Battle of Glasgow, Missouri
Battle of Glasgow | |||||||
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Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Union | Confederacy | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Chester Harding Jr. |
John Bullock Clark Jr. Joseph O. Shelby | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
550–800 | c. 1,825 |
The Battle of Glasgow was fought on October 15, 1864, in and near
In late 1864, the Confederate leadership in the
Learning of a Union weapons cache at Glasgow, Price sent
Context
At the start of the
By September 1864, the Confederates had been defeated in the Atlanta campaign. This, and other events in the eastern United States, gave Abraham Lincoln, who supported continuing the war, an edge in the 1864 United States presidential election over George B. McClellan, who favored ending the war.[5] Many Confederates thought that a McClellan electoral victory would lead to a peace that included Confederate independence.[6] At this point, the Confederacy had very little chance of winning the war.[5] As events east of the Mississippi River turned against the Confederates, General Edmund Kirby Smith, Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, was ordered to transfer the infantry under his command to the fighting further east, but this was not possible due to the Union Navy's control of the Mississippi River.[7]
Despite having limited resources for an offensive, Smith decided that an attack designed to divert Union troops from the principal theaters of combat would have an equivalent effect to the proposed transfer of troops. Price and the Confederate Governor of Missouri, Thomas Caute Reynolds,[a] suggested an invasion of Missouri; Smith approved the plan and appointed Price to command the offensive. Price expected that the offensive would achieve several objectives: create a popular uprising against Union control of Missouri; divert Union troops away from the principal theaters of combat; and aid McClellan's chance of defeating Lincoln in the election.[7] On September 19, Price's column, named the Army of Missouri, entered the state.[10]
Prelude
Price's force entered Missouri from the south with about 13,000 cavalrymen, beginning
Price had abandoned intentions to attack
The vanguard of Price's army reached
The Confederates's recruiting in Little Dixie was successful.
Battle
Clark's 1,700
Harding, who was now in command of the garrison at Glasgow, had between 550 and 800 men available,[38][39] including armed civilians.[40] The Union force had no artillery available.[35] Glasgow's location on a hilltop provided an advantage to the defenders. The interior Union line was anchored by two unfinished fortifications which held about 40 men each. The defenses between the fortifications were makeshift, although they had been extended to the east to a schoolhouse. Most of Harding's men were positioned outside the fortified line where the roads entered town.[38] This interior line ran from near the river to the east edge of town, before curving to the north.[41] Elements of the 43rd Missouri Infantry held east and west positions south of town on the external line, near where the roads crossed Greggs Creek. In between those two positions, a line of local militiamen was posted.[39] The two road crossings were over 1 mile (1.6 km) apart.[42] The line south of town ran roughly east to west.[41] North of the town, a group of cavalry, largely members of the Missouri State Militia, held a position north of Bear Creek,[38][39] crossed by a single road.[42] A militia force was sent east to repair telegraphic connections with Jefferson City, but returned to Glasgow late on October 14 after running into a Confederate force.[37] At around 05:00 on October 15, Collins's Battery opened fire, aiming primarily for West Wind, visible campfires, and exposed streets in the town. This fire was largely ineffective, as was fire from the cavalry accompanying the cannons,[41][43] although a prominent pro-Confederate civilian, clergyman William Goff Caples, was killed by an artillery shot.[37] Union sharpshooters drove some Confederates away from the riverbank.[41][43]
Clark's force, delayed an hour while trying to cross the Missouri River,[44] arrived later than Shelby expected.[45] Clark was three miles away when Collins opened fire.[37] By about 07:00, Clark's men finally arrived on the field. Jackman's men were aligned to the left, closer to the river, with most of the rest of the Confederate force to Jackman's right. The 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment held the extreme Confederate right. The 10th Missouri Cavalry Regiment was sent around the Union rear to attack Glasgow from the north.[41] Greene had one of Harris's cannons brought to the front.[33] Harding responded by reinforcing the Greggs Creek line with several companies of the 43rd Missouri.[33] Clark sent a surrender offer to Harding, using civilians to deliver the message. The Union commander was confused by the nonstandard use of civilian messengers, and rejected the offer.[46]
Clarks' main body south of town forced its way across Greggs Creek beginning around 08:00, although the Union defenders put up a hardy fight.
Confederate troops closed in on the Union line in Glasgow. Clark described the distance between the two sides as "short"; Harding estimated the distance at 30 yards (27 m) to 50 yards (46 m). House-to-house fighting ensued.[32][47] Harding conducted a council of war, which resulted in the decision to surrender. Before surrendering, Union troops burned 50,000 rations in Glasgow's City Hall to prevent them from falling into Confederate hands. The fire spread to other buildings, causing $130,000 in damage.[47] Additional supplies were not burned because they were kept in positions near the river that were inaccessible.[49] The surrender took place around 13:30,[50] and its terms allowed captured Union officers to keep their horses and sidearms.[32] Harding and his men were paroled and escorted to a Union position on the Lamine River.[29] The escort was provided to protect them from guerrillas.[35] A Confederate officer conducted a ceremony where the Union soldiers were sworn not to serve against the Confederates again, although this was not part of the agreed surrender terms.[51]
Aftermath
The Glasgow victory boosted the morale of Price's army, which had been dented after Pilot Knob. It resulted in the capture of 1,200 weapons, 1,000 Union uniform overcoats,[32][29] and 150 horses.[52] Quantrill and his men robbed a bank on October 16[29] and Anderson's men fatally beat a civilian on the night of October 21–22 in an attempt to get money,[35] and then raped a former slave that he had freed.[53] The Union garrison in Glasgow had previously prevented the guerrillas from raiding the place, but with Harding and his men gone, the town had become a guerrilla target.[35] Some Confederate sources claimed as many as 1,000 Union soldiers were captured at Glasgow, and Union reports provide a figure of 550. The historian Mark A. Lause rejects the numbers reported by the Confederates and suggests the Union figure is too low due to not accurately counting militia strength, suggesting a more accurate figure would be about 650. Reports of Union wounded give a maximum number of 32 wounded and 8 to 11 killed, although Lause believes that this figure for wounded is improbably low, likely due to omitting militia losses, and states that about four dozen would be a better estimate. Clark's official report did not include casualty numbers, and several Confederate units did not report losses, although it is known that one regiment had 7 men killed and 46 wounded.[51] Preservationist Frances E. Kennedy places the number of paroled Union soldiers as over 600, not counting battle losses.[15]
In the town of Glasgow, 15 homes and a church were damaged.[52] Confederate soldiers burned West Wind on October 16 or 17.[54] In 1921, the remains of West Wind were deemed a hazard to navigation and were removed by a snagboat.[55] An engine removed from the riverbed at Glasgow during a World War II scrap drive was rumored to have come from the vessel.[52]
Clark rejoined the Confederate army on October 16, and the combined force continued moving west towards
Interpretive signage has been erected within Glasgow to commemorate the battle.[57] Historical reenactments of the battle have been held, and a flag flown during the battle is displayed in the Lewis Library.[58]
Notes
- ^ Jackson had died in early December 1862 of cancer; Reynolds replaced him in office on February 14, 1863.[8][9]
- ^ While Anderson did burn two railroad depots, he largely ignored Price's orders, and instead followed the fringes of Prices' army, looting in the areas cleared of Union troops.[21]
- ^ According to different sources, Price was able to recruit either around 1,200[20] or 2,500 men.[25]
- ^ Thompson's commission was in the Missouri State Guard, not the Confederate States Army.[27]
References
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 19–20.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 20–25.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 34–37.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 377–379.
- ^ a b Kennedy 1998, p. 343.
- ^ McPherson 1988, p. 803.
- ^ a b Collins 2016, pp. 27–28.
- ^ Parrish 2001, p. 49.
- ^ "Claiborne Fox Jackson, 1861". Missouri State Archives. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ^ Collins 2016, p. 37.
- ^ Collins 2016, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Collins 2016, p. 41.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 380–382.
- ^ a b Suderow & House 2014, pp. 357–358.
- ^ a b c d e Kennedy 1998, p. 382.
- ^ Suderow & House 2014, p. 358.
- ^ Collins 2016, p. 53.
- ^ Collins 2016, p. 54.
- ^ Sinisi 2020, pp. 103–104.
- ^ a b Collins 2016, p. 59.
- ^ a b Sinisi 2020, p. 118.
- ^ Collins 2016, p. 60.
- ^ Collins 2016, p. 62.
- ^ Monnett 1995, p. 29.
- ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 125.
- ^ Sinisi 2020, pp. 112, 127.
- ^ Warner 1987, p. xviii.
- ^ a b Collins 2016, p. 63.
- ^ a b c d Sinisi 2020, p. 134.
- ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 128.
- ^ a b c Sinisi 2020, pp. 127–128.
- ^ a b c d e Collins 2016, p. 65.
- ^ a b c d Lause 2016, p. 48.
- ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 130.
- ^ a b c d e Nichols 2014, p. 130.
- ^ Sinisi 2020, pp. 128–130.
- ^ a b c d Lause 2016, p. 47.
- ^ a b c Sinisi 2020, pp. 130–131.
- ^ a b c Collins 2016, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Lause 2016, p. 46.
- ^ a b c d e Collins 2016, p. 64.
- ^ a b Lause 2016, p. 44.
- ^ a b Sinisi 2020, pp. 131–132.
- ^ Monnett 1995, p. 31.
- ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 132.
- ^ Sinisi 2020, pp. 132–133.
- ^ a b c d e Sinisi 2020, p. 133.
- ^ Nichols 2014, p. 129.
- ^ Lause 2016, p. 49.
- ^ Kirkman 2011, p. 79.
- ^ a b Lause 2016, p. 50.
- ^ a b c Erwin & Erwin 2020, p. 89.
- ^ Lause 2016, p. 51.
- ^ Gaines 2008, p. 108.
- ^ Missouri Bureau of Labor Statistics 1923, p. 139.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 382–386.
- ^ Weeks 2009, p. 50.
- ^ Weir, Jonas (November 2, 2017). "Glasgow: Missouri's Scrappiest River Town". Missouri Life. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
Sources
- Collins, Charles D. Jr. (2016). Battlefield Atlas of Price's Missouri Expedition of 1864 (PDF). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: ISBN 978-1-940804-27-9.
- Erwin, Vicki Berger; Erwin, James (2020). Steamboat Disasters of the Lower Missouri River. Charleston, South Carolina: ISBN 978-1-46714-325-7.
- Gaines, W. Craig (2008). Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: ISBN 978-0-8071-3274-6.
- An Industrial History of Missouri, 1922, 1921, 1920. Jefferson City, Missouri: Missouri Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1923. OCLC 14260452.
- Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- Kirkman, Paul (2011). The Battle of Westport: Missouri's Great Confederate Raid. Charleston, South Carolina: ISBN 978-1-60949-006-5.
- Lause, Mark A. (2016). The Collapse of Price's Raid: The Beginning of the End in Civil War Missouri. Columbia, Missouri: ISBN 978-0-826-22025-7.
- ISBN 0-19-503863-0.
- Monnett, Howard N. (1995) [1964]. Action Before Westport 1864 (Revised ed.). Boulder, Colorado: ISBN 978-0-87081-413-6.
- Nichols, Bruce (2014). Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Missouri. Vol. IV, September 1864–June 1865. Jefferson, North Carolina: ISBN 978-0-786-47584-1.
- Parrish, William Earl (2001) [1973]. A History of Missouri: 1860–1875. Columbia, Missouri: ISBN 978-0-8262-1376-1.
- Sinisi, Kyle S. (2020) [2015]. The Last Hurrah: Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition of 1864 (paperback ed.). Lanham, Maryland: ISBN 978-1-5381-4151-9.
- Suderow, Bryce A.; House, R. Scott (2014). The Battle of Pilot Knob: Thunder in Arcadia Valley. Cape Girardeau, Missouri: ISBN 978-0-9903530-2-7.
- Warner, Ezra J. (1987) [1959]. Generals in Gray (Louisiana Paperback ed.). Baton Rouge, Louisiana: ISBN 978-0-8071-3150-3.
- Weeks, Michael (2009). The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide. Woodstock, Vermont: ISBN 978-0-88150-860-4.