Charles Ransford Jennison was born in New York on June 6, 1834 and moved to Wisconsin in 1846, where he studied medicine. Marrying at age 20, Dr. Jennison and his wife moved to Osawatomie, Kansas in 1857, and to Mound City, Kansas, shortly thereafter.
Before the start of the Civil War, Jennison became notorious for leading a band on violent anti-slavery raids into Missouri. When the Civil War began, he received a commission as a colonel from Kansas Governor Charles Robinson and organized the 7th Kansas Cavalry, known as “Jennison’s Jayhawkers.” Posted to western Missouri, Jennison’s ruthless treatment of area civilians resulted in the reassignment of the regiment to east of the Mississippi.
Angered by the fact that James Blunt was promoted to brigadier general and he was not, Jennison resigned his commission in the spring of 1862.
Following the Lawrence Massacre he was again commissioned a colonel and organized the 15th Kansas Cavalry. Jennison and the 15th Kansas were involved in the battles of Lexington, Little Blue River, Westport, and Newtonia as they pursed Sterling Price on his raid through Missouri.
Jennison was arrested by Federal authorities in December 1864 for plundering in Missouri while returning from the Price Raid. He was court-martialed, convicted, and dishonorably discharged.
Known for plundering for personal gain, he was widely regarded as the most brutal and unscrupulous of the Jayhawkers.
Returning to Leavenworth County, Kansas, he was elected to the Kansas legislature in 1865 and re-elected in 1867; in 1872 he was elected to the Kansas Senate.
Charles Jennison died on June 21, 1884, in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WCIR 31691
