General James BluntPossibly unique CDV of James G Blunt standing in front of a painted backdrop in the studio of J.J. Outley, St. Louis. A view I have not seen before nor have I found another.

In Prewar Kansas during a confrontation with the pro-slavery territorial government in 1857, Blunt joined a force including James Lane and abolitionist John Brown.^[At the outbreak of the war Blunt was appointed Lt Col of the 3^rd Kansas Infantry, a part of James Lane’s Kansas Brigade, an irregular partisan force not accepted into the Union Army until reorganized in April 1862. In April 1862, Blunt was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and given command of the Department and Army of Kansas. He ordered Colonel William Weer to lead the "Indian Expedition" in 1861 which succeeded in occupying Fort Gibson and arming three regiments of Native Americans. Blunt's forces were defeated in the first battle of Newtonia, and the Army of Kansas was incorporated into the Army of the Frontier as the 1st Division. Blunt led his division of Cherokee and Kansas volunteers to victory at the Battle of Old Fort Wayne. In December 1862, Blunt's division was joined by the 2nd Division under Francis Herron. The combined forces met confederates at the Battle of Prairie Grove. While tactically a draw, the battle was a strategic victory for the Union. Blunt was appointed major general on March 16, 1863 He was the only officer from Kansas to achieve that rank during the war.