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Gen. Robert B. Mitchell (National Archives)
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Gen. Robert B. Mitchell
Kansas Volunteers' Leader Survived 1861 Battle Injury To Finish War With 'Notable Record'
By Bethanne Kelly Patrick
Military.com Columnist
Col. Robert Byington Mitchell brought his unit, the 2nd Kansas Infantry Volunteer Regiment, under fire for the first time on Aug. 10, 1861, during the second great battle at Wilson's Creek, Mo. His volunteers bravely gave battle to an enemy three times stronger in number and were winning a practical victory -- until their leader was seriously wounded.
Riding at the head of his regiment, Mitchell was in the thick of battle when he was shot from his horse. Gen. Nathan Lyon attempted to guide the regiment, but he was killed moments later (the first Union general killed in the war). Although the Union Army retreated to Springfield, the heroism of the 2nd Kansas at Wilson's Creek was remarkable. Much of that heroism was due to their loyalty to Mitchell.
A veteran of the Mexican War and Kansas's first adjutant general, Mitchell seems to have inspired loyalty. Even though he was a Democrat in a Republican era, his militiamen at Mansfield chose him as their captain in 1861, and then succeeded in having him elected colonel of the regiment shortly thereafter.
After the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Mitchell spent a long confinement recovering from his wound and was then sent to Washington, D.C., on court-martial duty. In the spring of 1862, he returned to Kansas, where he gathered his old command and reorganized the men as the 2nd Kansas Calvary, stationed at Fort Riley. On April 8, 1862, Mitchell received a commission as a one-star general from President Lincoln. He served out the war with that rank and a "notable record," including battle at Perryville and Chickamauga.
In 1865, Mitchell was appointed governor of the New Mexico Territory, remaining in that position for four years, when he retired to Washington, D.C. Mitchell died on Jan. 23, 1882, and was interred in Arlington National Cemetery in 1895.
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