Charles Schaefer

Death claimed the last GAR veteran of the town of Sedgwich when Charles Schaefer, 92 years old, died at his home Sunday. He was not only one of the oldest residents of this section of Kansas, but was a veteran plainsman, campaigner of the Indian Wars and pioneer Kansas homesteader as well as a veteran of the Civil War.

He already was a veteran soldier when he was shifted to the Union Army in the war between the states. At one time, he was United States consul at Vera Cruz. In his death, Kansas loses one of its most colorful early day figures.

He was born in Germany and as a boy came to America with his parents political refugees from their homeland. The family lived in New York for awhile and then moved to St. Louis. He was still a lad when he harkened to the call of western adventure and boarded a river boat, which took him to Fort Leavenworth. That was in 1862. As a civilian with army connections, he joined a wagon train bound over the Santa Fe Trail for New Mexico. Later he enlisted in the army and served at Fort Pickens.

He was sent from the plains warfare to the Army of the Potomac and was in many of the campaigns and greatest battles of the war, including the Battle of Gettysburg, when General Lee's great thrust against the North was broken. He remained in the army for soome time after peace came to the land and was quartermaster at Fort Hawker.

His last period of enlistment ended in 1867 and he again took up the life of the plains. Before the sixties passed into history, he had opened a supply store on the Little Ariansas River four mile northwest of Sedgwick with wild Indian country just to the west of him. In 1869 he took a homestead near Sedgwick and for the rest of his life was identified with that community. He gave up the trading post and was in the cattle business then the grain and mercantile business.

For four years, he was a deputy register of deeds of Sedgwick Coujty and during the administration of Grover Cleveland was appointed consul at Vera Cruz, Mexido. He held this post and lived at Vera Cruz from 1892 to 1897.

In the early days of the homesteader, when Indian uprisings frequently caused apprehension, Mr. Schaefer, because of his long experience as a soldier, was appointed a captain by Governor Osborne with authority to raise punitive expeditions.

He is survyved by two sons, John of Valley Center and Earl of Sedgwick and a daughter, Mrs. Rose Coleman of California. He was a Mason.

Funeral services are planned for Wednesday.