Raids involving Shelby, Porter, Marmaduke and Pope. Courtesy of Danielle Kilmer.
The general report of Brigadier General John C. Schofield, U.S. Army, of operations in Missouri and northwestern Arkansas, April 10–November 20, 1862, is thirteen pages and summarizes the general nature of Union forces’ operations against Confederate forces over an eight-month period. Schofield commanded the Army of the Frontier, with three divisions under the command of Generals James Blunt, Francis Herron and Joseph Totten. General Henry Halleck ordered the Union commander of the Department of the Missouri to raise, organize and discipline a state militia as authorized by the president of the United States. Halleck also commented favorably on Federal progress with news of the Union victory at the Battle of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: Just a few miles south of the Missouri border, a decisive Union victory of Major General Samuel R. Curtis at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, in March 1862 and other military actions in the Trans-Mississippi Region forced Confederate leaders to send recruiters into northern Missouri the following summer to replenish depleted forces. Guerilla leader William Quantrill emerges as a formidable leader of a guerilla band raiding along the Missouri-Kansas border and aiding the recruiting effort in the Missouri Valley region, often using coercive methods. Deprivations on both sides increased as revenge became further fuel to continue the war as much as the original cause of states’ rights, preserving the Union and slavery. Confederate president Jefferson Davis was not a believer in the strategic value of guerrilla warfare and urged western commanders to not employ such operations. Nevertheless, the Confederate Congress approved the Partisan Ranger Act in April 1862, authorizing the formation of such bands.
Raids involving Shelby, Porter, Marmaduke and Pope. Courtesy of Danielle Kilmer.
ACTION: Sacking of Dayton and Rose Hill, Cass County, January 1, 1862
Colonel Charles R. “Doc” Jennison orders the 7th Kansas Cavalry “Jayhawkers” under Lieutenant Colonel Daniel R. Anthony to drive out Missouri State Guard forces recruiting in Dayton. Most Rebel forces had vacated the town, but Jennison’s Jayhawkers send an intimidating message to pro-Southern sympathizers by burning nearly every home in the towns of Dayton and Rose Hill, enhancing the Jayhawkers’ ruthless reputation.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Charles Jennison moved to the Kansas towns of Osawatomie and then Mound City from Wisconsin and became a close friend of the staunch abolitionist James Montgomery. Both men were strong supporters of John Brown during the Bleeding Kansas period. Jennison became one of the more despised and lawless Jayhawkers, with a propensity for plunder and personal gain. Commissioned a colonel in the Kansas militia by Governor Charles Robinson, Jennison organized the 7th Kansas Cavalry, which became known as “Jennison’s Jayhawkers.” Jennison and his Red Legs’ raiding of western Missouri left many pro-Southern towns smoldering with only the chimneys still standing, earning this geographical area the title of “Jennison’s Smokestacks.” Jennison’s abolitionist beliefs attracted the attention of Horace Greeley’s New York Daily Tribune. Overlooked for promotion to brigadier general, Jennison resigned and became a Red Leg raider and looter. After the Lawrence Massacre, he was called back into service by Governor Thomas Carney and raised the 15th Kansas Cavalry. Plundering during the pursuit of General Sterling Price’s army in 1864 resulted in a court-martial and his dishonorable discharge shortly after the end of the war.
Antislavery guerrillas under Charles Jennison attacking civilians in Missouri. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Daniel R. Anthony was an avid abolitionist during Kansas’s fight for statehood. His convictions and opinions became influential while serving as postmaster, mayor and a newspaper publisher in Leavenworth, Kansas.
ACTION: Skirmish at Calhoun, Henry County, January 4, 1862
Union Casualties: 10
Confederate Casualties: 30
ACTION: Skirmish at Charleston, Mississippi County, January 8, 1862—10th Iowa
Union Casualties: 24
ACTION: Attack at Roan’s Tan Yard, aka Silver or Sugar Creek, Randolph County, January 8, 1862
A Confederate force under the command of Colonel John Poindexter is camped on Silver Creek, about eight miles east of Roanoke, Missouri. Companies of the 1st and 2nd Missouri Cavalry (Merrill’s Horse), 4th Ohio Cavalry and 1st Iowa Cavalry conducting operations in northeast Missouri locate, attack and, after a brief battle, capture and disperse the Confederate forces, who suffer considerable losses estimated at 60 wagons of supplies and 160 horses.
Union Casualties: 25
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 148
ACTION: Jayhawker raid on Columbus, Johnson County, January 9, 1862—7th Kansas Cavalry
Union Casualties: 5
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Knob Noster, Johnson County, January 22, 1862—2nd Missouri Cavalry
Union Casualties: 1
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Expedition to Blue Springs, Jackson County, January 29, 1962—February 3, 1862
Operating in severe conditions of cold and snow, Captain William Oliver’s 7th Missouri Volunteer Infantry skirmish with William Quantrill’s guerrilla band and capture a considerable amount of guerrilla supplies and contraband. The report is interesting regarding Captain Oliver’s description of his own troops suffering from a shortage of essential items like boots and foodstuffs like sugar, relying mostly on what his soldiers can forage for subsistence. Captain Oliver’s report also highlights injuries suffered from operating in harsh conditions that placed many of his officers in hospitals or unable to conduct their duties for some time.
Samuel R. Curtis. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties: 7
ACTION: General Samuel Curtis’s Pea Ridge and Arkansas Campaign, January–July, 1862
Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis and his Army of the Southwest, with more than ten thousand Union soldiers (including two divisions of German immigrants) and fifty artillery pieces, drives Confederate forces into northwestern Arkansas. Confederate major general Earl van Dorn, current commander of the Trans-Mississippi District with more than sixteen thousand Rebel soldiers, conducts a counteroffensive that culminates in a pitched battle across the border in Benton County, Arkansas, near the town of Leetown just south of the Missouri-Arkansas border.
ACTION: Scouting expedition to Lebanon, Laclede County, January 22, 1862
Lieutenant Colonel Clark Wright reports back to headquarters in Rolla that he occupied Lebanon and sent out several scouting parties to report on enemy strength and locations in southwest Missouri, particularly Springfield.
ACTION: Skirmishes at Bolivar, Polk County, and Marshfield, Webster County, February 9, 1862
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 10
ACTION: Skirmish at Springfield, Greene County, February 12, 1862—OR, Brigadier General Samuel Curtis, commanding, Southwest District of Missouri, February 13, 1862
General Samuel Curtis’s forces defeats a Confederate cavalry regiment on the outskirts of Springfield and regains control of Springfield.
Confederate Casualties: 6
ACTION: Skirmishes at Crane Creek, Flat Creek, Potts Hill or Big Sugar Creek, McDonald County, along the border with Arkansas, February 15, 16 and 17, 1862—OR, Brigadier General Samuel Curtis, February 15, 18, 1862, and OR, Lieutenant Colonel Clark Wright, Wright’s Battalion Missouri Cavalry, February 17, 1862
In order to determine the level of Confederate resistance, Union leaders report of conducting several skirmishes against the Confederate rear guard of General Sterling Price.
Union Casualties: 36
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Independence, Jackson County, February 22, 1862
William Quantrill and a small detachment of his band ride into town unaware of the presence of Union forces. The 2nd Ohio Cavalry prevails and forces Quantrill’s guerrilla band out of town.
Union Casualties: 4
Confederate Casualties: varies between 2 and 9
ACTION: Skirmish at Keetesville (Keytesville), Chariton County, February 25, 1862—OR, Colonel Clark Wright, 6th Missouri Cavalry, February 27, 1862
The camp of 6th Missouri Cavalry Union forces under Captain Samuel Montgomery is attacked by a substantial force estimated at five hundred Rebel soldiers of Colonel Young’s Texas Rangers Brigade under the command of a Major Ross. Although many of Captain Montgomery’s force are caught sleeping, they repulse the Confederate charge three times before withdrawing into Keetesville. The Texas Rangers break off the attack to gather horses and other abandoned supplies. Colonel Wright describes Keetesville as a center of strong Southern support that communicated intelligence on their location to the Rebel forces, as well as denied this information to Captain Montgomery.
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties: 10
TOURISM NOTES: The Town of Keytesville established a monument to Sterling Price in 1915. The General Sterling Price Museum was erected in 1964 and features an 1860s parlor setting, an array of artifacts, memorabilia and other period collections. It is open from May 15 to October 15, Monday–Friday 2:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
ACTION: General John Pope’s (Union commander at the Battle of Second Manassas) southeast Missouri campaign, February 28–April 8, 1862
Ironclad under artillery bombardment from Island No. 10 in Mississippi River, Missouri, April 6, 1862. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Military and Naval Operations About Island Number Ten. Courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri.
ACTION: Fall of New Madrid and Siege of Island No. 10, February 28–April 8, 1862
Confederate control of an island at a double bend in the Mississippi River makes Union attempts to pass it perilous. Confederates guarding the island garrison are restricted to one supply road toward the eastern shore of the Mississippi River. General John Pope begins his campaign overland and commences to siege New Madrid. Brigadier General John McCown abandons the fort and its supplies after one day of heavy bombardment. A flotilla of Union gunboats bombards Island No. 10 for three weeks. The possible escape of Confederate forces is thwarted when two Union gunboats, USS Carondelet and USS Pittsburg, slip past the fort and cut off any possible withdrawal and rescue by Southern vessels. Confederate leadership, believing their situation hopeless, surrender to Union naval flag officer Andrew Foote.
Union Casualties and Losses: 78
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 30 killed, approximately 7,000 Rebel soldiers taken prisoner
WHY IT MATTERS: Capture of Mississippi River stronghold enabled Union leadership to gain strategic control of the Mississippi River down to Fort Pillow just north of Memphis. New Orleans succumbed to Union naval forces under Admiral David Farragut three weeks later. The Confederacy was now dangerously close to being divided in half and cut off from the key transportation center of gravity, the Mississippi River.
ACTION: Major General Henry Halleck issues “No Quarter” directive, March 1862
As commander of the Department of the Missouri, General Halleck is confronted with constant sabotaging of bridges, railroad lines and depots that often caused the deaths of Union soldiers and innocent civilians. The directive simply states that any guerrilla caught in the act of such destruction would be summarily executed on the spot without due process. A more formal directive, General Order No. 100, was signed by President Lincoln on April 23, 1863. General Order No. 100 spelled out specific instructions regarding how soldiers should conduct themselves in wartime.
ACTION: Skirmish at Fox Creek, St. Louis County, March 7, 1862—4th Missouri Cavalry
Union Casualties: 5
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Battle of Pea Ridge (aka Elkhorn Tavern), Benton County, Arkansas, March 7–8, 1862
Despite a strained relationship with his subordinate commander, Union general Franz Sigel, Major General Samuel Curtis’s outnumbered Union forces conduct a dogged defense in the hilly terrain of northeastern Arkansas to defend against cautious Confederate attacks. At the end of the first day, Curtis’s army is cut off from its supply lines in Missouri, and a tenuous stalemate arises as both armies seek cover for a chilly evening. Miscommunication regarding the relocation of Confederate artillery supply trains and superior positioning of Union artillery enable Federal forces to obtain a decisive firepower advantage on Confederate forces near Elkhorn Tavern. Union infantry take advantage of the artillery superiority to gain an advantageous position to aggressively attack Confederate forces. By late morning, the Confederate position is untenable, and its commander, General Van Dorn, must order a retreat that causes his Rebel soldiers to become detached from supply lines and leads to the eventual mass desertion of thousands of Missouri State Guard back to Missouri. Three seasoned Confederate generals, McCullouch, McIntosh and Slack, are killed, along with the mortal wounding and capture of many highranking Confederate officers.
Union Casualties and Losses: 1,384
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 2,000
WHY IT MATTERS: Arkansas’s Confederate forces never regained enough strength until late in the war to threaten Union control of Missouri. The remainder of Van Dorn’s army is sent east of the Mississippi River to reinforce the Army of the Tennessee, leaving Arkansas defenseless. Curtis continued his operations in Arkansas and is denied the capture of Little Rock but successfully seizes an important supply base at Helena, Arkansas, in July.
TOURISM NOTES: Pea Ridge is a National Military Park administered by the National Park Service. It’s considered one of the best-preserved Civil War battlefields, including the well-reconstructed Elkhorn Tavern, where much of the heaviest fighting took place. The 4,300-acre park is near Garfield, Arkansas, just across the Missouri border on Highway 62. Visit the website at www.nps.gov.
ACTION: Skirmish at Mountain Grove and Mountain Grove Seminary, Texas County, March 9, 1862—OR Captain Josephus G. Rich, Phelps Missouri Infantry, March 12, 1862
Approximately sixty Missouri Home Guard, supported by fifty cavalry from Lebanon, attack and capture a Rebel force of thirty-five to forty men, including their officers, Colonel Campbell and Captain Holt.
Union Casualties: 12
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 35–40
ACTION: Skirmish near Lexington, Lafayette County, March 10, 1862
Commander reports fierce hand-to-hand fighting to subdue guerrilla band.
Casualties: 5
Confederate Casualties: 12
ACTION: Skirmish near Marshall, Saline County, March 15–16, 1862—OR, Captain Anson Moore, March 16, 1862; OR, Captain John B Kaiser, March 23, 1862
A Missouri State Militia force led by Lieutenant Jesse Turley surprises and routs a Rebel camp of fifty soldiers three miles from Marshall. Besides capturing considerable horse and other war materiel, twelve Union Missouri State Militia soldiers are recaptured. Turley’s forces are reinforced in anticipation of a large Rebel force’s counterattack.
Reinforcements under Captain John B. Kaiser, Boonville Missouri Cavalry Militia, arrive in Marshall later that morning and rout another secession camp, reclaiming supplies captured earlier.
Confederate Casualties: 8
ACTION: Skirmish at Liberty, Clay County, March 18, 1862
William Quantrill’s band of forty guerrillas raids a small Union garrison in Liberty. The garrison holds out for nearly three hours before surrendering. Quantrill pardons the Union soldiers and departs soon after.
Union Casualties and Losses: 10
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Leesville, Henry County, March 19, 1862—Iowa 1st Cavalry
Union Casualties: 4
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at New (Little) Santa Fe, Jackson County, March 22, 1862
Guerrilla Captain William Quantrill’s band escapes an ambush by the 2nd Kansas Cavalry.
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: 7
ACTION: Skirmish at Carthage, Jasper County, March 23, 1862—6th Kansas Cavalry
Union Casualties: 1
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Raid on Warrensburg, Johnson County, March 26–27, 1862
William Quantrill and an estimated two hundred guerrillas are repulsed after several charges of the Union garrison of sixty soldiers assigned to the 7th Missouri Cavalry under the command of Major Emory Foster.
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties: estimated at 26
ACTION: Skirmish at Humansville, Polk County, March 26, 1862—8th Missouri Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties: 6
Confederate Casualties: 15
ACTION: Skirmish at Sni-A-Bar, Lafayette County, April 1, 1862
The 1st Missouri State Cavalry and Boonville State Militia Cavalry surprise and disperse William Quantrill’s guerrillas.
Union Casualties: 2
ACTION: Skirmish at Walkersville, Salt River Township, Shelby County, April 2, 1862
According to the history of Monroe and Shelby Counties, while transporting a wagonload of supplies from Shelbina to Shelbyville, Colonel Henry S. Lipscomb and fourteen men from the 11th Missouri State Militia are ambushed near Walkersville on the Salt River by Tom Stacy and sixteen bushwhackers. Two militia, prominent citizens, are killed. After the Union militiamen arrive in Shelbyville and relate their story, three of the attacking party are hunted down and killed. This report may vary somewhat from the Official Records.
Confederate Casualties: 3
ACTION: Skirmish at Medicine Creek, Livingston County, April 8, 1862
Eight Missouri State Militiamen guard a railroad bridge east of Chillicothe, over Medicine Creek. While tending a fire outside the blockhouse, a party of nine to ten Confederate bushwhackers ambush them. A short engagement ensues in which the Union guards are able to find cover and return fire, forcing the attackers to retreat. The local Missouri State Militia commander, a Colonel King, sends out a scouting party but does not find the attackers.
Union Casualties: 4
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Jackson, Cape Girardeau County, April 9, 1862—3rd State Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties: 1
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Little Blue River, Jackson County, April 12, 1862
Confederate Casualties: 5
ACTION: Skirmish at New (Little) Santa Fe, Jackson County, April 14, 1862
1st Missouri Cavalry routs Quantrill’s band, with eight casualties and five captured.
ACTION: Skirmish at Diamond Grove, Newton County, Missouri, April 14, 1862—6th Kansas Cavalry
Union Casualties: 1
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Montevallo, Vernon County, April 14, 1862—1st Iowa Cavalry and 2nd Battalion State Militia
Union Casualties: 8
Confederate Casualties: 12
ACTION: Skirmish at Turnback Creek, Greene County, April 26, 1862—5th Kansas Cavalry
Union Casualties: 1
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Neosho, Newton County, April 26, 1862—1st Missouri Cavalry
Union Casualties: 6
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 92
ACTION: Skirmish at Licking, Texas County, May 4, 1862—8th State Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Bloomfield, Stoddard County, May 10, 1862—1st Wisconsin Cavalry
Confederate Casualties: 1
ACTION: Skirmish at Chalk Bluff, Dunklin County, May 15, 1862—1st Wisconsin Cavalry
Union Casualties: 4
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Butler, Bates County, May 15, 1862—1st Iowa Cavalry
Union Casualties: 9
Confederate Casualties: 28
ACTION: Lincoln signs the Homestead Act of 1862, May 20, 1862
With profound national and regional repercussions for aiding the Union effort, Abraham Lincoln signs into law an act authorizing any citizen who had not taken up arms against the Federal government to apply for ownership of 160 acres of Federal land. After five years, and having shown proof of building a dwelling and growing crops, the farmer could file a deed of title for ownership free and clear. Union soldiers can deduct time served from the five-year requirement.
ACTION: Skirmishes at Florida, Monroe County, May 22 and 31, 1862—3rd Iowa Cavalry
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Operations and Skirmishes around Miami and Waverly, Lafayette County, May 25–28—Missouri 7th Cavalry
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at or near Licking, Texas County, May 26, 1862
A Confederate force at Crow’s Station attacks and partially destroys a Union wagon train heading toward their location.
ACTION: Skirmish at Monagan Springs near Osceola, St. Clair County, May 27, 1862—1st Iowa Cavalry
Union Casualties: 10
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Neosho, Newton County, May 31, 1862—10th Illinois and 14th Missouri (Militia) Cavalry
Union Casualties: 5
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Raid at Pink Hill, Jackson County, June 11, 1862
Quantrill’s guerrillas continue harassing Union forces in eastern Jackson County and attack a Union mail escort.
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Warrensburg, Johnson County, June 17, 1862—7th State Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties: 4, 2 found later horribly mutilated Confederate Casualties: estimated at 8–9
ACTION: Raid on Sibley, Jackson County, June 22, 1862
Quantrill’s guerrillas, operating along the Missouri River east of Kansas City, capture a naval vessel, the USS Little Blue. Quantrill’s men leave behind forty sick and wounded Union veterans on board the vessel but loot and carry off a substantial amount of military supplies.
ACTION: Skirmish at Pineville (aka the Pineville Expedition), McDonald County, June 23, 1862
General Franz Sigel, operating in southwest Missouri near the Arkansas border in southwest Missouri, sends Union troops of the 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry to drive out Confederate forces under Major David Russell.
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Raytown, Jackson County, June 23, 1862
Confederate forces skirmish and rout Federal forces of the 7th Missouri Cavalry.
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Pleasant Hill, Cass County, July 8, 1862
A Union force attacks and successfully drives off an encampment of Quantrill’s guerrillas.
ACTION: Skirmish at Lotspeich Farm, Sugar Creek near Wadesburg, Cass County, July 9, 1862—OR, Major James O. Cower, 1st Iowa Cavalry, July 13, 1862
A detachment of the 1st Iowa Cavalry commanded by Major James Gower learns of William Quantrill and a force estimated at 200 to 250 guerrilla raiders camped near the town of Wadesburg in Cass County. Major Gower sends a detachment of fewer than 100 men to conduct an early morning surprise attack on Quantrill’s band. Quantrill’s guerrillas repulse two Union cavalry charges. Federal forces break off the engagement and return to Clinton, Missouri. Union forces later attempt to attack Quantrill at the farm of a Mr. Hornsby, but the guerrilla band had already departed.
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties: 1 killed, several wounded
ACTION: Battle of the Ravines, near Pleasant Hill, Cass County, July 11, 1862
Major James Gower, 1st Iowa Cavalry, joins forces with sixty men of the 1st Missouri Cavalry of Warrensburg commanded by Captain M. Kehoe. Without coordinating with the Union force of a Major Gower, Captain Kehoe attacks Quantrill’s guerrillas at Sear’s House midmorning. Kehoe’s men are repulsed and suffer heavy casualties.
The 1st Iowa Cavalry reengages Quantrill’s forces east of Sear’s House. Quantrill is positioned in the cliffs of the ravines along Big Creek Bluff. A determined Union attack against Confederate defensive positions inflicts heavy losses and routs them completely. Quantrill’s forces scatter into small squads fleeing in several directions.
Union Casualties: 29
Confederate Casualties: 43–48
TOURISM NOTES: Pleasant Hill Cemetery is an important Missouri Civil War historic site. Mass graves contain thirty Union soldiers from the lst Iowa Cavalry, 7th Missouri Cavalry and 6th Kansas Cavalry who fell at the Battle of the Ravines and Pouncy Smith Farm. Other notables include Confederate colonel Hiram Bledsoe and Caroline Abbott Stanley, Civil War author of the novel Order No. 11.
ACTION: The Militia Act of 1862, July 17, 1862
The Militia Act is enacted by Congress to allow African Americans to participate as soldiers and war laborers.
ACTION: Skirmish at Greenville, Dade County, July 20, 1862
Confederate forces arrive in Greenville, learn of a Union encampment nearby and surprise and disperse Federal forces of 12th Missouri State Cavalry from the area.
Union Casualties: 9
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: General John M. Schofield’s counter-guerrilla campaign in Missouri, July 20–September 20, 1862
Union Casualties and Losses: 580
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 2,866
ACTION: Skirmish on Blackwater River near Columbus, Johnson County, July 23, 1862—7th Missouri Cavalry
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Mountain Store and Big Piney, Pulaski County, July 25–26, 1862—3rd Missouri Cavalry and 2nd Missouri Artillery
Confederate Casualties: 5
ACTION: Skirmish at Greenville, Dade County, July 26, 1862—3rd and 12th Missouri Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties: 7
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Ozark, Taney County, August 2, 1862—14th Missouri State Militia
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: 10
ACTION: Skirmish at Clear Creek, near Taberville, St. Clair County, August 2, 1862—1st Iowa Cavalry
Union Casualties: 19
Confederate Casualties: 11
ACTION: Skirmish at Chariton Bridge, Chariton County, August 3, 1862—6th Missouri Cavalry
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: 25
ACTION: Skirmish near Cravensville, Daviess County, August 5, 1862
A company from Colonel James McFerran’s Missouri State Militia under the command of Captains Aaron Vickers and John Goodbrake clashes with the Rebel forces of Captain Jesse Clark south of Cravensville and five miles northwest of Gallatin, Missouri. Although Confederate forces outnumber a Union company of only thirty-five soldiers, their use of newer repeating-fire .52-caliber Sharp’s carbines drives off the Rebel forces. Two captured Rebels are executed by firing squad for violation of previous parole orders.
Union Casualties: 5
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 16, along with the capture of horses and guns.
ACTION: Skirmish near Montevallo, Vernon County, Missouri, August 7, 1862
Montevallo, a known bushwhacker stronghold, is attacked by the 6th Missouri Cavalry. The 6th Missouri experienced one of the highest casualty rates of Union regiments during the war with 315 killed (279 by disease).
Union Casualties: 4
Confederate Casualties: 22
CAMPAIGN: Colonel Joseph Porter’s north Missouri raid, July 1862–January 1863
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: Colonel Joseph Porter hailed from the small northeastern Missouri town of Newark. His pro-Southern sentiments met with mixed responses in a sharply divided northeast Missouri. His brother was also a Confederate officer and trusted subordinate. Union colonel John McNeil was his chief adversary and regarded Porter as a traitor and bushwhacker. Porter demonstrated natural leadership ability against the Home Guard in Athens and Lexington, serving under the command of General John Marmaduke in 1861. After the Confederate defeat at Pea Ridge, General Sterling Price tasked Porter with returning to the region near his home in Missouri to raise recruits and establish weapons caches and a network of pro-Southern informants. By this time in the war, operations behind Union lines were considered illegal guerrilla operations, and those captured would be shot. Many historical accounts are taken from Joseph Mudd’s recollection, With Porter in North Missouri, published in 1909.
ACTION: Skirmish at Cherry Grove, Schuyler County, July 1, 1862
By June, Colonel Joseph Porter has established a presence in northeastern Missouri raiding and recruiting in Marion, Knox, Lewis, Scotland and Schuyler Counties. Union forces of the 11th and 12th State Militia Cavalry under Colonel Henry Lipscomb attack and rout Porter’s forces, driving them southward. After suffering some losses, Porter regroups with approximately seventy-five recruits near his home of Newark and continues recruiting and guerrilla operations.
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Newark, Knox County, July 7, 1862—2nd State Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Black Run River, Reynolds County, July 8, 1862—5th Kansas Cavalry
Union Casualties: 4
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Militia Act of 1862, July 17, 1862
This act authorizes President Lincoln to call militia into Federal service, set quotas and enforce quotas on states. On August 15, 1861, the War Department had initiated the draft to fill unfilled quotas by volunteers. This controversial act caused violence throughout cities in the Northeast, primarily in New York City. The Draft Riots resulted as citizens protested loopholes that enabled sons of wealthier families to avoid Federal service.
ACTION: Raid on Memphis, Scotland County, July 18, 862
Colonel Joseph Porter, accused of wearing a Union uniform and accompanied by 125 or more Rebel soldiers, seizes the Federal arsenal at Memphis with little resistance. A noted bushwhacker gang led by Tom Stacy joins Porter. Circumstances muddled the responsibility for the mysterious death of a local doctor and distinguished citizen, and all males are rounded up, although Union militiamen are later paroled and released.
Union Casualties and Losses: 48
Confederate Casualties: 23
ACTION: Ambush at Vassar Hill (Oak Ridge), Scotland County, July 18, 1862
Ten miles southwest of Memphis along the south fork of the Middle Fabius River, Colonel Joseph Porter’s Rebel force, estimated to be about several hundred men strong, ambushes the advance guard of a three-hundred-man detachment of 11th Missouri Cavalry under Major John Clopper. Most of the advance guard are killed or wounded. Major Clopper is reported to have conducted as many as six to seven mounted charges against Porter’s men. After several hours and heavy Union casualties, one hundred men of the 11th Missouri State Militia Cavalry dismount to return effective fire and prevent any further carnage to Union forces. It is disputed which side was in possession of the field at the end of the action.
Union Casualties: 83
Confederate Casualties: estimated at 19
ACTION: Skirmish at Florida, Monroe County, July 22, 1862
A sixty-man Iowa Volunteer cavalry detachment under Major Henry Caldwell engages Colonel Joseph Porter and about three hundred Rebels for one hour before withdrawing to the Federal post in Paris, Missouri.
Union Casualties: 24–26
Confederate Casualties: unknown
WHY IT MATTERS: Brigadier General John Schofield ordered all able-bodied Missouri men to enroll and report for duty. Schofield later acknowledged that while the Union army mustered a considerable number of Missouri men, many went into hiding to avoid service or were successfully recruited to the Confederate cause.
ACTION: Skirmish on Boles’ Farm, Monroe County, July 23, 1862—3rd Iowa Cavalry
Union Casualties: 10
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Attack at Bott’s Bluff, Monroe County, July 24, 1862
Near Bott’s Farm, Major Caldwell’s 3rd Iowa Volunteer Cavalry attacks through dense brush and drives Porter’s larger force, estimated at four hundred men, south into central Missouri.
Union Casualties: 11–15
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Colonel Odon Guitar’s counter-guerrilla operations and the Battle of Moore’s Mill, Callaway County, July 27–30, 1862
Confederate partisan Colonel Joseph Porter’s force of Rebel recruits moves south through Callaway County to undertake guerrilla operations against Union guerrilla hunter Colonel Odon Guitar and the 9th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. Guitar, responsible for guerrilla hunter activities in northern Missouri, learns of Porter’s activities and marches east from Columbia toward Fulton, where he joined forces with Merrill’s Horse Brigade under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Schaffer. Porter, with a force of 260 men, including guerrillas under Captain Alvin Cobb and 65 Blackfoot Rangers, leaves a conspicuous trail in the hopes of drawing Guitar’s forces into an ambush in eastern Callaway County. On July 28, Guitar’s force of about 700 soldiers is engaged by Porter’s forces positioned near Auxvasse Creek. Several hours of intense action follows, highlighted by decisive action when an artillery battery was overtaken by Porter’s Rebel forces during their surprise attack on Union positions. Guitar’s Union forces counterattack and recapture the artillery battery. Running low on ammunition and having suffered heavy casualties, the Rebel force retreats.
Union Casualties: vary, but as high as 75
Confederate Casualties and Losses: estimated as high as 180
TOURISM NOTES: Several panels located at the site off Route JJ, south of the town of Calwood, Missouri, provide a historic overview of the battle.
In the fall of 2013, 151 years after the actual battle, local Callaway County Civil War historians, university archaeological students and the Missouri Civil War Heritage Foundation, in cooperation with the National Park Service, excavated the site. The discovery of nearly two hundred battlefield artifacts provided a unique insight into how the battle transpired and verified many of the earlier historical accounts of the battle. The artifacts are now on display at the Callaway Historical Society in downtown Fulton, Missouri. Callaway is one of the more historically interesting and distinguished counties of Missouri, and visitors can visit an informative museum at the Callaway Historical Society, open Tuesdays through Friday and every third Saturday.
In 2014, a memorial was erected at an unmarked grave site of twenty-four Rebel soldiers killed at the Battle of Moore’s Mill on Route Z, one mile west of Calwood, after verification by sonar scanning equipment.
HISTORICAL TRIVIA: How many University of Missouri alumni do you think know that a large bust of Colonel Odon Guitar, one of the first trustees for the University of Missouri, resides in the front offices of the University of Missouri alumni center?
ACTION: Skirmish at Bollinger Mills, Cape Girardeau County, July 28, 1862—13th Missouri
Confederate Casualties: 10
ACTION: Capture of eight Rebel soldiers outside Richmond, Ray County, July 30, 1862
ACTION: Skirmish at Ozark, Christian County, August 1, 1862—OR, Colonel Robert R. Lawther, Missouri Partisan Rangers, August 1862
Colonel Robert Lawther and fifty-five Missouri Partisan Rangers march fifty miles to Ozark, reconnoiter and attack a much larger force of the 14th Missouri Cavalry militia. Fighting soon erupts in the town around the courthouse and adjoining buildings. Lawther reports of Union soldiers holed up in the buildings. After recognizing that his soldiers are outnumbered eight to one, Lawther orders his rangers to break off the attack. Lawther’s reports of heavy Union casualties conflicts with other partisan reports.
Union force commander Captain Milton Burch gives a different account of the affair. While Lawther’s rangers did commence a violent attack, Union soldiers had been warned of the approaching Rebel force and saddled horses, ready to answer the attack. Burch reports that his men were not hiding out in the buildings but rather rose up from their campsite and returned deadly fire, causing the Rebel forces to disperse in several directions.
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: 1 initially but 9 from a later report
ACTION: Skirmish in northeastern Lafayette County, August 1, 1862
Missouri Union cavalry capture and execute twelve guerrillas.
ACTION: Raid on Newark, Knox County, July 31, 1862
Colonel Joseph Porter manages to recover most of his force after the retreat from Moore’s Mill and marches back north to Newark, Missouri. Porter surprises the Federal garrison of seventy-five militia that took refuge in a brick schoolhouse. The militiamen surrender once faced with an ultimatum that the schoolhouse would be set on fire. Union soldiers are paroled, but Union-sympathizing store owners are not so fortunate and suffer considerable looting and destruction to their businesses.
Union Casualties and Losses: 68
Confederate Casualties: 73
WHY IT MATTERS: High casualties from poor and chaotic leadership during the advance became a source of growing discord in Porter’s recruits. Elements of Porter’s force credited with recruiting success at Paris and Clanton managed to rebuild his forces to an estimated two thousand men, but many were unruly and poorly equipped and trained. As greater Union forces amassed in pursuit, Porter contemplated if it was time to take his embattled force south to Arkansas, where they could be better trained and supplied.
ACTION: Battle of Kirksville, Adair County, August 6, 1862
Colonel Joseph Porter’s brigade of approximately 1,500 mostly unarmed or poorly armed recruits is invited to rendezvous near Kirksville in northern Missouri by Confederate captain Tice Cain, a local farmer, to join forces with 500 new recruits. A Union force of 1,000 soldiers under Colonel John McNeil’s 2nd Missouri Cavalry pursues the resilient guerrilla leader as he destroys bridges and other crossing sites. As McNeil’s cavalry forces accompanied by Merrill’s Battalion close in, Porter decides to make a stand and directs his soldiers to occupy and conceal themselves in homes, stores and the county courthouse and among crops in the fields. A Federal artillery battery engages Porter’s men in the town square, while two Union columns, Merrill’s Horse on the right and 3rd Iowa on the left, drive Porter’s remaining forces west of the town. Heavy fighting takes place for more than three hours until a large contingent of Rebel soldiers is subdued and surrenders.
Union Casualties: 88
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 368
Confederate dead were initially buried in several mass graves at Forest-Llewellyn Cemetery. Colonel McNeill was later criticized for his controversial directive to court-martial and execute captured Confederate soldiers for violating previous parole agreements.
WHY IT MATTERS: The decisive defeat of Colonel Joseph Porter at Kirksville was a serious blow to Confederate recruiting and ensured Union control in northeastern Missouri.
TOURISM NOTES: A memorial placard on the courthouse square, approximate site of Union artillery, commemorates the battle. The Truman State University Library contains letters written by the Ziegler brothers that give accounts of their service for the Union army in Arkansas.
ACTION: Union forces’ pursuit of Colonel Joseph Porter, August 1862
ACTION: Skirmishes near Cravensville, at Painter Creek, at Walnut Creek, and at Sears’ Ford on the Chariton River, Adair and Macon Counties, August 5–9, 1862—OR, Colonel James McFerran, 1st Missouri Cavalry (Militia), Headquarters Breckenridge, August 16, 1862
Union lieutenant colonel Alexander Woolfolk’s force of 400 men fight a six-hour engagement against Porter’s Rebel band estimated at 1,500 soldiers on Panther Creek, near the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad crossing site over the Chariton River.
Union Casualties: 12
Confederate Casualties: 70
Colonel James McFerran and 160 men of the Missouri 5th Cavalry and the 1st Regiment of Missouri State Cavalry join Colonel Woolfolk’s forces and attack Porter’s Rebel soldiers who were completing preparations to ambush Federal forces along Walnut Creek. After a short engagement, Porter retreats, but his rear guard is soon engaged at Sears’ Ford. Union forces, exhausted and unable to move their artillery and ammunition supply wagons, withdraw to Laclede, Missouri. The pursuit of Porter is abandoned, and Colonel McFerran joins forces with General Benjamin Loan to track down Confederate colonel John Poindexter, who is recruiting in north-central Missouri.
Union Casualties: 15
Confederate Casualties and Losses: unknown, estimated as high as several hundred
WHY IT MATTERS: Unrelenting Union pursuit degraded the loyalty and support of Colonel Porter’s recruits as Rebel desertions increased and as Union forces enjoyed increasing success in northeast Missouri.
TOURISM NOTES: In the southwest portion of Macon on Coates Street is the Woodlawn Cemetery, where a large rock marks the massacre of eleven captured Confederate soldiers on September 26, 1862. Union general Lewis Merrill ordered the execution by the 23rd Missouri Infantry after it was discovered that the captured Rebels had taken an oath of loyalty and were paroled but had again taken up arms for the Rebel cause. All citizens sympathetic to the Southern cause were made to watch the executions. After General Merrill departed, one injured man was spared after a woman threw her body over him before he could be finished off. This interesting tale can be found at the Macon County Historical Society website (http://www.maconcountyhistoricalsociety.com/civil-war.html).
ACTION: Raid on Palmyra, Marion County, August 12, 1862
Colonel Joseph Porter, with a remaining force of four hundred Rebels desperately living off what they foraged, captures a small garrison of twenty men in Palmyra after a two-hour engagement. Porter frees Confederates held in a local jail but abandons Palmyra to Federal forces and returns to his home near Newark, Missouri. Andrew Alsman, a sixty-year-old carpenter, respected citizen and Union sympathizer, was taken hostage. The story goes that Porter released the hostage, but Alsman is later found by the townsfolk murdered under mysterious circumstances.
ACTION: Colonel Joseph Porter’s retreat from Whaley’s Mill to Arkansas
Porter’s seriously depleted Rebel force is routed and pursued to Bragg’s schoolhouse, where the men are forced to disperse to avoid further capture. After several days of evading Union forces, Porter abandons any further attempts to raise Confederate forces and manages to make his way south through Monroe, Audrain, Callaway and Boone Counties to the Missouri River and eventually to Pocahontas, Arkansas, with the remaining contingent of his recruits.
WHY IT MATTERS: To further degrade Confederate recruiting, General John C. Schofield, commanding officer of Union forces in Missouri, issued General Order No. 19, requiring all able-bodied men to report to their nearest military post. While Schofield’s order created considerable controversy, some historians believe that more than fifty thousand men were recruited to outfit as many as sixty-nine Union regiments.
ACTION: Skirmish at Stockton, Cedar County, August 9, 1862—Colonel McNeil’s command of Missouri State Militia
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 49
ACTION: Campaign and pursuit of Colonel John Poindexter in north-central Missouri, August 8–15, 1862
Colonel John Poindexter, an early rising leader in General Sterling Price’s Missouri State Guard, had fought in the Battles of Carthage, Wilson’s Creek, Lexington and Pea Ridge. Price believes that Poindexter’s capable leadership and demonstrated skills of persuasion could be used for successful recruiting in the central and north-central region of Missouri. Confederate recruiting benefited from reaching out to Southern soldiers released from duty who, faced with conflict back home, became willing recruits for the unconventional guerrilla warfare conducted in Missouri.
ACTION: Raid at Compton’s Ferry, Livingston County, August 11, 1862
Union guerrilla hunter Colonel Odon Guitar’s brigade pursues and attacks Colonel John Poindexter’s force of approximately 1,200 to 1,500 recruits while crossing the Grand River in north-central Missouri. Poindexter suffers significant losses and is forced to retreat to Chariton County.
Confederate Casualties and Losses: unknown
ACTION: Raid at Yellow Creek, Chariton County, August 13, 1862
Colonel Odon Guitar’s combined forces with Union brigadier general Benjamin Loan rout and eliminates Colonel Poindexter’s forces two days after Compton’s Ferry. Poindexter is wounded and escapes but is later captured in September 1863. Since Poindexter is wearing civilian clothes, Union authorities have legal reason to execute him as a spy or guerrilla. Poindexter is granted a reprieve after swearing a loyalty oath and promising to not reengage in guerrilla warfare.
WHY IT MATTERS: Colonel Poindexter’s defeat and capture along with the Union army’s successes against Colonel Joseph Porter’s guerrilla operations in northern Missouri further impeded Confederate recruiting and guerrilla operations in north-central Missouri.
ACTION: Battle of Independence, Jackson County, August 11, 1862
Approximately 700 to 800 Confederate forces under Colonel John T. Hughes and guerrilla leader William Quantrill attack a Union army camp of over 300 soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Buel in Independence. Many Union soldiers are caught and killed asleep in their tents, while the rest manage to break free to conduct a desperate defense. Despite the losses of Confederate leader Colonel Hughes and several other Confederate officers, Union forces are unable to break free and surrender soon after barricading themselves in the town’s bank building. Quantrill lieutenant and guerrilla leader George Todd frees prisoners at the town jail except for City Marshal James Knowles and a captured 2nd Missouri State Militia leader, Captain Aaron Thomas. Both are executed for their roles in an earlier ambush of George Todd’s band that killed several of his men. The remaining 150 or so Union prisoners are paroled.
Union Casualties and Losses: estimated at 230
Confederate Casualties: 32, including 3 colonels, buried together at Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence
WHY IT MATTERS: A Federal investigation conducted during court-martial proceedings against the two Union leaders, Lieutenant Colonel James Buel and Captain Breckenridge, was an indication that Union leadership was still not quite up to the task of training and leading soldiers to fight the bands of such ruthless adversaries as guerrilla leaders William Quantrill and George Todd.
TOURISM NOTES: The restored historic 1859 Independence Jail, located in the town square, the site of George Todd’s two murders, tells the story of famous prisoners, deprivations against civilians and how the population lived and survived during this tumultuous period.
ACTION: Skirmish at Mussel Shoals, Grand River, August 13, 1862—9th Missouri Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties and Losses: 100
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish near Barry Section, Barry County, August 14, 1862—5th Missouri State Militia Cavalry, Andrews’ Company Enrolled Militia
Union Casualties: 9
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Battle of Lone Jack, Jackson County, August 15–16, 1862
After having suffered severe losses from engagements in Arkansas, Missouri State Guard officers, Captain Joseph Shelby, Colonel Vern Cockrell, Colonel John T. Coffee, Colonel John Poindexter, Upton Hays, John Charles Tracy, John T. Hughes and DeWitt C. Hunter are directed to return and conduct recruiting operations in Missouri. The recent fall of Independence, Missouri, and the extensive recruiting efforts force General Schofield to direct General James Totten, commander of the 2nd Division of the Army of the Frontier, to take action against this Confederate plan.
One of the largest engagements in Jackson County, west-central Missouri, takes place at Lone Jack, Missouri. Initially, a Lexington militia force of 740 soldiers, under the command of Major Emory Foster attacks and disperses 800 to 1,600 Rebels under Colonel John T. Coffee camped outside Lone Jack. The following morning, approximately 3,000 Rebel soldiers under the command of Colonel Vern Cockrell silently take up positions west of Lone Jack with the intent to launch a surprise flank attack after Colonel Upton Hays engages Union forces. Hays’s attack is delayed, allowing Foster’s militia time to improve its defensive positions. During the attack, as the Union right flank is in danger of breaking, a Union cannon concealed in an Osage orange grove repulses the attacking Confederate forces. A battle of charges, retreats and counterattacks ensues for five hours. Confederate forces under Colonel Coffee return to reinforce the Confederate effort, while serious wounds to the Federal commander, Major Foster, compel Union forces to retreat. Union reinforcements from Generals James Blunt and Fitz Warren arrive two days later, forcing Confederate forces to relinquish their hold on Lone Jack.
Future James and Younger Gang outlaw Cole Younger is recognized for his display of bravery while personally resupplying Confederate forces along the front lines throughout the battle.
Union Casualties: 160
Confederate Casualties: 59–94 killed, wounded unknown
WHY IT MATTERS: The reputation of Quantrill’s guerrillas’ past treatment of captured Union soldiers instilled a resolve to make a determined stance by the outnumbered Federal forces. Missouri’s Union militia forces demonstrated more seasoning and will to fight as they stood their ground against often better-led Confederate units.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Considerable atrocities to dead and wounded were observed by Union soldier, University of Missouri graduate and future secretary of war and senator Stephen Elkins during the engagement. Elkins’s father and brother, who fought for the Confederacy, had been influential in sparing Elkins from execution months earlier when he was taken prisoner by Quantrill’s guerrillas. Missouri’s battlefields became symbolic of a conflict in which families often served on opposite sides.
TOURISM NOTES: The Lone Jack Civil War Battlefield, Museum and Soldier’s Cemetery is one of the oldest historic Civil War sites preserved in Missouri. A variety of artifacts is on display, including photos of those who fought and several dioramas depicting the circumstances surrounding major events, like the Lawrence Massacre, General Order No. 11 and the Battle of Westport. Located at 301 South Bynum Road, Lone Jack, Missouri, visitor hours (March–October) are Wednesday–Saturday 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.; it is open on weekends November through February.
HISTORICAL SITUATION: In July 1862, in the aftermath of the Peninsula Campaign, President Abraham Lincoln summoned Major General Henry W. Halleck to Washington, D.C., to serve as the general in chief of Union forces. Major General Samuel R. Curtis, the victor at the Battle of Pea Ridge, took command and reorganized the Department of the Missouri. Curtis created the Army of the Frontier under the command of Brigadier General John C. Schofield in October 1862 with a force of twenty thousand men responsible for operations against Confederate forces between Springfield and Fayetteville. The Army of Southeastern Missouri was created in November 1862 under the command of Brigadier General John W. Davidson with a force of approximately ten thousand men organized into two divisions commanded by Brigadier General William P. Benton and Colonel Chester P. Harding and the 4th Missouri Cavalry under Colonel George E. Waring.
A rebuilding of the Confederate army in Arkansas was undertaken by Major General Thomas Hindman in order to continue the defense of the state after the Confederate defeat at Pea Ridge. Major General Theophilus Holmes replaced Hindman, who took over Confederate forces in northwestern Arkansas and conducted operations during the late summer and early fall, raiding Union outposts such as Bloomfield, Greenville and Patterson.
ACTION: Skirmish at Union Mills, Marion or Ralls County, August 20, 1862—13th Illinois Cavalry, 1st Missouri Cavalry
Union Casualties: 7
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Crooked Creek near Dallas (later renamed Marble Hill), Bollinger County, Missouri, August 24, 1862—OR, Major Bazel F. Lazear, 12th Missouri Cavalry (Militia), Greenville, August 29, 1862
An estimated Rebel force of several hundred men under Colonel William L. Jeffers surprises the Union soldiers of the 12th Missouri Cavalry along Crooked Creek. Heavy Rebel fire forces Major Lazear’s militia to retreat until defensive positions are established along a picket fence. Major Lazear gathers up his forces the next day to counterattack, but the Rebel force has hastily abandoned its camp and supplies.
Union Casualties and Losses: 11
Confederate Casualties: widely vary between 6 and 40
ACTION: Skirmish at Coon Creek near Lamar, Barton County, August 24, 1862—2nd and 6th Kansas Cavalry
Union Casualties: 30
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Bloomfield, Stoddard County, August 24, 1862—13th Illinois Cavalry
Confederate Casualties: 20
ACTION: Skirmish in Howard County, August 28, 1862—4th Missouri State Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties and Losses: 11
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Ashley, Pike County, August 28, 1862—Pierce’s Company State Militia
Union Casualties: 6
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish near Iberia, Miller County, August 29, 1862—Missouri Enrolled Militia
Union Casualties: 7
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at California House, Moniteau County, August 29, 1862—13th Missouri State Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties: 4
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Roanoke, Howard County, September 6, 1862—2nd Merrill Horse Cavalry
Union Casualties: 1
ACTION: Skirmish at Bloomfield, Stoddard County, September 11, 1862—13th Illinois Cavalry, 1st Wisconsin Cavalry
Union Casualties: 8
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Newtonia, Newton County, September 13, 1862
In an effort to maintain a foothold in Missouri and hopefully redeem Confederate losses in early 1862 at the Battle of Pea Ridge, General Sterling Price’s cavalry commander, Colonel Joseph Shelby, establishes the Camp Coffey training camp south of the Union garrison at Newtonia with 1,500 Missouri Rebel cavalrymen. The Union garrison, consisting of the 6th Missouri State Cavalry, is driven away to Mount Vernon and occupied by Rebel forces. Colonel Upton Hays, commander of the 6th Missouri Cavalry, CSA, is killed. Colonel Douglas Cooper moves the 31st Texas Cavalry and the 1st Cherokee Battalion to join forces with Shelby and occupies Newtonia two weeks later.
Union Casualties: 14
Confederate Casualties: unknown (other than death of Colonel Hays)
ACTION: Skirmish at Bragg’s Farm, near Whaley’s Mill, September 13, 1862—OR, Brigadier General John McNeil, Headquarters McNeil’s column on the march, September 14, 1862
2nd Missouri State Militia Cavalry pursues and disperses Colonel Joseph Porter’s force of four hundred to five hundred Rebel soldiers, capturing a considerable amount of horses and provisions.
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties and Losses: estimated over 22
ACTION: Skirmish at Strother’s Fork of Black River, Iron County, September 13, 1862—OR, Colonel Samuel H. Melcher, Washington County (Missouri) Militia, Potosi, Missouri, September 15, 1862
Schofield’s Hussars State Militia, 1st Missouri Militia Infantry, Washington County Enrolled Militia, commanded by Captains Craig and Breckenridge, attack and disperse a Rebel camp, taking several prisoners, horses and other provisions and freeing three Union prisoners.
Confederate Casualties and Losses: 12
ACTION: Skirmish at Mount Vernon, Lawrence County, September 19, 1862—OR, Brigadier General Egbert B. Brown, Headquarters 4th Brigade, Mount Vernon, September 19, 1862
Captain John Long’s Rebel force of seventy engages Union militia forces of the 14th State Militia Cavalry and Weer’s Battalion Enrolled Militia, anticipating a Rebel approach on Mount Vernon. The Rebel force retreats but is attacked later by Union militia cavalry attempting to cut off escape.
Union Casualties: 1
Confederate Casualties and Losses: estimated over 5
ACTION: Skirmish at Hickory Grove, Warren County, September 19, 1862—6th Kansas Cavalry
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Shirley’s Ford, Spring River, Jasper County, September 20, 1862—2nd and 3rd Kansas Indian Home Guard
Union Casualties: 29
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Lincoln suspends writ of habeas corpus, September 24, 1862
Proclamation is issued by the president suspending habeas corpus against all Rebels, insurgents and persons who resisted the draft and were guilty of disloyalty. Lincoln uses his war powers to create the facility for administration of an Arbitrary Arrest Program, placing military commanders in the unfamiliar role of law enforcement.
ACTION: Skirmish near Cambridge, Saline County, September 26, 1862—9th Missouri State Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties: 5
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Battle of Newtonia, Newton County, September 30, 1862
Approximately 6,000 Union soldiers from Fort Scott, Baxter Springs, Springfield and Mount Vernon converge on Newtonia to deal with a considerable Confederate force in and near Newtonia. A daylong battle begins during the early morning when approximately 1,500 soldiers from the Army of the Frontier of Union brigadier general James Blunt attack Confederate forces commanded by Colonel Douglas Cooper and Colonel Joseph Shelby. Rebel reinforcements bolster defending Confederate forces and force a withdrawal of engaged Union forces. Later, Union reinforcements arrive and threaten the Confederate right flank until the arrival of additional Confederate forces finally stops the Union advance and forces a retirement as darkness emerged. Union forces attempt an orderly withdrawal, but fear over the size of the pursuing Confederate forces turns into a rout of Blunt’s forces throughout the night until Union forces reach safety in Sarcoxie, ten miles away.
Union Casualties: estimated as high as 245
Confederate Casualties: estimated at possibly 100
WHY IT MATTERS: Though a Confederate victory, control of the region of southwest Missouri eluded the South due to the continued presence of a large Union army. The Confederate leaders conducted bold, audacious raids in 1863 and 1864, but most military engagements consisted of Rebel partisan bands raiding and looting supplies from Union sympathizers for the duration of the war. The Battle of Newtonia witnessed Native Americans participating in a significant role for both sides.
TOURISM NOTES: The Ritchie Mansion in Newtonia, Union headquarters and site of both battles, tells the story of Confederate spy Myra Belle Shirley, later known as outlaw “Belle Starr,” including her imprisonment and escape. Several websites highlight Newton County’s violent Civil War history (www.newtoncountymotourism.org/map.php is a good place to start).
ACTION: Battle of Granby, Newton County, October 4, 1862—OR, Lieutenant Colonel M.W. Buster, Indian Battalion, Camp White Rock, Prairie, Mississippi County, October 7, 1862
The Federal army gains control over lead mines, but the mines’ smelter is destroyed in the fighting.
WHY IT MATTERS: A large discovery of lead in 1850 led to the Granby Stampede, which spawned a boomtown of eight thousand people at its peak. By 1859, 25 million tons of lead had been stripped out of the mines, making it the largest mining and smelting operation in Missouri and a critical resource for both sides to control.
ACTION: Skirmishes at Liberty and Sibley’s Landing, Jackson County, October 6, 1862—OR, Captain Daniel H. David, 5th Missouri Cavalry (Militia), Camp Thomas, Independence, Missouri, October 8, 1862
Captain Daniel H. David and four companies of the 5th Missouri State Militia Cavalry engage approximately 130 members of William Quantrill’s and Colonel Child’s guerrilla bands near a landmark known as Big Hill. A forty-five-minute engagement at close quarters forces Rebel guerrillas off Big Hill, and they quickly scatter from the site. Reinforcements under Captain Vanzant join Captain David, who continues the next day with some success; weary from traveling in thick brush, however, the pursuit is called off.
Union Casualties: Several
Confederate Casualties: Several, including capture of Colonel Child
ACTION: Raid on Concordia, Lafayette County, October 5, 1862, July 13, 1863
Bushwhackers plunder the town and murder several citizens.
ACTION: Skirmish near New Franklin, Howard County, October 7, 1862
Lieutenant Joseph Street, commanding a company of the 9th Cavalry Missouri State Militia, attacks and disperses a force of seventy-five Rebels camped outside New Franklin.
Confederate Casualties: estimated over 3
ACTION: Skirmish at Hazel Bottom, Barry County, October 14, 1862—Kansas 2nd Cavalry
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Portland, Callaway County, October 16, 1862—1st Battalion State Militia Cavalry (Krekel’s)
ACTION: Palmyra Massacre, Marion County, October 18, 1862
Ten Confederate prisoners of war are executed after Confederate forces fail to comply with Colonel John McNeil’s ultimatum to return an abducted local Union supporter, and suspected Union spy, Andrew Alsman.
WHY IT MATTERS: Colonel McNeil’s actions were reported by the news media and widely criticized. After the war, Colonel McNeil admitted that the unintended consequence of this event was an increase in Confederate army enlistments.
TOURISM NOTES: A granite monument was erected in memory of the executed Rebel soldiers, along with the placement of several informative panels to explain the massacre at Palmyra.
ACTION: Skirmish at Marshfield, Webster County, October 20, 1862—10th Illinois Cavalry
Union Casualties: 2
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Van Buren, Carter County, October 22, 1862—12th Missouri State Militia Cavalry
Union Casualties: 1
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Raid at Dayton, Cass County, October 23, 1862
William Quantrill and his band attack a Federal wagon train.
Union Casualties: 20
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Grand Prairie, St. Louis County, October 24, 1862
Union Casualties: 3
Confederate Casualties: 28
ACTION: Skirmish at Clarkton, Dunklin County, Missouri, October 23 and 28, 1862—2nd Illinois Artillery, 72nd Infantry, 2nd Illinois Cavalry
Union Casualties: unknown
Confederate Casualties: 12
ACTION: Battle of Island Mound, Bates County, October 26–28, 1862
Escaped slaves from Missouri, Arkansas and Indian Territory are mustered into the Kansas militia’s 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers under Captain James Williams. The regiment, as part of two battalions of 240 men commanded by Captain’s Richard Ward and Henry Seaman as well as the 5th Kansas Cavalry, is ordered to break up a guerrilla force situated on Hog Island in the Osage River, nine miles east of the Kansas-Missouri border. On October 27, cavalry scouts (consisting of Native and African Americans) identify a combined force of approximately 350 Confederate guerrillas under Bill Truman and Dick Hancock along with Missouri State Guard recruits commanded by Colonel Jeremiah Cockrell. The Union force sends for assistance as they fortified the Toothman Homestead using fence rails to create breastworks, but by October 29, Kansas militia rations are running low. Skirmishing breaks out when guerrilla forces set the prairie around the Union camp on fire. This action is followed by the attack of a guerrilla force that divides the Kansas militia. A melee follows in which Kansas Colored militia caught in the path of the charging Confederate cavalry bravely stand their ground and form a line to return fire. Although significant Kansas militia casualties are incurred, the African American soldiers remain steadfast until Union reinforcements engage the guerrillas and force their withdrawal.
Union Casualties: 18
Confederate Casualties: 30–40
WHY IT MATTERS: This event is considered one of the earliest engagements of an African American regiment during the war. The 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers earned the nickname of “First to Fight, First to Fall” as the first all–African American unit to fight as free men before President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, when the mustering of colored troops into United States Federal service occurred. A New York Times reporter witnessed the engagement and described how the fierce fighting of the black troops reflected a measure of cold resolve not to be forced back into slavery or endure their almost certain execution if captured. This event clearly demonstrated that African American soldiers could hold their own in a desperate pitched engagement. In December 1864, the Kansas militia was designated a Federal unit of the United States Colored Troops.
TOURISM NOTES: In 2012, Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources designated forty acres 6 miles southwest of Butler on the Toothman Homestead as a State Historic Site. Several interpretive panels describe the Battle of Island Mound. From Highway 49/71, take Exit 131 and travel west on MO52 3.5 miles to Highway K, south 1.5 miles to NW 10002 Road and west for 0.8 miles to find the battle site on the left.
ACTION: Skirmish at Lamar, Barton County, November 5, 1862
Missouri Militia Cavalry fights off William Quantrill’s guerrilla band during a raid and sets fire to the town.
Union Casualties: 4
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: Skirmish at Harrisonville, Cass County, November 3, 1862—5th and 6th Missouri Cavalry
Union Casualties: 13
Confederate Casualties: 26
TOURISM NOTES: The City of Harrisonville has created three large Civil War murals located on buildings just off the courthouse square. Burnt District interpretive panels and monuments are located at the Cass County Justice Center, 2501 West Wall.
ACTION: Battle of Clark’s Mill at Big Beaver Creek, Douglas County, November 7, 1862
A Union force commanded by Captain Hiram Barstow moving southeast from Clark’s Mill briefly skirmishes with a large Confederate force of approximately one thousand Rebels before falling back to Clark’s Mill. Captain Barstow’s force suffers heavy casualties during a desperate five-hour fight and eventually complies with Confederate demands to surrender. The Confederate commander later paroles the Union troops and burns the blockhouse at Clark’s Mill before departing.
Union Casualties and Losses: 113 Confederate Casualties: unknown
WHY IT MATTERS: While some Confederate forces remained to maintain a tiny toehold in southwest Missouri, most returned to the Arkansas Boston Mountains.
ACTION: Skirmish at Beaver Creek, Texas County, November 24, 1862—99th Illinois Infantry, 21st Iowa, 3rd Missouri Cavalry
Union Casualties: 16
Confederate Casualties: 25
ACTION: Skirmish at Carthage, Jasper County, November 27, 1862—2nd Kansas Cavalry
Union Casualties: 1
Confederate Casualties: unknown
ACTION: George Todd’s raid on New (Little) Santa Fe, Jackson County, late fall/early winter of 1862
Following the successful Union army Prairie Grove Campaign in Arkansas, many of Quantrill’s guerrillas eventually return to Jackson County and commence guerrilla operations against Union forces and sympathizers. About 30 guerrillas under George Todd engage 62 Jayhawkers utilizing the preferred guerrilla tactic of surprise ambushes on enemy forces at close range, where the use of revolvers is most effective and lethal. Jayhawkers fight a desperate engagement until they are reinforced by a larger force of 150 Jayhawkers.
ACTION: George Todd’s guerrilla campaign, Jackson County, Kansas-Missouri border, December 3–18, 1862
George Todd’s guerrilla band conducts a campaign of terrible retribution and deprivations on suspected pro-Union supporters, at times raiding three settlements per day.
ACTION: Curtis’s winter campaign, November 1862–February 1863
General Samuel Curtis’s responsibility is essentially to ensure the strategic defense of Missouri, while General Henry Halleck oversees the Union strategy to take control of the Mississippi River. Curtis, concerned over seemingly uncontested Confederate raiding into Missouri, directs Brigadier General Frederick Steele’s Union forces at Helena, Arkansas, be moved to reinforce the garrison at the important Federal railhead in Pilot Knob. After complaints from Federal military and political leaders over General Curtis’s unexpected change of direction in strategy against the Arkansas capital in Little Rock, General Halleck countermands General Curtis’s order and directs the Federal forces of Brigadier General Frederick Steele to return to Helena.
General Curtis then directs the Army of Southeastern Missouri to undertake a winter campaign through southeastern Missouri into Arkansas. Halleck raises concerns over the necessity of such a move but tends to defer to his commanders in the field. Over the objections of Curtis’s senior commanders, the campaign proceeds. The campaign is an arduous trial of transporting and securing supply trains from the base in Pilot Knob over the difficult terrain of the Ozark Hills through Wayne, Reynolds, Carter and Oregon Counties, often moving at times over roads made impassable after heavy rains. One story mentions that a bridge built over the Black River at Carter’s Ford was dismantled to build canoes to rescue soldiers after a deluge of nine inches. The shortage of food also results in Union forces arbitrarily replenishing shortages from the local population. Finally, in February, with the entire Army of Southeastern Missouri of ten thousand men at West Plains, the only military action is a surprise raid by Colonel George E. Waring’s 4th Missouri Cavalry on Confederate forces at Batesville that results in the capture of forty prisoners, including three officers.
WHY IT MATTERS: This campaign is an example of the senior Federal army leadership’s strategic shortcomings in the early years. John F. Bradbury pointed out in his study of this campaign in the Missouri Historical Review that the North still lacked a general who could envision and direct the overall strategic effort against the Confederate defense perimeter. Any belief by Missouri’s Federal commanders that southern Missouri guerrilla operations were crippled was negated when Generals Marmaduke and Shelby conducted bold raids into Missouri during the first half of 1863.
