Editing Fort Riley (section)

===Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War===
[[Image:Custer House Museum.jpg|thumb|right|Built in 1855, Fort Riley's [[Custer Home]] represents the architecture and style of a military home on the base during the Civil War era.]]
Increased tension and bloodshed between pro- and anti-slavery settlers led to the Army being used to "police" the troubled territory. They also continued to guard and patrol the Santa Fe Trail in 1859 and 1860 due to increased Indian threats. The outbreak of hostilities between the North and South in 1861 disrupted garrison life. Regular units returned east to participate in the Civil War, while militia units from Kansas and other states used Riley as a base from which to launch campaigns to show the flag and offer a degree of protection to trading caravans using the Santa Fe Trail.<ref name="History" />

In the early stages of the war, the fort was used to house Confederate prisoners. In early 1862, the fort served as a temporary detention facility for 133 Confederate prisoners from Texas, who had been captured during a significant military campaign in New Mexico. The prisoners remained at Fort Riley for approximately one month before being transferred to Fort Leavenworth. During their stay, seven individuals died due to illness or injuries sustained in battle and were interred in the vicinity. In May 1863, Fort Riley again held Confederate prisoners, this time those captured following raids in the [[Council Grove, Kansas]], region. However, the overall involvement of Fort Riley in the Civil War was relatively limited.<ref name="Keating">{{cite web |last=Keating |first=Deborah |title=Fort Riley |website=Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865 |url=https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/fort-riley |access-date=September 22, 2024 |archive-date=September 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240922233523/https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/fort-riley |url-status=live }}</ref>