Two months later a Civil War milestone took place in Bates County at a site approximately eight miles southwest of Butler. This was the first combat against Confederates by African Americans fighting for the Union. During the Battle of Island Mound (aka "Battle of Fort Toothman") on October 28–29, 1862, the Union 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers—composed of former slaves who had escaped from Arkansas and Missouri—and a scouting element from the 5th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry engaged a numerically superior force of Confederate guerrillas and recent Missouri State Guard recruits led by Vard Cockrell and Bill Truman (a relative of future President Harry S. Truman). The Union forces crossed into Missouri on a mission to clear Confederate guerrillas from an area known as "Hog Island". The Union troops commandeered and fortified the homestead of Confederate guerrilla Enoch John Toothman. The next day a detachment engaged with mounted Confederate cavalry, but stood their ground. The Confederates withdrew from the area on October 29. Eight Union men and an estimated 30 to 40 Confederates were killed.
Two months later a Civil War milestone took place in Bates County at a site approximately eight miles southwest of Butler. This was the first combat against Confederates by African Americans fighting for the Union. During the Battle of Island Mound (aka "Battle of Fort Toothman") on October 28–29, 1862, the Union 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers—composed of former slaves who had escaped from Arkansas and Missouri—and a scouting element from the 5th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry engaged a numeric,ally superior force of Confederate guerrillas and recent Missouri State Guard recruits led by Vard Cockrell and Bill Truman (a relative of future President Harry S. Truman). The Union forces crossed into Missouri on a mission to clear Confederate guerrillas from an area known as "Hog Island". The Union troops commandeered and fortified the homestead of Confederate guerrilla Enoch John Toothman. The next day a detachment engaged with mounted Confederate cavalry, but stood their ground. The Confederates withdrew from the area on October 29. Eight Union men and an estimated 30 to 40 Confederates were killed.