John Benton Hart

Bluecoat and Pioneer: The Recollections of John Benton Hart, 1864-1868

Starting in 1918, at the urging of his son Harry, John Benton Hart began telling stories of a colorful three-year period of his youth. The native Kansan, a member of the 11th Kansas Cavalry, had clashed with Confederate Gen. Sterling Price’s army in the Battle of Westport and elsewhere in Missouri. He’d crossed the Plains as a bullwhacker, carrying mail between the Indian-besieged forts on the Bozeman Trail. He was a friend of scout Jim Bridger and Chief Blackfoot of the Mountain Crow.

The old cavalryman described events with an almost cinematic vividness as Harry, an aspiring writer, recorded them in a series of family manuscripts now compiled in Bluecoat and Pioneer: The Recollections of John Benton Hart, 1864–1868. Its editor, great-grandson John Hart, discusses the book and its rare, ordinary soldier’s view of historical events.

Listen
Upcoming in this series:
Watch or Listen to Past Events in this Series:
black panthers

Jermaine Thomas, Lyle Gibson, Jacquey Valentine

Legacy: Spirit of the Black Pa...

Sunday, August 12, 2018 2:00pm
The Library examines the history of the Kansas City chapter of the polarizing Black Panther Party and its founder, Pete O’Neal, starting with a screening of the 25-m...
17
Nov
Vision Accomplished: The History of Kansas City So...
Central Library |
2:00pm
6
Feb
Community Remembrance Project
3:00pm
5
Mar
Working Together: KC History Through the Kansas ...
Central Library |
2:00pm
23
Feb
Mapping Inequality
Central Library |
2:00pm
John Benton Hart

Bluecoat and Pioneer: The Recollections of John Benton Hart, 1864-1868

Date & Location
In Person
Details
Adults