- Brigadier-General
James G. Blunt - Brigadier-General
Francis J. Herron
Battle of Prairie Grove | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
The 19th Iowa and 20th Wisconsin assault the Ridge. | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | Confederate States | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
James G. Blunt Francis J. Herron | Thomas C. Hindman | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Army of the Frontier | First Corps, Trans-Mississippi Army | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
c. 9,000 [1] | c. 11,000 [1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,203 or 1,251 | 1,317 or 1,483 | ||||||
The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on December 7, 1862. While tactically indecisive, the battle secured the Union control of northwestern Arkansas.
A division of Union troops in the Army of the Frontier, commanded by James G. Blunt, was posted in northwestern Arkansas after winning the Battle of Cane Hill on November 28. The First Corps, Trans-Mississippi Army, commanded by Thomas C. Hindman moved towards Blunt's division in order to attack while it was isolated. However, Blunt was reinforced by two divisions commanded by Francis J. Herron, leading Hindman to take a defensive position on some high ground known as Prairie Grove. Herron attempted to assault Hindman's lines twice, but both attacks were beaten off with heavy casualties. Hindman responded to the repulse of each of Herron's attacks with unsuccessful counterattacks of his own. Later in the day, Blunt arrived and attacked Hindman's flank. Eventually, both sides disengaged and the fighting reached an inconclusive result. However, the unavailability of reinforcements forced Hindman's army to retreat from the field, giving the Union army a strategic victory and control of northwestern Arkansas.
Union forces reported suffering 1,251 casualties (including 175 dead); Confederate forces reported 1,317 casualties (between 164 and 204 dead). Confederate forces suffered from severe demoralization, and many conscripts deserted. The Confederates had to leave many of their dead on the field, in piles and surrounded with makeshift barriers to keep feral pigs from eating the corpses. Today, most of the battlefield is preserved within Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.
In March 1862, a Confederate army under the command of Earl Van Dorn engaged a Union army led by Samuel Ryan Curtis at the Battle of Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas. Curtis' army soundly defeated Van Dorn's. [2] After being defeated at Pea Ridge, Van Dorn and a substantial portion of his army were reassigned across the Mississippi River, effectively ending Confederate control of the region. [3]
Following Pea Ridge, Curtis drove further into Arkansas and planned to attack Memphis, but was ordered by Henry Halleck to send half of his force to Cape Girardeau for transfer to Tennessee. Curtis complied and was forced to abandon his plan, instead heading towards Little Rock. [4] After a defeat in a small action near Searcy, Curtis decided that his supply line was vulnerable, and fell back, eventually reaching Helena. [5]
In September, Curtis was assigned to command the Department of the Missouri, replacing its previous commander, John M. Schofield. [6] Curtis later formed the Army of the Frontier and appointed Schofield to command the new army on October 12. [7] However, on November 20, Schofield was forced to give up command of the army due to medical issues, and command passed to Brigadier General James G. Blunt. [8] At the time of Schofield's relinquishment of command, Blunt's division was in Arkansas, while the rest of the Army of the Frontier was stationed near Wilson's Creek in Missouri, where a battle had been fought the year before. [9]
The Confederate commander in the region, Thomas C. Hindman, had previously commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department, but his firm control of the region led to protests from prominent Arkansas civilians, leading Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, to relieve Hindman of command and replace him with Theophilus Holmes. [10] [11] On August 21, Holmes tasked Hindman with producing an organized army from the Confederate units in the Arkansas region and moving to regain control of Missouri for the Confederacy. [12]
In October, Blunt's force made an incursion into Arkansas, and Hindman sent 2,000 men under Marmaduke's command to intercept Blunt and prevent him from joining the main Union force near Springfield, Missouri. Marmaduke gathered at Cane Hill, a ridge near the Boston Mountains. In response, Blunt marched his troops 35 miles (56 km) in two days, meeting Marmaduke's force near Canehill. In the ensuing Battle of Cane Hill, which took place on November 28, Blunt's 5,000 men defeated Marmaduke's 2,000 in a nine-hour battle. [13] [14]
At the beginning of the Prairie Grove campaign, the Union Army of the Frontier was commanded by Schofield. [15] Schofield's army was divided into three divisions, commanded by Blunt, James Totten, and Herron. [16] Blunt's division was known as the "Kansas Division", as many of the soldiers in the division were from Kansas. The division also contained sizable numbers of African American and Native American soldiers, which made Blunt's division unique among Union units in 1862. Totten's and Herron's divisions were both known as "Missouri Division", and contained men from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Indiana. The division also contained a regiment of Arkansas cavalrymen who had remained loyal to the Union despite the secession of Arkansas. [17]
The Confederate army present at Prairie Grove was the First Corps, Trans-Mississippi Army, commanded by Hindman. [18] Hindman's command was formed of four divisions: one of cavalry, two of infantry, and a mixed reserve division. [16] The cavalry division consisted of men from Arkansas, Texas, and Confederate Missouri, and was commanded by Marmaduke. Marmaduke's division was poorly armed. Of the army's two infantry divisions, one was commanded by Daniel M. Frost and the other by Francis Shoup. Shoup's division consisted of Arkansas infantrymen, while Frost's division was mostly Missourians, although some Arkansas troops were included. The reserve division was commanded by John S. Roane, and was poorly equipped, organized, and led (Holmes stated that Roane was "useless as a commander"). Of Hindman and his division commanders, all had previous military experience. In particular, Hindman, Frost, and Roane had all seen action in the Mexican War. [19]
After the Battle of Cane Hill, Hindman decided to send his entire army towards Cane Hill in order to assault Blunt. [20] If all went according to Hindman's plan, he would be able to assault Blunt's position from both the front and along both flanks. [21] At this time, Union forces menaced the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. [22] On November 11, the Confederate government ordered Holmes to send 10,000 troops to reinforce Vicksburg. Holmes replied that two-thirds of his troops were in northwest Arkansas to oppose a Federal threat. Even so, he ordered Hindman to bring his troops to Little Rock. [23] [24] Holmes tried to dissuade Hindman from his plan to attack Blunt and the two generals engaged in an argument over the telegraph. Hindman had a forceful personality and won the argument with Holmes. [25] By December 1, Hindman had gathered between 11,000 and 12,000 troops near Van Buren. [note 1] The Confederate infantry and artillery moved out of their camps on December 3. [26]
Blunt's intelligence services alerted him to Hindman's preparations by the evening of December 2; a courier immediately set out for the telegraph station at Elkhorn Tavern. The messages included a situation report for Curtis in St Louis and an urgent request for Totten to send reinforcements. Blunt prepared to defend himself by posting William Weer's 2nd Brigade and William F. Cloud's 3rd Brigade on high ground south of Newburg with elements of Frederick Salomon's 1st Brigade watching Hogeye Road. A cavalry outpost was set up on Cove Creek Road to watch for Hindman's advance. Every morning from December 3 to 6, Blunt had his troops on the alert, with wagons packed and ready to move quickly. [27]
On November 27, Curtis ordered Totten back to St Louis to be a witness at a court-martial. The unpopular Totten's departure pleased his soldiers and Daniel Huston Jr. assumed command of the 2nd Division. [28] Within a few hours of receiving Blunt's telegraphed call for help, on the morning of December 4, Herron started the 2nd and 3rd divisions on "an epic of human endurance". [18] From the afternoon of December 3 to the morning of December 7, Huston's and Herron's divisions marched 105 and 120 mi (169 and 193 km) respectively. Herron's two divisions averaged 30 mi (48 km) per day over rough roads in intensely cold weather with short stops to eat and sleep. [29] In the early hours of December 6, Herron received a message from Blunt asking for cavalry. Herron promptly dispatched Dudley Wickersham with a 1,600-man provisional cavalry brigade which reached Blunt at 9:00 pm that same day after a 35 mi (56 km) march. [30]
On December 5, Joseph O. Shelby's 1,200-man Confederate cavalry brigade began pressing back the 400 troopers of the 2nd Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment that guarded the Cove Creek Road. Blunt knew that if Hindman continued to use Cove Creek Road, it would be easy for him to cut off the Confederate retreat route. Blunt assumed correctly that Hindman intended to turn to the west and approach Newburg. However, Hindman's plan would change. [31] The bad weather slowed down the march of Hindman's soldiers, so he postponed his planned attack until December 7. He believed that the nearest Union forces were near Springfield, but what he did not know was that Blunt anticipated the Confederate offensive and that Union reinforcements were approaching. [32]
On December 6, near mid-day, the 2nd Kansas Cavalry abandoned its blocking position on Cove Creek Road and withdrew northwest toward Newburg. [32] That afternoon, James C. Monroe's Confederate cavalry brigade, supported by other units, skirmished with the 2nd Kansas Cavalry on Reed's Mountain. By nightfall Monroe's troopers occupied that terrain feature on the road to Newburg. [33] That evening, Hindman and his commanders received startling intelligence that Herron's two divisions would reach Blunt the following day. Hindman realized that attacking Blunt at Newburg would simply push him back toward Herron's reinforcements. The Confederate commander knew that marching back to Van Buren would demoralize his soldiers, so he changed his plan. Hindman's new plan called for the army to march north on Cove Creek Road to Prairie Grove. At that location he would first crush Herron's force, then swing around and smash Blunt. [16] The risk was that Hindman might be caught between the two Union forces if Blunt found out what was happening. At 4:00 am on December 7, the Confederate army began to march north along Cove Creek Road. [34] Shelby's cavalry brigade was in the lead. [35]
Early on December 7, Marmaduke's 2,000 cavalrymen reached Prairie Grove and discovered 650 Union troopers of the 6th Missouri and 7th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry regiments nearby. Helped by the fact that many Confederates wore captured blue uniforms, Shelby's troopers surprised and routed their opponents, especially the 7th Missouri. [35] The Union 1st Arkansas Cavalry Regiment soon appeared on the Fayetteville Road and was also routed when the Missourians fled through their ranks and Shelby's Confederates charged into them, as was the 6th Missouri and 8th Missouri Cavalry Regiment (Union). [35] The Confederate pursuit continued east past the Illinois River, but ended when it encountered the leading elements of Herron's main column. Shelby was briefly captured, then rescued during a melee with the 1st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. [36] During the early morning action, Marmaduke's horsemen inflicted casualties of 10 killed, 19 wounded, and 262 captured on the Union cavalry and seized 21 wagons. Herron's approaching infantry ignored the panicked Union horsemen and its bold front convinced Marmaduke to pull back to the west side of the river. [37]
By the time Frost's 6,300-strong division reached Prairie Grove, Hindman had lost his nerve and set up a defensive line. [35] The Confederate commander might have attacked Herron at once with Frost's powerful division. [35] Fearing that Blunt might intervene, Hindman ordered Frost to face southwest and block the Fayetteville Road. While Hindman waited for Shoup's Arkansas division, Herron had time to push Marmaduke out of his way and reach the Illinois River. When Shoup's 3,200 soldiers arrived at 10:00 am, Shoup assumed a defensive position on the high ground at Prairie Grove. [38] After directing the deployment of Frost's troops, Hindman returned to Prairie Grove. He scolded Shoup for not attacking Herron, but allowed the Arkansas soldiers to remain in position. [39]
When Hindman's army started north on Cove Creek Road, Monroe's 400 Confederate horsemen were left at Reed's Mountain to deceive Blunt, while Hindman's main force proceeded against Herron. [40] In the early morning, a Union officer detected Hindman's column marching along the Cove Creek Road. This information was reported to Union headquarters, but Blunt was not there and the critical message was not forwarded for two hours. At about 9:00 am, Blunt was at Newburg expecting to be attacked when he finally realized that Hindman's army was no longer there. By 10:00 am Blunt had gotten his division marching north on Fayetteville Road. Blunt sent William R. Judson with 400 cavalry and two M1841 mountain howitzers up the Cove Creek Road. Judson's column got within 0.5 mi (0.8 km) of Prairie Grove and fired its howitzers for 30 minutes, but withdrew when confronted by superior forces. [41]
Wickersham's provisional cavalry brigade led Blunt's column as it hurried north on the Fayetteville Road. Believing that Rhea's Mill was his destination, Wickersham turned his brigade onto Bottom Road. By the time Blunt realized what had happened, his division was marching toward Rhea's Mill. Wickersham's mistake turned out to Blunt's advantage because it brought his division to the battlefield by the least obstructed route. By 1:00 pm Blunt's division reached Rhea's Mill where the soldiers rested. A half-hour later, Wickersham headed east on the Viney Grove Road toward Prairie Grove where the thunder of cannon was heard. Salomon's brigade stayed at Rhea's Mill guarding the wagon train. By 2:30 pm the infantry followed the cavalry. Since the countryside was flat, the different regiments spontaneously quit the road and set out cross-country at a rapid pace. [42]
On December 7, the Confederate divisions of Shoup and Marmaduke aligned along the length of Prairie Grove. [43] Later that morning, Herron's Union division reached the field, and, not suspecting that he faced a substantial portion of the Confederate army, opened up an artillery bombardment. [44] Herron was soon joined by Huston's division. [45] Only about 3,500 men, half of the men of the two divisions, were fit to take the field after the grueling march to reach the battlefield. [46] After Herron and Huston had fully deployed their troops, Herron reopened the artillery barrage, which had paused earlier. The Confederate artillery attempted to respond, but their cannons were of inferior quality and lacked the range to properly respond. [46] In addition, the Confederates were also short of artillery ammunition. As a result, the Union gunners were able to wreak havoc in the Confederate line. [47]
Confident after watching the result of the artillery bombardment, Herron sent his two brigades, commanded by Colonel William W. Orme and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Bertram, towards the Confederate line near a farm owned by Archibald Borden. [48] [49] Herron's troops made contact with the main Confederate line and the 20th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and the 19th Iowa Infantry Regiment overran a Confederate artillery battery. [50] However, a counterattack by elements from the brigades of James F. Fagan and Dandridge McRae (both of Shoup's Confederate division) drove off the Wisconsin unit, and brigade commander Bertram was wounded. [51] After the repulse of Bertram's attack, some of Orme's men joined in the fight, only to be driven off. [52] An abortive Confederate counterattack was then driven off by Herron's artillery. [49] [53] The two Union regiments that were the hardest engaged—Bertram's 20th Wisconsin and Orme's 19th Iowa—both suffered losses of approximately fifty percent. [54]
After the defeat of Herron's division, Huston deployed some of his men into the fray. The 26th Indiana attacked Marmaduke's Confederate cavalry, and were driven off by a force that included Shelby's brigade and Quantrill's Raiders. [55] Huston ordered the 37th Illinois to charge towards the Borden house, and the Illinois soldiers experienced initial success. [56] However, a Confederate counterattack drove the 37th Illinois back to the main Union line. [57] [50] Fagan and Shelby led their men further on towards Herron's main line, and the two brigades were joined by a third under Emmett MacDonald. This attack was also defeated, as the combined fire of Herron's artillery and the survivors of Orme's brigade broke the Confederate assault. [58]
Wickersham's 1,600 Union cavalry reached the battlefield, followed at 3:15 pm by Blunt with his staff and escort. A messenger from Blunt soon alerted Herron that his division was coming. As the news spread, Herron's men gave a cheer. [59] Blunt opened fire on the Confederate army with 30 cannons. [1] Hindman responded by ordering Frost to use his division to counter Blunt. Frost, in turn, sent a brigade commanded by Mosby M. Parsons to the left of Shoup's position. A brigade of dismounted Texas cavalry from Roane's command was also sent to the front, forming to the left of Parsons' brigade. [60] Blunt's forces then prepared to attack the new Confederate left, strengthened by the addition of the 20th Iowa, one of Huston's Union regiments. The 20th Iowa and the First Indian Home Guard assaulted the Confederate line, only to be repulsed. The Confederates responded to the abortive Union assault with another counterattack, using several of McRae's brigade. [61]
Further down the line, Weer's Union brigade began advancing towards Parsons' line. In response, Parsons moved his brigade forward from his original position, creating a confused fight between the two armies' main lines. [62] Eventually, Parsons realized that his line was longer than Weer's, and pushed hard on both flanks of the Union position. Weer was forced to retreat, and Parsons began a counterattack. [63] This attack was driven off by Blunt's massed artillery. [50] As darkness fell, both sides gradually disengaged. While Hindman still held the field, he had no reinforcements and was running out of ammunition. [64] Meanwhile, the Union armies had been reinforced by trailing elements of Herron's command. [49] The Confederate army was forced to withdraw from the field, suffering many losses to desertion in the process. [1] While the fighting was inconclusive, the Confederate withdrawal gave the Union a strategic victory. [1] [50]
Union forces reported suffering 1,251 casualties, including 175 dead, 813 wounded, and 263 missing. [35] Confederate forces reported 1,317 casualties, including 164 dead, 817 wounded, and 336 missing. [35] [65] The Encyclopedia of Arkansas gives slightly different casualty numbers: 175 killed, 808 wounded, and 250 missing for the Union and 204 killed, 872 wounded, and 407 missing for the Confederates. [50] These reported totals may be too low, as slightly wounded soldiers were not often counted. In addition, Confederate forces suffered from severe demoralization and lost many conscript soldiers during and after the campaign to desertion. [1] [66] The Confederates were forced to leave many of their dead on the field, and had to pile the bodies into heaps and surround them with makeshift barriers to keep feral pigs from eating the corpses. [67] The retreat of the Confederate forces from the field gave Union forces control of northwestern Arkansas. [1]
On December 23, Blunt learned that Schofield was on his way to rejoin the army and take overall command. Blunt and Herron decided to attempt one last strike at Hindman's Confederate army before Schofield, who was concerned about the potential of Holmes reinforcing the Confederate's army, arrived. [68] Hindman had made his camp in the vicinity of Van Buren, and Blunt and Herron reached Van Buren on December 29. In the Battle of Van Buren, Blunt's Union forces drove off Hindman's Confederates in disarray, and the remains of the Confederate army left the area. [69] [66]
Some of the battlefield area is preserved in Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, ten miles from Fayetteville. [70] The state park contains over 900 acres (360 ha) of the battlefield. [71] The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 351 acres (142 ha) of the battlefield as of mid-2023. [72] The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. [73]
Thomas Carmichael Hindman Jr. was an American lawyer, politician, and a senior officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, he later moved to Mississippi and became involved in politics. He served in the Mexican–American War from 1846 to 1848. Hindman practiced law and in 1853 was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives. After his term expired in 1854, he moved to Helena, Arkansas where there were more opportunities for his political ambitions. Hindman opposed the Know-Nothing party and Arkansas's ruling Conway-Johnson dynasty. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1858, and supported slavery and secession. He was assassinated during the Reconstruction era.
The Battle of Mine Creek, also known as the Battle of Little Osage, was fought on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas, as part of Price's Missouri Campaign during the American Civil War. Major-General Sterling Price had begun an expedition in September 1864 to restore Confederate control of Missouri. After being defeated at Westport near Kansas City on October 23, Price's army began to retreat south through Kansas. Early on October 25, Price's army was defeated at the Marais des Cygnes. After Marais des Cygnes, the Confederates fell back, but were stalled at the crossing of Mine Creek while a wagon train attempted to cross.
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The Army of the Frontier was a Union army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. It fought in several minor engagements in Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas. In June 1863 the Army was discontinued but many of its regiments were formed into the District of the Frontier.
The First Battle of Newtonia was fought on September 30, 1862, between Confederate soldiers commanded by Colonel Douglas H. Cooper and a Union column commanded by Brigadier General Frederick Salomon near Newtonia, Missouri, during the American Civil War. Cooper's force had moved into southwestern Missouri, and encamped near the town of Newtonia. The Confederate column was composed mostly of cavalry led by Colonel Joseph O. Shelby and a brigade of Native Americans. A Union force commanded by Brigadier General James G. Blunt moved to intercept Cooper's force. Blunt's advance force, led by Salomon, reached the vicinity of Newtonia on September 29, and attacked Cooper's position on September 30. A Union probing force commanded by Colonel Edward Lynde was driven out of Newtonia by Cooper's forces on the morning of the 30th.
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The following Union Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Prairie Grove of the American Civil War on December 7, 1862, in Washington County, Arkansas. The Confederate order of battle is listed separately.
The 37th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. It was originally designated as the 29th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and was also known as 1st Trans-Mississippi Infantry Regiment. The unit served in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi from its formation in the summer of 1862 until the surrender in May 1865.
The 4th Arkansas Field Battery (1862–1865) was a Confederate States Army artillery battery during the American Civil War. The battery spent its entire existence in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, including time in the Indian Territory. Late in the war the battery supported operations in Louisiana. Also known as: Desha County Artillery and West's Battery.
The 8th Arkansas Field Battery (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army artillery battery during the American Civil War. The battery spent its entire existence in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi. It was also known as Hughey's Battery.
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The Shoup's Mountain Battery was a Confederate Army artillery battery during the American Civil War. It was also known as Shoup's Battery. At least two of the battery officers later served in the 8th Arkansas Field Battery.
7th Missouri Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry unit from Missouri that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was formed on 20 February 1862 by merging Bishop's Cavalry Battalion with some unattached cavalry companies. The regiment fought at Independence, Lone Jack, Prairie Grove and Van Buren in 1862. The unit participated in Frederick Steele's expedition to Little Rock in 1863, fighting at Brownsville, Ashley's Mills, and Bayou Fourche. In 1864, the regiment went on the Camden Expedition and fought at Mount Elba and Marks' Mills. The remaining soldiers were consolidated with the 1st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment on 22 February 1865.
Battery E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment was an artillery battery unit from Missouri that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment formed on 1 September 1861. The battery participated in Frémont's expedition to Springfield in October 1861. This was followed by actions at Prairie Grove and Van Buren in December 1862. The following year, the battery fought at Cape Girardeau, Chalk Bluff, Vicksburg, the Expedition to Morganza, Brownsville, and Fort Esperanza. After performing garrison duty at Brownsville, Texas, the unit was mustered out in June 1864. For a few months at the end of 1864, a Pennsylvania battery took the name of this unit.
The 12th Missouri Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. After mustering into Confederate service on October 22, 1862, as White's Missouri Infantry, the regiment, as Ponder's Missouri Infantry, fought in the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, where it charged the Union lines several times. On May 3, 1863, the regiment was named the 9th Missouri Infantry Regiment, and fought under that name until December 15, 1863, when it was renamed the 12th Missouri Infantry Regiment. On July 4, 1863, the regiment, as part of Brigadier General Mosby M. Parsons' brigade, broke through the Union lines at the Battle of Helena. However, Parsons' flanks were exposed, and the Confederates were driven from the field, suffering heavy losses. After Helena, only 168 men remained in the regiment. On November 22, 1863, the survivors of the regiment were combined into two companies, which were then attached to the 10th Missouri Infantry Regiment, although the 12th Missouri Infantry was still treated as a separate unit for reporting purposes. In April 1864, the 12th Missouri Infantry fought at the battles of Pleasant Hill and Jenkins' Ferry. On September 29, 1864, the survivors of the 12th Missouri Infantry were officially merged into the 10th Missouri Infantry, ending the 12th's separate service career.
The 1st Missouri Field Battery was a field artillery battery that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The battery was formed by Captain Westley F. Roberts in Arkansas in September 1862 as Roberts' Missouri Battery and was originally armed with two 12-pounder James rifles and two 6-pounder smoothbore guns. The unit fought in the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, as part of a Confederate offensive. Roberts' Battery withdrew after the battle and transferred to Little Rock, Arkansas, where Roberts resigned and was replaced by Lieutenant Samuel T. Ruffner.
The 8th Missouri Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. From May 1861, the war began affecting events in the state of Missouri. In 1862, Confederate recruiting activities took place in Missouri, and a cavalry regiment was formed in Oregon County, the nucleus being former members of the Missouri State Guard. On September 2, the unit entered Confederate service, but it was reclassified as infantry ten days later. After many of the men transferred to other units, the regiment was reclassified as a battalion on October 19 and named the 7th Missouri Infantry Battalion, also known as Mitchell's Missouri Infantry. It participated in a Confederate offensive at the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7. During the battle, the unit made several charges against the Union lines but was repeatedly repulsed by artillery fire. The regiment spent most of early 1863 encamped near Little Rock and Pine Bluff in Arkansas.
The 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion, also known as Pindall's Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion, was a unit that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The battalion was formed in late 1862, in compliance with an earlier authorization by the Confederate States Congress for each brigade to have an associated battalion of sharpshooters. When first formed, the men had no unique qualifications to serve as sharpshooters and were drawn from a defunct artillery battery, a partisan rangers unit, and infantrymen. The unit's first major battle was the Battle of Prairie Grove in December 1862.
The Battle of McGuire's Store was fought at McGuire, Arkansas, near Elkins, between Union forces led by Brigadier General Francis J. Herron and Confederate forces under Colonel Jesse L. Cravens during the American Civil War. The skirmish was the result of an attempt by Union Brigadier General John Schofield to trap a body of Confederate cavalry reported to be at McGuire's Store. In the event, the operation failed when Herron's column took the wrong road and approached from the west instead of the north. Herron's well-equipped troops attacked Cravens' poorly armed and demoralized Texas cavalrymen and drove them off. This minor clash and other events caused Confederate Major General Thomas C. Hindman to suspend his intended advance to recover northwestern Arkansas and withdraw to the Arkansas River. Ironically, most of Schofield's soldiers also retreated to Missouri after the fight. Though the clash was minor, it marked one pulse of the ebb and flow of the war in northwest Arkansas.
Emmett MacDonald was a military officer who served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. MacDonald was born in Ohio in 1834, but moved to Missouri in the early 1850s. A lawyer in St. Louis, MacDonald participated in a pro-secession militia gathering that ended in the Camp Jackson affair in May 1861; MacDonald was imprisoned for a time after he refused to take parole. After his release, McDonald joined a new pro-secession and pro-Confederate militia unit known as the Missouri State Guard. While with the Missouri State Guard, MacDonald served as a captain of artillery and was a staff officer to Sterling Price. In October, he joined what became the 3rd Missouri Light Battery and was its first commander, fighting at the Battle of Pea Ridge and the Siege of Corinth.