Programs Offered By theCivlWarMuse

Each of these programs lasts less than one hour.

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Sterling Price’s 1864 Invasion of Missouri

Since 2008, I've been studying the Battle of Westport and all the events of Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's invasion of Missouri during the fall of 1864. It's only natural I have prepared a series of programs on those topics.

Sterling Price’s 1864 Invasion of Missouri: An Overview

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.

Topics

• Prologue
• Price Moves North
• Union Commanders Respond
• Fort Davidson
• Interlude: Boonville
• Westport: Three Days in October
• October 25: Beginning of the End
• Confederate Retreat into Texas
• Epilogue

Westport: Three Days in October

Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price’s invasion of Missouri in the fall of 1864 led to the largest battle fought west of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. The three-day Westport Campaign was a series of seven military events that took place in Jackson County, Missouri, over a three-day period in October 1864.

Topics

• Sterling Price’s 1864 Invasion of Missouri
• Key Event: Little Blue River
• Event: Byram’s Ford 1
• Key Event: Mockbee Farm
• Key Event: Second Independence
• Key Event: Byram’s Ford 2
• Key Event: Brush Creek
• Key Event: McNeil’s Mission
• Political Implications

The Battle of Pilot Knob

At the beginning of his 1864 invasion of Missouri, Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price decided to attack Federal forces at Fort Davidson, located near Pilot Knob, Missouri. The failure of the Confederate attack gave the Federals time to prepare the defenses of St. Louis. As a result, the Confederates turned west, threatening the State capital of Jefferson City.

Topics

• Sterling Price moves into SE Missouri
• Pilot Knob, Ironton and the Arcadia Valley
• Fort Davidson
• Sep 26: Price moves into the Arcadia Valley
• Sep 27: Price attacks Fort Davidson
• Sep 28: Ewing evacuates Fort Davidson
• Federal retreat to Leasburg
• Major Wilson’s Execution

1864 Westport Campaign: The Battle of the Little Blue River

During the first battle of the 1864 Westport Campaign, Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price orders Maj. Gen. John S. Marmaduke to capture intact a bridge over the Little Blue River on the Lexington to Independence Road. The Federal 11th Kansas Cavalry stubbornly resists the Confederate attack. Price orders more of his troops into the fight. The Federal defense line falls back a few miles but is reinforced. After a day of fighting, the Federals fall back to their defense line on the Big Blue River.

Topics

• Curtis’s Plans to Defend Kansas
• Price Encampment at Fire Prairie Creek
• Federal Defenders at Little Blue River Bridge
• Price Attacks Federals at Little Blue River
• Federals Reinforce Little Blue River
• Price Sends More Troops into the Attack
• Federal Withdraw from Little Blue River

1864 Westport Campaign: The First Battle at Byram’s Ford

Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price must get his enormous wagon train safely back to Arkansas. Blocking his way is the Federal Army of the Border deployed along the Big Blue River by its commander, Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Custis. Price decides his wagon train will cross the river at Byarm’s Ford and sends Brig. Gen. Jo Shelby to get control of Byram’s Ford. By midafternoon, the Confederates have driven the Federal defenders from Byram’s Ford and sent the wagon train on its way to New Santa Fe.

Topics

• Westport Campaign Overview
• Price’s Conundrum
• Federal Defense Line
• Shelby Advances on Byram’s Ford
• Slayback’s Flanking Movement
• Federal Defenders withdraw from Byram’s Ford
• Local Battlefield Preservation

1864 Westport Campaign: The Battle of Mockbee Farm

After defeating the Federal defenses at Byram’s Ford on October 22, Brig. Gen. Jo Shelby moves to gain control of the Blue River crossing called Russell’s Ford. On the way there, the Confederates run into the Second Kanas State Militia blocking their way. The Confederates attack and overwhelm the outnumbered Kansans who suffer over 50% casualties.

Topics

• Kansas State Militia
• Governor Calls Out Militia
• 2d Kansas State Militia
• Federal Defense Line
• Russell’s Ford
• October 22
• Aftermath

1864 Westport Campaign: The Second Battle of Independence

A provisional cavalry division hastily formed after Price’s Confederates bypassed Jefferson City, set out in pursuit of the Confederate army. The Federals cavalry, commanded by Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, caught up to and attacked the Confederate rear guard east of Independence in the afternoon on October 22. The fighting continued in the streets of downtown Independence and lasted until 10:30 that night.

Topics

• Rosecrans and Pleasonton’s Dispositions
• Confederate Rear Guard Action
• Fighting in Independence
• Winslow’s Brigade Arrives in Independence
• Fighting Continues into the Night

1864 Westport Campaign: The Second Battle at Byram’s Ford

After defeating the Confederates in Independence on October 22, Union Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton plans to continue the attack in the morning. The Federals attack the Confederate defenders at Byram’s Ford in the morning on October 23. Shortly after noon, the Federals forced the Confederates to withdraw from their defenses west of Byram’s Ford.

Topics

• Tactical Situation
• Marmaduke’s Defense Line
• Federal Attack
• Confederate Withdrawal
• Federal Pursuit
• Local Battlefield Preservation

1864 Westport Campaign: Battle of Brush Creek

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.

Topics

• Sterling Price’s 1864 Invasion of Missouri
• Westport: Three Days in October
• Sunday, October 23: The Battle South of Brush Creek
• Confederate Retreat
• Epilogue
• Local Battlefield Preservation

Prairie Sunset: Conclusion of Price’s 1864 Campaign

Nearly five weeks of traversing the State of Missouri with great expectations of glory, Price’s campaign concludes with disappointment. Being pursued out of Kansas City, the Confederate forces cross into Kansas and meet disaster at Mine Creek, the largest cavalry battle west of the Mississippi River with more than 20,000 soldiers engage in combat. Leaving many men dying along the road, the Confederates retreat homeward to the South but meet their Union pursuers at Newtonia. What, if any, benefit can the Confederacy claim for inflicting its chaos?

Topics

• After Westport: Price’s withdrawal and Federal pursuit.
• October 25: Four battles seal the Confederate army’s fate.
• Blunt’s impetuous attack at Newtonia.
• Price retreats through Indian Territory
• Conclusions

A Day Late and A Dollar Short: The Fate of A. J. Smith’s Command during Price’s 1864 Missouri Raid

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.

Topics

• Prologue
• Rosecrans Calls for Reinforcements
• Smith Ordered into Missouri
• Right Wing, 16th Army Corps, Army of the Tennessee
• Pursuit through Arkansas
• Fort Davidson
• Winslow’s Cavalry Brigade
• Smith’s Infantry Pursues Price
• Byram’s Ford and Mine Creek
• Price Retreats South

The Making of a Cavalryman: Edward F. Winslow, 4th Iowa Cavalry

Edward Francis Winslow was born in Maine in 1837. In 1856, bad financial times forced Edward to move to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and live with his half-brother. Raised in a religious family who thought slavery was evil, Winslow volunteered to fight in the Civil War. He mustered in as captain of Company F, 4th Iowa Cavalry. This is the story of a well-educated young man with no formal military training who took advantage of on-the-job training. Although Winslow did experience some “West Point Prejudice,” he was able to earn the respect of many of his superior officers who had been trained at the US Military Academy. Throughout the war, Winslow was given more and more responsibilities, receiving a brevet promotion to brigadier general of Union cavalry volunteers.

Topics

• Introduction
• Antebellum
• Early War
• Independent Command
• Up Against Forrest
• 1864 Westport Campaign
• Wilson’s Cavalry Raid
• Post War Years

Other Programs on Topics about the Civil War in Missouri and Kansas.

The Struggle for Missouri in 1861

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.

Topics

• Antebellum Missouri
• 1860 Election
• State Convention
• St. Louis Arsenal
• Camp Jackson
• Planters House Hotel Meeting
• Epilogue

Bleeding Kansas

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.

Topics

• Introduction
• Armed Events
  • November 1855: Wakarusa War
  • May 1856: Sack of Lawrence
  • May 1856: Pottawatomie Massacre
  • June 1856: Battle of Black Jack
  • May 1858: Marais des Cygnes Massacre
• Political Events
  • Oct-Dec 1855: Topeka Constitution
  • 1857: Lecompton Constitution
  • 1858: Leavenworth Constitution
  • 1859: Wyandotte Constitution
  • January 1861: Kansas admitted as a free state

The Lyon Roars: The Significance of the “Battle” of Boonville

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.

Topics

• The Camp Jackson Aftermath
• The Price-Harney Agreement
• Changes in Command
• Planters House Meeting
• Occupation of Jefferson City
• The Battle of Boonville
• Missouri State Convention

Border State Contest: The Battle of Wilson’s Creek

In 1861, a large battle was fought a few miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri, along a stream known as Wilson’s Creek. Federal volunteer forces under the command of Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon attacked a coalition of pro-Southern troops from the Confederacy, from Missouri and from Arkansas. Come learn what happened in this Missouri battle that occurred less than three weeks after the First Battle of Bull Run.

Topics

• Prologue: Federal Strategy to Keep Missouri in the Union
• Confederates Link Up with Missouri State Guard
• Lyon’s March to Springfield
• Skirmish at Dug Springs
• Battle of Wilson’s Creek
• Battle Aftermath

Sterling Price Returns: The 1861 Counteroffensive to Retake Missouri

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.

Topics

• Prologue
• Price Decides to Go It Alone
• Lane’s Kansas Brigade
• Drywood Creek
• Price’s March North
• Fremont’s Response
• Lane Enters Missouri
• Lexington Under Siege
• Price Withdraws South
• Fremont Mobilizes
• Aftermath

Grant in Missouri: The Battle of Belmont

Did you know that Ulysses S. Grant experienced his first command during the Civil War in the State of Missouri? The Union commander in the west, Maj. Gen. John Charles Fremont, placed Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in command of the District of Southeast Missouri with headquarters in Cairo, Illinois. After Confederates violated the neutrality of Kentucky by fortifying Columbus, Grant executed plans to challenge the Confederate stronghold across the river from Belmont, Missouri.

Topics

• Grant’s Early Days in Missouri
• Commander, District of Southeast Missouri
• Invasion of Kentucky
• The Fortress of Columbus
• Operations against Thompson
• The Battle of Belmont

Federals Take Control in Missouri: The Battle of Pea Ridge

Federal commander in Missouri, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck, sends Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis on an 1862 winter campaign to drive Sterling Price and the Missouri State Guard out of Missouri. At the end of this campaign comes the decisive Battle of Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas. The Union victory solidifies Union control of the border state of Missouri.

Topics

• New Commanders in the Trans-Mississippi
• Confederate Plans for Missouri
• Federal 1862 Winter Campaign
• Van Dorn’s End Around
• The Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern)

Eads’ Ironclads: Winning the Civil War in the West

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.

Topics

• Federal plan to gain control of Mississippi River
• Gunboat contract won by James Buchanan Eads
• Ironclad construction
• Survey of battles for control of Mississippi River
  • Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Island No. 10, Plum Point Bend, Memphis, Vicksburg Campaign, Red River Campaign
• What happened to the ironclads?

Jennison’s Jayhawkers

In 1861, Charles R. Jennison was commissioned colonel of the 7th Kansas Cavalry. This “self-supporting” regiment earned the nickname of Jennison’s Jayhawkers by entering the State of Missouri and helping themselves to the property of Missouri farms. The Jayhawkers didn’t care if the farms belonged to loyal or disloyal Missourians. All were fair game.

Topics

• Charles R. Jennison
• Origin of the Label, Jayhawk
• Recap: Bleeding Kansas
• Mound City Sharp’s Rifle Guards
• 7th Kansas Cavalry
• Jennison’s Resignation
• Service East of the Mississippi River

The First Battle of Independence

Faced with understrength regiments in 1862, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price authorizes several Missourians to return to Missouri with the objective of recruiting men for Confederate service. Allied with Missouri guerrillas under William C. Quantrill, Confederate recruits attack and defeat Union forces stationed at Independence, Missouri.

Topics

• Situation in Missouri: Union
• Situation in Missouri: Confederate
• Confederate Recruiting
• Federal Response
• August 11, 1862
• Aftermath

The Battle of Lone Jack

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.

Topics

• Confederate Recruiting
• Federal Response
• The Battle
• The Battle’s Aftermath
• The Result

Missouri Border War: Order Number 11

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.

Topics

• What was Order Number 11?
• What events caused it to be issued?
• What happened after it was issued?
• Was it justified? Did it work?

Quantrill’s Revenge: A Comprehensive Tour of Quantrill’s 1863 Lawrence Raid

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.

Topics

• Introduction to the Tour
• Tour Format
• Tour Flyover

The First Kansas Colored: The Civil War’s First African American Combat Unit

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.

Topics

• Early African American participation in war effort
• Recruiting in 1862
• Engagements
  • Skirmish at Island Mound: Oct 29, 1862
  • Events near Sherwood: May 1863
  • Engagement at Cabin Creek: Jul 1–2, 1863
  • Engagement near Honey Springs: Jul 17, 1863
  • Engagement at Poison Spring: Apr 18, 1864
• Muster Out
• Epilogue

The 1864 Paw Paw Rebellion

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.

Topics

• The Situation in Northwest Missouri
• 81st and 82d Enrolled Missouri Militia regiments
• Confederate Recruiting in Platte County
• The Paw Paw Rebellion
• Federal Response
• End Result

Marmaduke’s First Missouri Raid, December 31, 1862, to January 25, 1863

After their defeat at the Battle of Prairie Grove, the Confederate army retreated toward Little Rock, Arkansas, leaving the Federal Army of the Frontier in control of northwestern Arkansas. Confederate commander, Maj. Gen. Thomas Hindman, decided to order Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke to lead a cavalry raid against the Federal supply lines in southwestern Missouri, hoping to force the Federals to withdraw from northwestern Arkansas.

Topics

• Planning and Preparation
• Second Battle of Springfield
• Battle of Hartville

Marmaduke’s Second Missouri Raid, April 17 to May 2, 1863

In April 1863, the Confederacy in the west was in trouble. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had been able to get his army south of Vicksburg on the east side of the Mississippi River. Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt was advancing into Arkansas from the west and Brig. Gen. Frederick Steele was advancing toward Little Rock from the east. Following what he thought had been a successful raid into Missouri, Marmaduke wanted to follow it up with another raid into his home state, thus relieving the pressure on the Confederates in Arkansas.

Topics

• Planning and Preparation
• Battle of Cape Girardeau
• Battle of Chalk Bluff

Shelby’s Great Missouri Raid, Aug–Nov 1863

In August 1863, Col. Jo Shelby was authorized to invade Missouri in command of 1400 Confederate cavalry. His objectives were to force Union commanders to react to his invasion, recruit disaffected Missourians, destroy Federal infrastructure and cause as much chaos as possible. The raid lasted forty-one days, and in traveling the 1,500 miles averaged over 36 miles per day.

Topics

• Joseph O. Shelby
• Planning and Preparation
• Shelby’s Movement North
• Federal Response
• Battle of Marshall
• Shelby’s Retreat South
• Results

Enslaved Missourians Struggle for Freedom

When the Civil War started, many enslaved people in Missouri believed the war was about their freedom. Pro-Union conservatives in Missouri wanted to preserve the institution of slavery while maintaining their loyalty to the Union. Come learn about how actions by the US military, US Congress, and the Missouri State Convention affected the freedom of the enslaved during the war. On January 11, 1865, the Missouri State Convention passed an ordinance emancipating all enslaved people in Missouri.

Topics

• Slavery in Antebellum Missouri
• Actions by Enslaved Missourians
• Actions by Missouri Slaveowners
• Acts of Emancipation
• Military Policy in Missouri
• Actions by the Missouri State Convention
• Actions by the US Congress
• Recruiting former Enslaved Missourians

The End of the War: Reconstruction in Missouri

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.

Topics

• Politics in Civil War Missouri
• 1864 Elections
• 1865 Missouri State Convention
• Emancipation
• Revised Constitution
• Ratification Campaign
• 1866 Elections
• The Rise of Liberal Republicanism
• The Fall of the Radical Republicans
• Epilogue

The First Lost Cause: Confederate Missourians Exiled in Mexico

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.

Topics

• Why Exile?
• Why Mexico?
• End of War in the Trans-Mississippi
• Confederate Missourians March for Mexico
• Former Confederates in Mexico City
• Rise of Confederate Colonies
• Fall of Maximilian
• Return from Exile

The Battle of Glorieta Pass

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.

Topics

• Sibley’s New Mexico Campaign
• Apache Canyon: March 26, 1862
• Glorieta Pass or Pigeon’s Ranch: March 28, 1862
• Johnson’s Ranch: March 28, 1862
• Confederate retreat back to Texas

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