Isaias McCaffery Bio

Dr. Isaias J. McCaffery earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Kansas in 1999. He is professor of history at Independence Community College and adjunct professor of history for Southern New Hampshire University. Dr. McCaffery is a longtime speaker for Humanities Kansas, a board member of the Independence Historical Museum, and an active member and past president of the Kansas Association of Historians. His recent research interests focus on the people of the central plains, including the Osage Nation, immigrant communities, and women.

June Program: “Last Stand at Rebel Creek" 

At the June dinner meeting, Dr. McCaffery will give a program titled: “Last Stand at Rebel Creek: The Osage as Union Allies in Civil War Kansas.” As conflicts between states increased during the Civil War, both Union and Confederate leaders tried to recruit the Osage to further their own agendas. Initially divided over how their people should respond in the face of escalating struggles, the Osage eventually emerged as important allies of the Union, thwarting an 1863 Confederate expedition tasked with reviving Southern resistance in Colorado and New Mexico territories. Dr. McCaffery’s presentation explores the Osage contributions to the Union cause in Kansas during the Civil War, and the impacts of the war for the Wah-Zha'-Zhi people.