Henry Leavenworth
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Henry Leavenworth (December 10, 1783–July 21, 1834) was a American soldier.
He was born at New Haven, Connecticut, a son of Col. Jesse and Eunice (Sperry) Leavenworth. Soon after his birth his parents removed to Danville, Vermont, where he was educated. He then read law with Gen. Erastus Root of Delhi, New York; and upon being admitted to the bar formed a partnership with his precepter which lasted until 1812, when he was appointed a captain in the 25th U. S. infantry. A few months later he was made major; was wounded at the Battle of Niagara on July 25, 1814, and the following November was brevetted colonel. He then served in the New York state legislature, and then he went to Prairie du Chien as Indian agent, and on February 10, 1818, was made lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth U. S. infantry.
In 1823, he led U.S. Army troops in the Arikara War, the first U.S. military expedition against a Great Plains Indian nation. While on duty in the West he built several military posts, one of which was Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, established May 8, 1827 as Cantonment Leavenworth, now one of the leading military establishments of the country. In 1825 he was made brigadier-general by brevet, and in 1833 received the full rank of brigadier-general.
He died at Cross Timbers, Indian Territory, July 21, 1834, of either sickness or an accident while buffalo-hunting, while leading an expedition against the Pawnee and Comanche. His regiment erected a monument at Cross Timbers; he was first buried in Delhi, New York and his remains were later reinterred at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. In addition to the fort, Leavenworth, Kansas and Leavenworth County, Kansas are named for him
He was married three times, first to Elizabeth Eunice Morrison, with whom he had two children, and divorced, then to Electa Knapp, who died within the year, then to Harriet Lovejoy, with whom he had another child.