ġdetermined Ġto Ġkeep Ġit Ġout Ġ. ĠEach Ġof Ġthe Ġtwo Ġcompeting Ġfactions Ġof Ġthe ĠBle eding ĠKansas Ġconflict Ġclaimed Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġhotels Ġat ĠFort ĠScott Ġ: ĠFree Ġ@ - @ ĠSo il Ġat Ġthe ĠFort ĠScott ĠHotel Ġand ĠPro Ġ@ - @ ĠSl avery Ġat Ġthe ĠWestern ĠHotel Ġ. ĠMost Ġof Ġthe Ġresidents Ġin ĠFort ĠScott Ġsupported Ġslavery Ġ, Ġbut Ġthose Ġoutside Ġthe Ġtown Ġtended Ġto Ġthe Ġfree Ġ@ - @ Ġsoil Ġside Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthis Ġtime Ġ, Ġthere Ġwere Ġlocal Ġincidents Ġof Ġmurder Ġand Ġattempted Ġarson Ġ, Ġtypical Ġelements Ġof Ġthe Ġguerrilla Ġconflicts Ġthat Ġwere Ġprevalent Ġin Ġthe Ġfighting Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠArmy Ġreturns Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthe ĠAmerican ĠCivil ĠWar Ġ, Ġthe Ġfort Ġwas Ġrenewed Ġas Ġa ĠUS Ġmilitary Ġpost Ġ. ĠIn ĠAugust Ġ1861 Ġ, Ġthe ĠUnion ĠArmy Ġtook Ġcommand Ġof ĠFort ĠScott Ġ, Ġand Ġread ied Ġit Ġfor Ġthe Ġwar Ġtimes Ġ. ĠThe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠArmy Ġalso Ġtook Ġover Ġseveral Ġblocks Ġwithin Ġthe Ġtown Ġfor Ġcomm iss ary Ġand Ġquarter master Ġfunctions Ġ. ĠThe ĠUnion ĠArmy Ġrented Ġthe Ġproperties Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcurrent Ġcivilian Ġowners Ġ. ĠTro ops Ġfrom ĠIndiana Ġ, ĠIowa Ġ, ĠColorado Ġ, ĠOhio Ġ, Ġand ĠWisconsin Ġwould Ġcome Ġto Ġthe Ġfort Ġ, Ġand Ġeither Ġstayed Ġby Ġthe Ġfort Ġ, Ġor Ġtraveled Ġfarther Ġ, Ġto Ġsubjug ate ĠMissouri Ġ, ĠArkansas Ġ, Ġor Ġthe ĠIndian ĠTerritory Ġ. ĠFort ĠScott Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġfew Ġinstallations Ġthat Ġrecruited Ġand Ġtrained Ġblack Ġsoldiers Ġfor Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠCol ored ĠTro ops Ġof Ġthe ĠUnion ĠArmy Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġmajor Ġsupply Ġdepot Ġwas Ġsituated Ġat Ġthe Ġfort Ġ. ĠConfederate Ġgeneral ĠSterling ĠPrice Ġhoped Ġto Ġcapture Ġthe Ġtown Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġclosest Ġthe ĠConfederate Ġforce Ġcame Ġto Ġthe Ġgarrison Ġwas Ġ10 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ16 Ġkm Ġ) Ġaway Ġat ĠBattle Ġof ĠDry ĠWood ĠCreek Ġ. ĠThe Ġsite Ġwas Ġstrategically Ġimportant Ġas Ġit Ġwas Ġwithin Ġa ĠSouthern Ġ@ - @ Ġsympath izing Ġarea Ġand Ġclose Ġto Ġthe ĠConfederate Ġstate Ġof ĠArkansas Ġand Ġthe Ġ" Ġunstable Ġ" ĠIndian ĠTerritory Ġ( Ġpresent Ġ@ - @ Ġday Ġstate Ġof ĠOklahoma Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhere Ġmany Ġof Ġthe Ġmembers Ġof Ġthe ĠFive ĠCivil ized ĠTrib es Ġwere Ġallied Ġwith Ġthe ĠConfeder ates Ġ. ĠThe Ġfort Ġserved Ġas Ġa Ġ" Ġgeneral Ġhospital Ġ" Ġ( Ġlarge Ġmilitary Ġhospital Ġ) Ġand Ġprison Ġuntil Ġafter Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġwar Ġ, Ġin ĠOctober Ġ1865 Ġthe ĠUS ĠArmy Ġleft Ġthe Ġfacilities Ġand Ġsold Ġoff Ġby Ġauction Ġwhat Ġthey Ġcontrolled Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn ĠJanuary Ġ14 Ġ, Ġ1870 Ġ, Ġthe ĠArmy Ġreturned Ġwith Ġthe Ġformation Ġof Ġthe ĠPost Ġof ĠSoutheast ĠKansas Ġ. ĠThe ĠPost Ġwas Ġbased Ġat ĠFort ĠScott Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġsoldiers Ġcamp ed Ġalong Ġthe Ġrail Ġtracks Ġ, Ġand Ġseldom Ġused Ġthe Ġoriginal Ġfort Ġ. ĠThey Ġwere Ġsent Ġto Ġprotect Ġthe Ġrail roads Ġand Ġworkers Ġfrom Ġsettlers Ġ. ĠSome Ġof Ġthe Ġlatter Ġfeared Ġthat Ġthe Ġrailroad Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhad Ġbeen Ġawarded Ġland Ġfor Ġdevelopment Ġby Ġthe ĠUS ĠGovernment Ġin Ġrights Ġ@ - @ Ġof Ġ@ - @ Ġway Ġ, Ġwould Ġevict Ġthem