27
Edward and William Vining, 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry
January to September 1865
The Vinings were in garrison at Fort Scott at the start of 1865. Their detachment (Companies ACDFM) were still part of the District of South Kansas under General Blunt. The 3rd Regiment proper was still in Arkansas. The 3rd Wisconsin had no more battles for the rest of the war.
The Department of Kansas was merged into the Department of Missouri for the last time on January 30. The Vinings remained in the District of South Kansas (Blunt), now in Department of Missouri (G.M. Dodge). In February the 3rd Regiment (that is, Companies BEGHIKL) became part of the Cavalry Brigade, Post Little Rock, VII Corps, Department of Arkansas (Gen J.J. Reynolds).
During March and April the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry underwent a major reorganization. All the existing companies were disbanded on March 10, and William and Edward were mustered out. Company C was then reformed as Company H. The Vinings were mustered back into Company H on 23 March.
The reorganization of the entire regiment was not completed until April 16. When it was done, the original twelve companies had been reformed into ten new companies. In Arkansas, the seven old Companies B, E, G, H, I, K and L were completely broken up and reformed as five new companies A, B, C, D and E. They became an unassigned unit in the 1st Division, VII Corps. The five companies in Kansas were simply mustered out and back in again under new names: Company F stayed Company F; the old Company M became new Company G; the old Company C (with the Vinings) became new Company H; the old Company D became new Company I; and the old Company A became new Company K. These five detached companies were then reassigned to the District of North Kansas (R.B. Mitchell), Department of Missouri – they would remain so for the rest of their time in service.
I have not found anything to confirm it, but the five detached companies must probably have been moved from Fort Scott to Fort Leavenworth at about this time.
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Sometime in March, the Vinings went on an extended expedition with Companies H(C) and F. They were gone for several months exploring the Smoky Hill Route from Fort Riley, Kansas to Denver, Colorado. This was part of a large Federal effort to patrol and raise forts along some of the main routes west, now that the war was about over. It was brought about by widespread Indian uprisings throughout the Great Plains – in the area that Vinings went through, it was the Kiowas.
I have no details on the expedition, but the end result was two new forts in Kansas. Fort Hays, 15 miles south of Hays in Ellis County, was completed in October to protect the Kansas-Pacific Railroad. And Fort Wallace, at Pond Creek and Smoky Hill River, was completed in September to protect the Smoky Hill stagecoach route. The expedition did not complete these forts, but selected the sites and established temporary camps.
On April 21, the Arkansas part of the 3rd Regiment was brought back into the Department of Missouri. They moved from Little Rock to Devall’s Bluff and were assigned as garrison there, within the District of South Kansas (General Blunt again). On June 3 they were moved from Devall’s Bluff to Springfield, Missouri.
On June 23, 1865, the Indian General Stand Watie was the last Confederate General to surrender, over a month after the war had ended in the East.
The detached Companies G, I and K remained in garrison in Kansas (probably Fort Leavenworth) for the next several months. On July 18 the 3rd Regiment proper, and Companies ABCDE, started marching from Springfield to Fort Leavenworth. They apparently went on foot, as it took them almost two weeks – they arrived at Fort Leavenworth on August 3.
The Vinings returned from their expedition in July or August, we don’t know the exact date.
Companies A, B, C, D and E were mustered out of service on September 8. The 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment was dissolved on September 29 as the remaining five Companies F, G, H, I and K were mustered out. Edward Vining was discharged as Sergeant, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on September 29, 1865. William Vining was discharged the same day; William was charged $1.12 for lost equipment.
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