305px|thumb|right|Map of Baxter Springs Battlefield core and study areas by the [[American Battlefield Protection Program]]
The Battle of Baxter Springs, more commonly known as the Baxter Springs Massacre, was a minor battle of the American Civil War fought on October 6, 1863, near the present-day town of Baxter Springs, Kansas.
In late 1863, Quantrill's Raiders, a large band of pro-Confederate bushwhackers led by William Quantrill, was traveling south through Kansas along the Texas Road to winter in Texas. Numbering about 400, this group captured and killed two Union teamsters who had come from a small Federal Army post called Fort Baxter (frequently referred to as Fort Blair).
Poole's column attacked the fort, but the garrison fought them off. Also killed was James R. O'Neill, an artist-correspondent for Leslie's Weekly. When a few men escaped to Fort Baxter, soldiers went out to search for survivors; there were few, but Blunt was among them.
After the massacre of Blunt's troops, Quantrill sent a demand ordering Pond to surrender the fort. Pond refused the surrender. Quantrill's subordinate, William T. Anderson, known as "Bloody Bill," wanted to attack the fort again, but Quantrill refused, and the guerrillas left for Texas.
Aftermath
Blunt was removed from command for failing to protect his column, but he was soon restored. Union supporters called the killings a massacre; the conflict at Baxter Springs was characteristic of the vicious Kansas–Missouri border warfare. Fort Baxter was temporarily reinforced, but by the end of 1863, the Union Army pulled its troops back to Fort Scott, which was better fortified. Before abandoning the fort, U.S. forces demolished it and removed everything usable to prevent use by the enemy.