A Kentuckian, John Hambright (1806-1875), and his wife, Missouri [Hudspeth] (1811-1878), operated a stage station on the Santa Fe Trail about two and a half miles southeast of Sibley. Early in the war, John and his son, James, were involved in partisan guerrilla activities with Quantrill, and Hambright’s station was the site of a skirmish on June 18, 1862. Hambright’s stage station was later burned and razed by federal forces.
In August 1862, James Hambright (1838-1920) joined the regular Confederate forces as a private in Colonel Upton Hays’ regiment and fought at the battle of Lone Jack. In October 1863, he was taken prisoner in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and sent to Rock Island POW Camp. James was paroled on April 22, 1864, and in November 1864, he was captured again by federal forces in Jackson County.