1st Missouri Field Battery
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Confederate States | |
Branch | Confederate States Army |
Type | Artillery |
Engagements |
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.
During the middle of 1863, the unit, as Ruffner's Missouri Battery, was part of a force sent to the
The unit's assignment to Marmaduke's division ended in December, after which it received a new set of cannons: two
In November 1864, the unit was given the official designation of the 1st Missouri Field Battery. It spent the remainder of the war in Louisiana and Arkansas and was paroled on June 7, 1865, at Alexandria, Louisiana, after General Edmund Kirby Smith signed surrender terms for the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department on June 2.
Background and formation
When the
In early August, Price and the Missouri State Guard were joined by
In February 1862, pressure from Brigadier General
The battery was armed with horse-drawn
Service history
1862
On December 7, the battery was engaged during the
1863
By January 6, 1863, the battery had been transferred to
In late July, Clark's force was transferred back to Little Rock, as the city was threatened by the Union Army of Arkansas under Major General Frederick Steele. The Confederates abandoned Little Rock on September 10, without a fight.[16] On September 11, Ruffner's Battery was engaged during the Confederate withdrawal. Union cavalry were pursuing the Confederates, and encountered elements from the 11th and 12th Missouri Cavalry Regiments. Ruffner's Battery then fired at the pursuers with the unit's four cannons, inflicting casualties. After additional fighting between the Union cavalry and the 5th Missouri Cavalry Regiment and Elliott's Missouri Cavalry Battalion, the retreat continued without further pursuit.[29] After the retreat from the city, Ruffner's Battery was temporarily assigned to Marmaduke's cavalry division.[16]
After capturing Little Rock, Union troops occupied several points on the Arkansas River. Pine Bluff was occupied by the 5th Kansas and 1st Indiana Cavalry Regiments; the garrison was commanded by Colonel Powell Clayton. On October 25, Marmaduke attacked Pine Bluff. The Union cavalrymen barricaded the town square, which was then assaulted by Marmaduke's cavalry.[30] The attack quickly bogged down and Ruffner's Battery, which had remained in reserve with other Confederate artillery, was called into action.[31] The unit served on the right of the Confederate line,[16] and opened fire with three cannons on the Union position (near the local courthouse) from the grounds of a church.[32] While the artillery fire forced the defenders from some of their positions, the main Union line held up under fire.[33] Further Confederate cavalry charges failed to carry the makeshift defensive position, and Marmaduke's men withdrew after engaging in some looting.[30] On December 2, the battery's assignment to Marmaduke's division ended, and the unit left Marmaduke on the 5th. Ruffner's Battery returned to Fort Pleasant without its cannons, which were given to Joseph Bledsoe's Missouri Battery. Once the fort was reached, Ruffner's Battery was assigned the cannons of a defunct artillery unit known as Von Puhl's Missouri Battery: two 10-pounder Parrott rifles and two 12-pounder howitzers.[34]
1864–1865
The battery was later assigned to a new brigade commanded by Clark, which was part of Brigadier General
That morning, as part of the
Later that day, Steele's men escaped across the Saline River via a pontoon bridge; they arrived in Little Rock on May 2.[43] Ruffner's Battery was assigned four new cannons, all 6-pounder smoothbores. After Jenkins' Ferry, the unit saw no further action,[44] and spent the rest of the war stationed at various points in Arkansas and Louisiana. On November 19, the battery, which had previously borne the name of its commander, was officially designated the 1st Missouri Field Battery and was assigned to Major William D. Blocher's artillery organization.[39] Smith signed surrender terms for the Trans-Mississippi Department on June 2, 1865;[45] the men of the 1st Missouri Field Battery were paroled five days later, while stationed at Alexandria, Louisiana, ending their combat experience. Over the course of the unit's existence, roughly 170 men served in it at some time or another. At least six of them were killed in battle, and at least four more died of illnesses.[39]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 20.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 19–20.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 21, 23.
- ^ a b Kennedy 1998, pp. 20, 23–25.
- ^ Geise 1962, pp. 193, 198.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 34.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 36–38.
- ^ Gottschalk 1991, p. 120.
- ^ a b Shea 2009, p. 292.
- ^ a b c d e f McGhee 2008, p. 1.
- ^ Woodhead 1996, p. 284.
- ^ a b "Artillery at Antietam". U.S. National Park Service. June 12, 2019. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ Woodhead 1996, p. 287.
- ^ a b Ripley 1970, p. 366.
- ^ Ripley 1970, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f g McGhee 2008, p. 2.
- ^ Ripley 1970, pp. 367, 370.
- ^ Ripley 1970, p. 42.
- ^ Woodhead 1996, p. 282.
- ^ Woodhead 1996, p. 283.
- ^ Woodhead 1996, p. 285.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 186–187.
- ^ a b c Shea 2009, p. 187.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 195.
- ^ McGhee 2008, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 247.
- ^ a b c Simons, Don R. (January 17, 2019). "Skirmish at Gaines' Landing (June 28, 1863)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 396.
- ^ Official Records 1888, pp. 528–529.
- ^ a b Kennedy 1998, p. 233.
- ^ Bearss 1964, pp. 303–304.
- ^ Bearss 1964, p. 305.
- ^ Bearss 1964, p. 306.
- ^ McGhee 2008, pp. 2, 43.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 269–271.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 273–274.
- ^ Forsyth 2003, p. 159.
- ^ Forsyth 2003, p. 162.
- ^ a b c d McGhee 2008, p. 3.
- ^ a b Johnson 1993, p. 199.
- ^ Barr 1963, p. 270.
- ^ Forsyth 2003, p. 165.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 274–275.
- ^ McGhee 2008, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 438.
Sources
- Barr, Alwyn (August 1963). "Confederate Artillery in Arkansas". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 22 (3). Arkansas Historical Association: 238–272. JSTOR 40007663.
- Bearss, Edwin C. (1962). Decision in Mississippi: Mississippi's Important Role in the War Between the States. Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Commission on the War Between the States. OCLC 498809.
- JSTOR 40030666.
- Forsyth, Michael J. (2003). The Camden Expedition of 1864. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-1554-1.
- Geise, William R. (1962). "Missouri's Confederate Capital in Marshall, Texas". The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 66 (2). JSTOR 30236239.
- Gottschalk, Phil (1991). In Deadly Earnest: The Missouri Brigade. Columbia, Missouri: Missouri River Press. ISBN 0-9631136-1-5.
- Johnson, Ludwell H. (1993) [1958]. Red River Campaign: Politics and Cotton in the Civil War. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-486-5.
- Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- McGhee, James E. (2008). Guide to Missouri Confederate Regiments, 1861–1865. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1-55728-870-7.
- Ripley, Warren (1970). Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War. New York: Promontory Press. ISBN 0-88394-003-5.
- Shea, William L. (2009). Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-3315-5.
- The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Vol. 22. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1888. OCLC 262466842.
- Woodhead, Henry, ed. (1996) [1991]. Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life. ISBN 0-8094-8850-7.