The Battle of Roan's Tan Yard, also known as the Battle of Silver Creek,[1] was a minor battle fought during the American Civil War on January 8, 1862, in Randolph County, Missouri. After back-and-forth operations throughout 1861, the pro-ConfederateMissouri State Guard under the command of Sterling Price had been confined to southwestern Missouri. In December 1861, Price authorized recruiting and raiding activities in the central portion of the state, with the North Missouri Railroad being a major target. In January 1862, Major W. M. G. Torrence of the Union Army located a Missouri State Guard base in Randolph County and attacked it on January 8 with elements of four cavalryregiments. The camp, which was commanded by ColonelJohn A. Poindexter, put up little resistance and was soon overrun. Large quantities of supplies were captured in the abandoned camp, which was destroyed. The action at Roan's Tan Yard, along with a Missouri State Guard defeat at the Battle of Mount Zion Church the preceding December, led to a decrease in pro-Confederate activity in central Missouri.
When the American Civil War began in early 1861, the state of Missouri was politically divided. Despite being a slave state, it did not secede, although GovernorClaiborne Fox Jackson supported secession. An attempt by Jackson and his pro-secession followers to move against the St. Louis Arsenal was thwarted on May 10 by Brigadier GeneralNathaniel Lyon of the Union Army. In response, Jackson formed the Missouri State Guard as a pro-secession militia unit and appointed Sterling Price to lead it. Lyon chased Jackson and Price into the southwestern portion of the state in June, where Price was reinforced by Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch and his Confederate States Army unit.[2] On August 10, Lyon attacked Price's and McCulloch's combined camp, but Lyon was killed and his army routed in the Battle of Wilson's Creek.[3] Price followed up the victory by leading the Missouri State Guard on a foray north towards the Missouri River, culminating in the capture of Lexington in September. In mid-October, Union troops concentrated against Price, who then retreated back into southwestern Missouri. On November 3, while at Neosho, Jackson and the pro-secession state legislators, who had previously been evicted from the state capital by Lyon, voted to secede and join the Confederate State of America as a government-in-exile; the anti-secession elements of the state legislature had previously voted to remain in the United States.[4]
Battle
Map of the Roan's Tan Yard battlefield
In December, Price sent recruiters into the central portions of Missouri, in the hope that men would volunteer to serve in his command. An additional goal was to raid the North Missouri Railroad on the night of December 20. Several hundred men volunteered for the raid on the railroad, and damaged a 100 miles (160km) stretch of it by burning bridges; thousands of Missourians joined Confederate-supporting units in the period after the raid.[5] The Missouri State Guard then formed a camp in the vicinity of Yates, Missouri, in Randolph County, to attract and train new recruits.[6][7] While scouting near Silver Creek in January 1862, Union major, W. M. G. Torrence, of the 1st Iowa Cavalry Regiment, learned of the presence of a Missouri State Guard camp in the area.[8][9] While Union authorities had been aware of the existence of the camp for over a week, its location had not previously been established.[10] The Missouri State Guard outpost was under the command of ColonelJohn A. Poindexter.[10] An 1864 source estimated that Poindexter had around 1,000 men on hand.[7]
On January 8, Torrence decided to attack Poindexter's camp. Collecting together detachments from his own regiment, as well as the 1st and 2nd Missouri and the 4th Ohio cavalry regiments, Torrence began preparing for an attack.[9] The National Park Service estimates the Union column's strength at around 450 men,[10] while a 1908 history of the Union Army gives a strength of about 500.[9] About 4 miles (6km) from the Missouri State Guard camp, Torrence deployed his men. One battalion of the 2nd Missouri Cavalry and one company of the 4th Ohio Cavalry were to draw Poindexter's fire, while elements of the 1st Iowa Cavalry and the 1st Missouri Cavalry were to conduct a mounted charge; three additional companies of the 2nd Missouri Cavalry were to attack from a different direction.[9] The attack hit around 16:30 with fog on the field.[11][12] Initially, the Missouri States Guardsmen held out, using the fog and the terrain as cover, with the two sides trading volleys. Torrence broke the stalemate by sending four companies, three of which were from the 1st Iowa Cavalry, to charge Poindexter's line. This threw the defenders into confusion,[13] and the camp was captured after a fight of only thirty or forty minutes.[7][9] Large quantities of supplies and equipment were taken from the camp.[9] Poindexter's surviving men fled, using fog to cover their retreat.[12] In his official report, Torrence stated that he had sent two companies to block the Missouri State Guardsmen's path of retreat, but that fog and the terrain thwarted the attempt, allowing their escape.[13]
Aftermath
After the battle, the camp was destroyed; with the camp unusable, Missouri State Guard recruiting activities in Randolph County ceased.[8][10] Coupled with another defeat, at the Battle of Mount Zion Church, the previous December, the setback led to a reduction of pro-Confederate activities in the central Missouri region.[6] Estimates of casualties suffered in the action vary. Torrence estimated that between 80 and 100 Missouri State Guard soldiers were killed or wounded, and reported the capture of a further 28; the National Park Service and the modern history Frances H. Kennedy place Poindexter's loss at a total of 80.[9][8][10] Union casualties are generally reported to have been either four or 11,[9][8][10] although one source places their loss at as high as 27.[11] The site of the battle is privately owned and is not commemorated on-site, although a museum in nearby Huntsville provides interpretation of the action.[6] A 2011 study by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission determined that 1,329.25 acres (537.93ha) of the battlefield are likely eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[14] The same study determined that land use at the site was relatively unchanged when compared to the time of the battle.[15]
Hatcher, Richard (1998). "Wilson's Creek, Missouri". In Kennedy, Frances H. (ed.). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nded.). Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN978-0-395-74012-5.
Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century. Vol.3. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN9780313335396.
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 Marais des Cygnes took place on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas, during Price's Missouri Raid in the American Civil War. It is also known as the Battle of Trading Post. In late 1864, Confederate Major General Sterling Price invaded the state of Missouri with a cavalry force, attempting to draw Union troops away from the primary theaters of fighting further east. After several victories early in the campaign, Price's Confederate troops were defeated at the Battle of Westport on October 23 near Kansas City, Missouri. The Confederates then withdrew into Kansas, camping along the banks of the Marais des Cygnes River on the night of October 24. Union cavalry pursuers under Brigadier General John B. Sanborn skirmished with Price's rearguard that night, but disengaged without participating in heavy combat.
The Battle of Carthage, also known as the Engagement near Carthage, took place at the beginning of the American Civil War on July 5, 1861, near Carthage, Missouri. Franz Sigel, a colonel with military experience from Baden, commanded 1,100 Federal soldiers intent on keeping Missouri within the Union. Claiborne Fox Jackson, governor of Missouri, personally commanded and Sterling Price, a hero of Mexican–American War, led the pro-secessionist Missouri State Guard, which numbered more than four thousand soldiers alongside two thousand unarmed troops, who did not participate in the battle.
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 Battle of Little Blue River was fought on October 21, 1864, as part of Price's Raid during the American Civil War. Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army led an army into Missouri in September 1864 with hopes of challenging Union control of the state. During the early stages of the campaign, Price abandoned his plan to capture St. Louis and later his secondary target of Jefferson City. The Confederates then began moving westwards, brushing aside Major General James G. Blunt's Union force in the Second Battle of Lexington on October 19. Two days later, Blunt left part of his command under the authority of Colonel Thomas Moonlight to hold the crossing of the Little Blue River, while the rest of his force fell back to Independence. On the morning of October 21, Confederate troops attacked Moonlight's line, and parts of Brigadier General John B. Clark Jr.'s brigade forced their way across the river. A series of attacks and counterattacks ensued, neither side gaining a significant advantage.
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 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.
The Second Battle of Newtonia was fought on October 28, 1864, near Newtonia, Missouri, between cavalry commanded by Major General James G. Blunt of the Union Army and Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby's rear guard of the Confederate Army of Missouri. In September 1864, Confederate Major General Sterling Price had entered the state of Missouri with hopes of creating a popular uprising against Union control of the state. A defeat at the Battle of Pilot Knob in late September and the strength of Union positions at Jefferson City led Price to abandon the main objectives of the campaign; instead he moved his force west towards Kansas City, where it was badly defeated at the Battle of Westport by Major General Samuel R. Curtis on October 23. Following a set of three defeats on October 25, Price's army halted to rest near Newtonia on October 28.
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, located near Republic, Missouri, preserves the site of the Battle of Wilson's Creek. Fought on August 10, 1861, the battle was the first major American Civil War engagement west of the Mississippi River. In the battle, a Confederate army commanded by Benjamin McCulloch and Sterling Price defeated a smaller Union army commanded by Nathaniel Lyon. However, the Confederates were unable to hold much of Missouri, and a Confederate defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge effectively solidified Union control of the state. Major features include a five-mile automobile tour loop, the restored 1852 Ray House, and "Bloody Hill", the site of the final stage of the battle. The site is located near Republic in southwestern Missouri just southwest of the city of Springfield. It has been a unit of the National Park Service since 1960, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
In the American Civil War the Home Guard or Home Guards were local militia raised from Union loyalists.
John A. Poindexter was a colonel in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He and Joseph C. Porter were the primary recruiting commanders in northern Missouri during 1862.
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.
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.
Hiram Bledsoe's Missouri Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Missouri State Guard and the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The battery was formed when the Missouri State Guard was formed as a pro-secession state militia unit in response to the Camp Jackson affair. As part of the Missouri State Guard, the unit was engaged in the Engagement near Carthage and the Battle of Wilson's Creek during mid-1861, before fighting at the Battle of Dry Wood Creek and the Siege of Lexington later that year when Major General Sterling Price led the Guard northwards towards the Missouri River. After the Missouri State Guard retreated into Arkansas in early 1862, Bledsoe's Battery served during the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge in March. The battery, as part of the Army of the West, transferred across the Mississippi River into Tennessee in April, where it left the Guard to enter Confederate service on April 21.
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 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.
Barrett's Missouri Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. After entering Confederate service on April 1, 1862, the unit was armed with two 6-pounder smoothbore cannons and two 12-pounder howitzers and was commanded by Captain Overton W. Barrett. It was present during the Siege of Corinth, but saw no action. During the Battle of Perryville in October 1862, Barrett's battery provided artillery support for a Confederate brigade. After spending the next several months moving around Tennessee, the battery supported a Confederate attack during the Battle of Stones River in December. The 1863 Chickamauga campaign brought light action for the unit, which also fought in the Battle of Missionary Ridge. When the Confederates retreated after the Missionary Ridge fighting, Barrett's battery was part of the Confederate rear guard at the Battle of Ringgold Gap, earning the praise of Patrick R. Cleburne. Rearmed with four 12-pounder howitzers, the unit was action in the 1864 Atlanta campaign as part of the Confederate reserve artillery, although two of the cannons were lost to attrition. On April 16, 1865, the battery ceased to exist when its flag, cannons, and most of its members were captured during the Battle of Columbus, Georgia. As of January 2021, its battle flag is part of the collection of the Missouri State Museum.
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