David Rice Atchison was a mid-19th century Democratic United States Senator from Missouri. He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate for six years. Atchison served as a major general in the Missouri State Militia in 1838 during Missouri's Mormon War and as a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War under Major General Sterling Price in the Missouri Home Guard. He is best known for the claim that for 24 hours—Sunday, March 4, 1849 through noon on Monday—he may have been Acting President of the United States. This belief, however, is dismissed by nearly all scholars.
The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri. Missouri was officially a neutral state, but its governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson, supported the South and secretly collaborated with Confederate troops.
The Battle of Dry Wood Creek, also known as the Battle of the Mules, was fought on September 2, 1861, in Vernon County, Missouri, during the American Civil War. After his victory at the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, Sterling Price and the Missouri State Guard moved further north into Missouri. A force of Union troops under James H. Lane moved from Fort Scott, Kansas to attempt an interception of Price's army, and set an ambush along Dry Wood Creek. Price's Missouri State Guard troops outnumbered Lane's Kansas troops, and after a two hour skirmish forced Lane to retreat to Fort Scott. In their retreat, Lane's troops abandoned their supplies and mules to the Missourians. Price followed up his victory by continuing his northward march, culminating in another victory at the siege of Lexington, September 13 to 20, before returning south shortly afterwards.
The Battle of Fort Davidson, also known as the Battle of Pilot Knob, was a battle of Price's Raid fought on September 27, 1864, near Pilot Knob, Missouri. Confederate troops under the command of Major General Sterling Price had entered Missouri in September 1864 with hopes of challenging Union control of the state. On September 24, Price learned that Union troops held Pilot Knob. Two days later, he sent part of his command north to disrupt and then moved towards Pilot Knob with the rest of his army. The Confederate divisions of Major General James F. Fagan and Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke drove Union troops under Brigadier General Thomas Ewing Jr. and Major James Wilson from the lower Arcadia Valley into Fort Davidson on September 26 and on the morning of September 27.
The Battle of Glasgow was fought on October 15, 1864, in and near Glasgow, Missouri, as part of Price's Missouri Expedition during the American Civil War. The battle resulted in the capture of needed weapons and improved Confederate morale, which had been dented after a defeat in the Battle of Pilot Knob.
The Second Battle of Independence was fought on October 22, 1864, near Independence, Missouri, as part of Price's Raid during the American Civil War. In late 1864, Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army led a cavalry force into the state of Missouri in the hopes of creating a popular uprising against Union control, drawing Union Army troops from more important areas, and influencing the 1864 United States presidential election. Price was opposed by a combination of Union Army and Kansas State Militia forces positioned near Kansas City and led by Major General Samuel R. Curtis; Union cavalry under Major General Alfred Pleasonton followed Price from the east, working to catch up to the Confederates from the rear. While moving westwards along the Missouri River, Price's men made contact with Curtis's Union troops at the Little Blue River on October 21. After forcing the Union soldiers to retreat in the Battle of Little Blue River, the Confederates occupied the city of Independence, which was 7 miles (11 km) away.
The siege of Lexington, also known as the First Battle of Lexington or the Battle of the Hemp Bales, was a minor conflict of the American Civil War. The siege took place from September 13 to 20, 1861 between the Union Army and the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard in Lexington, county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The victory won by the Missouri Guard bolstered the considerable Southern sentiment in the area, and briefly consolidated Missouri State Guard control of the Missouri River Valley in the western part of the state.
The Second Battle of Lexington was a minor battle fought during Price's Raid as part of the American Civil War. Hoping to draw Union Army forces away from more important theaters of combat and potentially affect the outcome of the 1864 United States presidential election, Sterling Price, a major general in the Confederate States Army, led an offensive into the state of Missouri on September 19, 1864. After a botched attack at the Battle of Pilot Knob, the strength of the Union defenses at Jefferson City led Price to abandon the main goals of his campaign.
The Battle of Byram's Ford was fought on October 22 and 23, 1864, in Missouri during Price's Raid, a campaign of the American Civil War. With the Confederate States of America collapsing, Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army conducted an invasion of the state of Missouri in late 1864. Union forces led Price to abandon goals of capturing the cities of St. Louis and Jefferson City, and he turned west with his army towards Kansas City.
The First Battle of Boonville was a minor skirmish of the American Civil War, occurring on June 17, 1861, near Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri. Although casualties were extremely light, the battle's strategic impact was far greater than one might assume from its limited nature. The Union victory established what would become an unbroken Federal control of the Missouri River, and helped to thwart efforts to bring Missouri into the Confederacy.
Action at Springfield, also known as the Battle of First Springfield, was a battle of the American Civil War that took place on October 25, 1861, in Greene County, Missouri. It was the only Union victory in southwestern Missouri in 1861.
The Missouri State Guard (MSG) was a military force established by the Missouri General Assembly on May 11, 1861. While not a formation of the Confederate States Army, the Missouri State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at various times, served under Confederate officers.
Price's Missouri Expedition, also known as Price's Raid or Price's Missouri Raid, was an unsuccessful Confederate cavalry raid through Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. Led by Confederate Major-General Sterling Price, the campaign's intention was to recapture Missouri and renew the Confederate initiative in the larger conflict.
During the American Civil War, Missouri was a hotly contested border state populated by both Union and Confederate sympathizers. It sent armies, generals, and supplies to both sides, was represented with a star on both flags, maintained dual governments, and endured a bloody neighbor-against-neighbor intrastate war within the larger national war.
The 2nd Kansas Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Recruited in May 1861, it formally organized on June 20. Sent into Missouri, it participated in several small actions in the Springfield area before fighting in the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, where it suffered 70 casualties out of about 600 men present excluded a detached cavalry company. Ordered back to Kansas after the battle, it fought in several small actions in Missouri and later mobilized in Kansas after enemy forces captured Lexington, Missouri, as Kansas was believed to be threatened by the Lexington movement. The unit was disbanded on October 31, with some of its men, including its commander, joining the 2nd Kansas Cavalry Regiment. Colonel Robert B. Mitchell commanded the regiment until he was wounded at Wilson's Creek and Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Blair took command.
The 10th Regiment Missouri Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was organized on November 10, 1862 and was assigned to the brigade of Brigadier General Mosby M. Parsons. The regiment fought at the Battle of Prairie Grove, where both the regiment's colonel and lieutenant colonel were killed. The regiment fought at the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863, where it suffered heavy casualties. Beginning in late 1863, the 12th Missouri Infantry Regiment was attached to the regiment; the men of the 12th Missouri Infantry were officially merged into the regiment in late 1864. The regiment fought at the battles of Pleasant Hill and Jenkins' Ferry in April. On June 8, 1865, the men of the regiment were paroled and sent back to Missouri.
Slayback's Missouri Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Originally formed as Slayback's Missouri Cavalry Battalion, the unit consisted of men recruited in Missouri by Lieutenant Colonel Alonzo W. Slayback during Price's Raid in 1864. The battalion's first action was at the Battle of Pilot Knob on September 27; it later participated in actions at Sedalia, Lexington, and the Little Blue River. In October, the unit was used to find an alternate river crossing during the Battle of the Big Blue River. Later that month, Slayback's unit saw action at the battles of Westport, Marmiton River, and Second Newtonia. The battalion was briefly furloughed in Arkansas before rejoining Major General Sterling Price in Texas in December. Probably around February 1865, the battalion reached official regimental strength after more recruits joined.
The capture of Sedalia occurred during the American Civil War when a Confederate force captured the Union garrison of Sedalia, Missouri, on October 15, 1864. Confederate Major General Sterling Price, who was a former Governor of Missouri and had commanded the Missouri State Guard in the early days of the war, had launched an invasion into the state of Missouri on August 29. He hoped to distract the Union from more important areas and cause a popular uprising against Union control of the state. Price had to abandon his goal of capturing St. Louis after a bloody repulse at the Battle of Fort Davidson and moved into the pro-Confederate region of Little Dixie in central Missouri.
Nichols's Missouri Cavalry Regiment served in the Confederate States Army during the late stages of the American Civil War. The cavalry regiment began recruiting in early 1864 under Colonel Sidney D. Jackman, who had previously raised a unit that later became the 16th Missouri Infantry Regiment. The regiment officially formed on June 22 and operated against the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad through August. After joining Major General Sterling Price's command, the unit participated in Price's Raid, an attempt to create a popular uprising against Union control of Missouri and draw Union troops away from more important theaters of the war. During the raid, while under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Nichols, the regiment was part of an unsuccessful pursuit of Union troops who were retreating after the Battle of Fort Davidson in late September.
The 13th Missouri Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry unit that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. In early April 1863, Captain Robert C. Wood, aide-de-camp to Confederate Major General Sterling Price, was detached to form an artillery unit from some of the men of Price's escort. Wood continued recruiting for the unit, which was armed with four Williams guns, and grew to 275 men by the end of September. The next month, the unit fought in the Battle of Pine Bluff, driving back Union Army troops into a barricaded defensive position, from which the Union soldiers could not be dislodged. By November, the unit, which was known as Wood's Missouri Cavalry Battalion, had grown to 400 men but no longer had the Williams guns. In April 1864, Wood's battalion, which was also known as the 14th Missouri Cavalry Battalion, played a minor role in the defeat of a Union foraging party in the Battle of Poison Spring, before spending the summer of 1864 at Princeton, Arkansas. In September, the unit joined Price's Raid into the state of Missouri, but their assault during the Battle of Pilot Knob failed to capture Fort Davidson.
Missouri (Confederate) 
United States (Union)
