In December 1861, Col. Jessie H. Leavenworth decided, apparently without authorization, to raise an artillery battery of Colorado volunteers. William D. McLain was commissioned captain of the Independent Battery, Colorado Light Artillery, organized at Denver, Colorado, on December 15, 1862. On September 26, 1863, the battery was disbanded and the officers, including Captain McLain and Colonel Leavenworth, were dismissed from service. But later that year in December, the battery was reorganized due to “special circumstances of the case.” Captain McLain had his “disability removed” and was recommissioned captain of the battery on January 12, 1864. During the Battle of Westport, McLain's Battery played an important role on October 21 and October 23 as part of the Army of the Border. During both battles, the battery came close to being overrun by Cofederate forces but was able to escape capture by some quick response by Federal cavalrymen.
Columbine Genealogical & Historical Society. “History: Colorado Territory Civil War Volunteers.” Accessed January 3, 2021. Link.
Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, 1005.
US Adjutant General, Official Army Register of the Volunteer Force of the United States Army for the Years 1861, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, Part VIII, 27.
Adams, “The Second Colorado Cavalry in the Civil War.” The Colorado Magazine, May 1931.