I will be presenting a lecture at the Houston Museum of Natural Science the evening of February 6th. The topic of the lecture is the first battle fought by African-American troops during the Civil War. This engagement is known as "The Skirmish at Island Mound" and was fought by the officers and men of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers against Missouri Partisan Rangers on October 29th, 1862. I wrote a monograph about this engagement in 2001 and assisted with efforts that led to the State of Missouri purchasing a portion of the battlefield as the newest Missouri State Park - that will be opened to the public on the 150th anniversary of the battle.

I continue to research and write about the regiment and have discovered several Texas connections:

- 1st KCV fought the 29th Texas Cavalry at Honey Springs, C.N. and again at Poison Springs, Ark.
- Some officers captured in the Cherokee Nation and Arkansas were incarcerated at Camp Ford near Tyler, TX
- Some of the black enlisted men captured by Confederate Forces were incarcerated at the Huntsville Penitentiary.

Here is a link to information on the lecture:

http://store.hmns.org/%28S%282hhhyy45e13epq550uhuznqw%29%29/Selection.aspx?item=1658&sch=419656

Thank you,

Chris Tabor
Katy, TX