Each of these programs lasts around one hour.
In 1861, Missouri was a prosperous and conservative state whose citizens overwhelmingly favored the status quo. But the radical minorities on either side of the issues struggled to take control of Missouri in 1861. Come discover how these factions came to power and who won the struggle for Missouri in 1861.
When the Territory of Kansas was established in 1854, the United States Congress decreed that settlers would determine whether Kansas would be admitted to the Union as a free state or a slave state. Come discover the steps taken by both sides to secure control of the territory, who won control and the legacy of Bleeding Kansas.
Following the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price breaks away from his alliance with Brig. Gen. Ben McCulloch to head north for the Missouri River. What follows is the siege and capture of Lexington, Missouri and the Federal response by Missouri’s commander, Maj. Gen. John Charles Fremont.
James Buchanan Eads was a self-taught engineer and prosperous citizen of Missouri who was living in Missouri at the start of the Civil War. When the US War Department put out bids for a fleet of Mississippi River ironclad gunboats, Eads won the contract. Come discover how Eads built the fleet of gunboats that helped wrest control of the Mississippi River from the Confederacy.
This presentation tells the story of the Republicans rise and fall in Missouri beginning with the elections of 1864 and ending with the Democrats regaining control in the 1870s. Discussion of emancipation, Charles Drake’s rewriting of the Missouri Constitution and the loyalty oath that divided political leaders in Missouri.
Former Missouri Governor Sterling Price has been keeping an eye on events in Missouri. His contacts have been telling him that a lot of Missourians secretly support the Confederacy. Come discover what happens as Price, now a major general in the Confederate army, leads 12,000 cavalry troops into Missouri on an expedition that travels over 1,400 miles and lasts over three months.
On October 23, 1864, one of the largest battles fought west of the Mississippi River occurred south of Westport in the vicinity of Brush Creek. Sterling Price has been keeping an eye on events in Missouri. His contacts have been telling him that a lot of Missourians secretly support the Confederacy. Come discover what turned the tide of the battle and what is being done to preserve and interpret the battlefield.
Over two successive days, October 22 and 23, Confederate forces battle Union forces over control of Byram’s Ford on the Big Blue River. On the first day, a collection of Kansas militia and volunteer forces are attacked by Confederates wanting to gain control of the ford to cross their large wagon train. On the second day, the Confederates are defending Byram’s Ford and are attacked by Union cavalry from Missouri. Come discover what happened during these two battles and what is being done to preserve and interpret the battlefield.
The war has imposed hardships on Jackson County civilians. For two years, amid battles, invasions, skirmishes, assassinations, and robberies; families fought man and nature in a fight for survival. Come discover how life in Western Missouri was unlike any other Civil War theater of operations.
In 1860, there were approximately 4.5 million African Americans living in the United States. Of these four million were slaves and 500,000 were free. By the end of the war, 180,000 blacks had served in 163 units in the U.S. Army and many more thousands in the U.S. Navy. This is the story of one of the units. It was the first African American unit to see combat in the war. It was the First Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment.
Faced with understrength regiments in 1862, Maj. Gen. Thomas Hindman authorizes several Missourians to return to Missouri with the objective of recruiting men for Confederate service. Allied with Missouri guerrillas, Confederate recruits attack and defeat Union forces stationed at Independence, Missouri. IN response, the Federal commander in Missouri sends three separate forces to converge and destroy the Confederates. One of these Union detachments meets the Confederates near Lone Jack in southeaster Jackson County. What ensues is one of the fiercest fights of the entire war.
At the end of the war, between 8 and 10 thousand Confederates went into exile in Central and South America. Many Confederates from Missouri chose not to surrender but decided to go into exile in Mexico. Come discover the story of Confederate Missouri leaders, Joseph O. Shelby, Sterling Price and Thomas C. Reynolds, who chose exile in Mexico over surrender in the United States.
By 1863 The situation in Western Missouri continues to deteriorate. Quantrill is still active and his guerrillas continue their war of harassment against Federal authorities. Kansas Jayhawkers continue their raids into Missouri stealing from Missourians both loyal and disloyal. When spring arrives in 1863, there appears to be no end in sight to the guerrilla warfare going on in Missouri. The Federal commanders in Missouri decided additional measures were required to put an end to the guerrilla insurgency. They decided to order the removal of those civilians who were providing support to the guerrillas. This is the story of Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing, Jr. issuing General Orders, No. 11 in the District of the Border in August 1863.
In 2017, Chris Edwards and I published a guided tour containing 49 tour stops and following the 175-mile route taken by Quantrill’s guerrillas during their 1863 raid on Lawrence, Kansas. Altogether the tour covers approximately 175 miles from start to finish. This program provides an overview of the tour that begins in Johnson County, Missouri, and follows the guerrillas into Kansas and then north to Lawrence. After spending four hours in Lawrence, the guerrillas retreat south until they reach Franklin County and turn east toward Paola, Kansas. The guerrillas reenter Missouri and then scatter. Come learn about this driving tour.
Following Quantrill’s August 1863 raid on Lawrence, Kansas, Kansas Red Leg incursions into Missouri increased. Being on the border, Platte County was particularly vulnerable. Missouri Governor Hamilton R. Gamble and Brig. Gen. John M. Schofield worked together to establish the Enrolled Missouri Militia (EMM) for the purpose of “putting down all such marauders and defending the peaceable citizens of the State.” Out of necessity, some individuals who were enrolled into the militia were not entirely loyal to the Union. Come discover what happened when many of the enrolled militiamen changed sides to fight with the guerrillas.
On Saturday, October 22, the 2d Kansas State Militia was attacked while returning to Westport from Russell’s Ford on the Big Blue River. Outnumbered by more than 2 to 1, the militiamen withstood multiple charges before being overrun by Confederate cavalry. Come discover what happened at Mockbee Farm.
In 1861, Maj. Henry H. Sibley, 2d US Dragoons, resigns his commission to enter Confederate service as a brigadier general. President Jefferson Davis authorizes Sibley to raise two cavalry regiments and an artillery battery in Texas. Once organized, Sibley invades the Territory of New Mexico to gain control of the far west for the Confederacy. Come discover what happens in Sibley’s New Mexico Campaign culminating in the Battle of Glorieta Pass.
Following the Red River Campaign, Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Smith was on his way east to be reunited with Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman for the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. While en route, Smith, his two divisions of infantry and a cavalry brigade were diverted to Missouri to reinforce the Federal commander there, Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, who was facing a Confederate cavalry invasion. Come discover what happened to Smith’s command during Price’s 1864 invasion of Missouri.
This is the story about the six weeks in Missouri following the Camp Jackson Affair where Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon declared war on the state of Missouri, sent the state government into exile and fought the Battle of Boonville.