Battle of Marais des Cygnes

Coordinates: 38°15′19″N 94°40′42″W / 38.2552°N 94.6783°W / 38.2552; -94.6783
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Marais des Cygnes massacre.

Battle of Marais des Cygnes
Part of the American Civil War
Flat, grassy prairie with a treeline in the background
Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge, which contains part of the battlefield
DateOctober 25, 1864; 159 years ago (1864-10-25)
Location
Linn County, Kansas
Result Union victory
Belligerents
 United States (Union)  Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
  • John B. Clark Jr.
Units involved
United States division Confederate States of America Army of Missouri
Strength
3,500 Over 2,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown[1] At least 100
Marais des Cygnes is located in Kansas
Marais des Cygnes
Marais des Cygnes
class=notpageimage|
Location within Kansas

The Battle of Marais des Cygnes (

Brigadier General John B. Sanborn skirmished with Price's rearguard
that night, but disengaged without participating in heavy combat.

Overnight, Sanborn's troops were reinforced by cavalry under

supply train so it no longer slowed the retreat. After another defeat at the Second Battle of Newtonia on October 28, Price's column retreated to Texas through Arkansas and the Indian Territory
. Only 3,500 of the 12,000 men Price had brought into Missouri remained in his force.

Background

Main article: Missouri in the American Civil War

When the

Major General Sterling Price, the MSG defeated Union armies at the battles of Wilson's Creek and Lexington in 1861, but by the end of the year, Price and the MSG were restricted to the southwestern portion of the state due to the arrival of Union reinforcements. Meanwhile, Jackson and a portion of the state legislature voted to secede and join the Confederate States of America, while another element voted to reject secession, essentially giving the state two governments.[6] In March 1862, a Confederate defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas gave the Union control of Missouri.[7] For the rest of the year, and through 1863, Confederate activity in the state was largely restricted to guerrilla warfare and raids.[8]

By the beginning of September 1864, events in the eastern United States, especially the Confederate defeat in the

Western Theaters. This proved to be impossible, as the Union Navy controlled the Mississippi River, preventing a large-scale crossing.[10]

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 the same effect as the proposed transfer of troops. Price and the new

James F. Fagan and John S. Marmaduke and Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby. The Confederates had 13,000 cavalrymen and 14 small-bore cannons.[14]

Prelude

Map of Price's Raid
Map of Price's Raid

By September 24, Price's column had reached

St. Louis, so he sent Marmaduke and Fagan's divisions to Pilot Knob; Shelby and his men operated north of the town. On September 26, Ewing's command fought off Fagan's division at Arcadia before withdrawing to the defenses of Fort Davidson. The next day, Price moved against the fort and offered Ewing surrender terms; the latter refused, as he was afraid of being executed for his unpopular issuance of General Order No. 11 the previous year.[b] Holding out, the Union defenders repulsed multiple assaults, before slipping out of the fort at 03:00 on September 28. The Confederates suffered at least 800 casualties during the engagement and their morale decreased, leading Price to abandon the attempt against St. Louis.[16]

After abandoning the St. Louis thrust, Price's army headed for

John B. Clark Jr. and 1,800 men were sent to Glasgow, and Brigadier General[c] M. Jeff Thompson led Shelby's Iron Brigade to Sedalia.[23] Both raids were successful.[24][25] Price's army next fought a series of engagements as it moved westwards towards Kansas City, Missouri, culminating in the Battle of Westport on October 23. At Westport, the Confederates were soundly defeated by the commands of Major Generals James G. Blunt and Alfred Pleasonton. Shelby's men provided the Confederates with a rearguard, and the Army of Missouri retreated southwards.[26]

The Confederates still had a large supply train with them, slowing the retreat. By the evening of October 24, the Army of Missouri had entered

frontal attack against Price. Pleasonton, who was heavily fatigued, gave temporary control of his division to Brigadier General John B. Sanborn.[29]

Sanborn moved against Price with a cavalry force at Trading Post late on the night of the 24th. His line, which consisted of the 4th Iowa Cavalry Regiment[31] and three companies[32] of the 2nd Colorado Cavalry Regiment on the right and the 6th and 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry Regiments on the left, made contact with Fagan's Confederates, who were now serving as the Confederate rearguard. A brief friendly fire incident involving the 4th Iowa Cavalry and the 2nd Colorado Cavalry ensued due to the Iowans being unaware of the presence of the Colorado unit in their front, as well as some light skirmishing with Fagan's forces. Sanborn was unsure of the Confederates' strength,[31] but thought it might be as many as 10,000 men.[33] With his men fatigued and operating in a thunderstorm, he withdrew most of his line, except for the 6th Missouri State Militia Cavalry, which continued skirmishing throughout the night. Fagan informed Price of the action, and the Confederates began retreating about midnight.[31]

Battle

At around 01:00 the next morning, Curtis was informed that Sanborn had disengaged. Wishing to continue to press Price, he ordered Sanborn to attack at daybreak.

Frederick W. Benteen's cavalry brigade.[39] One of Benteen's regiments was detached to guard a river crossing to the north to prevent a Confederate flanking attack.[40] At 04:00, Sanborn's artillery, six 3-inch ordnance rifles, opened fire on the Confederate line.[39]

At daybreak, the 4th Iowa Cavalry on the Union right attacked, using the broken ground as cover.[41] Union artillery fired on the mounds, but despite aiming at a 15° elevation, overshot the elevated Confederate positions. Some of the misses struck the Confederate camp, accelerating its evacuation.[42] Confederate marksmanship at that portion of the line was very poor, and the Iowans easily took the position, which consisted of one of the mounds.[41] The 6th and 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry Regiments attacked on the other end of the line. Again, the fire from the Confederate defenders was ineffective. Both sides were hampered by the rough terrain.[37][43] The Confederate commander facing the two militia cavalry regiments feared being isolated from Marmaduke's main body on the other side of the river, so the mound was abandoned. The retreat was not detected until after the position had been completely abandoned.[43] The historian Kyle Sinisi wrote that casualties during this stage of the fighting "appear to have been almost nonexistent".[44] With Confederate resistance north of the river broken, Sanborn deployed the 3rd Iowa Cavalry Regiment and the 10th Missouri Cavalry Regiment,[45] as well as the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, to exploit the breakthrough.[37][46]

The 2nd Arkansas Cavalry spearheaded the pursuit.

Hynson's Texas Battery just south of the river crossing, and these Union troops were temporarily halted,[47][48] as there were not enough Union soldiers on the field to challenge the Confederate line directly.[49] The river crossing was obstructed with two downed trees and some men from Colonel Thomas R. Freeman's command.[51] Sanborn ordered the 7th Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia to cross the river upstream from the Confederate position, successfully outflanking the Confederate line and opening a path across the river.[47] As the 7th Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia cleared the approach from the flank, the 2nd Arkansas also drove across the river.[52] A tributary of the Marais des Cygnes, named Big Sugar Creek, presented another challenge to the crossing.[53] An alternate crossing of the Marais des Cygnes bypassed this roadblock, but Sanborn was not aware of its existence.[54]

Serving as a rearguard, Clark aligned his brigade in the path of the Union advance.[55] This line was spotted by Sanborn's men after they forced their way through some forest growth around the river. Sanborn drew up a line with two Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia units thrown out as skirmishers, and the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry, 2nd Colorado Cavalry, and two additional militia units forming his main line. Confused as to what to do, Sanborn left to personally find Curtis for orders and left Colonel John E. Phelps, commander of the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry, in charge in his absence. Phelps's orders were not to attack unless reinforced,[56] but he assaulted Clark's line with 200 men from his own unit and the two Missouri State Militia commands anyway. The attack was initially successful, but halted and was repulsed.[48][55][57] Curtis and Pleasonton had joined Sanborn by this point, and observed the 2nd Arkansas' repulse. They attempted to bring more troops to Phelps' support, but Price's wagons had cut up the roads during their retreat, making maneuvers difficult.[55]

By 09:00, Pleasonton, who had regained command of his division from Sanborn, formed a line with the cavalry brigades commanded by Sanborn, Benteen, and Colonel

John F. Philips.[58] A small unit of Union artillery also joined the line.[57] Sanborn's command outflanked the right of Clark's line and forced the Confederates to withdraw; another Confederate cannon was captured when Hynson's battery abandoned it during the retreat. Clark's brigade formed a new line containing around 1,200 men, but the weight of the 3,500 Union troopers now present was too much for the Confederates. After Philips's troops threatened his left, Clark ordered a retreat from the field around 10:00.[58] Colonel Colton Greene and his 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment provided a rearguard for the Confederates.[59]

Aftermath

Confederate soldiers leaving Union prisoners of war away during Price's Raid
Confederate cavalrymen escorting POWs to the rear during Price's raid.

Later that morning, Philips and Benteen's troops encountered some of Price's men at the crossing of Mine Creek. The Union troops quickly attacked, and the ensuing Battle of Mine Creek became one of the largest battles between mounted cavalry during the war. The Confederates suffered a serious defeat, as several cannons and about 600 men, including Marmaduke, were captured. Shelby's division served as a rearguard, fighting the Battle of Marmiton River that evening.[60] By the end of October 25, Price's army was so shattered and demoralized that the historian Albert E. Castel described it as essentially an armed mob.[61] That night, Price burned most of his wagon train near Deerfield, Missouri so that it was no longer an encumbrance. By October 28, the Confederates had reached Newtonia, Missouri, where they were defeated by the commands of Blunt and Sanborn in the Second Battle of Newtonia. Price's army began to disintegrate, and the Confederates retreated first into Arkansas and then into the Indian Territory and Texas. Price's Raid, the last major offensive in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, was a failure. By December, Price only had 3,500 men left in an army that had begun the campaign with 12,000.[62]

Legacy

Map showing the core and overall areas of the battlefield, with much of the battlefield area shaded yellow, indicating potential eligibility for National Register of Historic Places listing
The Marais des Cygnes Battlefield

Over 937 acres (379 ha) of the battlefield are preserved by government agencies: 150 acres (61 ha) by the

Kansas State Highway 52 run through the northern portion of the battlefield, although the landscape is generally free from major development.[65] As of January 2021, the site of the battle is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places,[66][67] although a 2010 survey performed by the American Battlefield Protection Program determined that it is likely eligible for listing.[68]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Jackson had died in early December 1862 of cancer; Reynolds replaced him in office on February 14, 1863.[11][12]
  2. ^ General Order No. 11 had ordered the depopulation of several western Missouri counties, as well as allowing the burning of abandoned property.[15]
  3. ^ Thompson's commission was in the Missouri State Guard, not the Confederate States Army.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b Kennedy 1998, p. 384.
  2. ^ "Marais des Cygnes". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Marais des Cygnes". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  4. ^ "Marais des Cygnes (Battle of Osage, Battle of Trading Post)". The Ohio State University. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 19–20.
  6. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 20–25.
  7. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 34–37.
  8. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 377–379.
  9. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 343.
  10. ^ a b Collins 2016, pp. 27–28.
  11. ^ Parrish 2001, p. 49.
  12. ^ "Claiborne Fox Jackson, 1861". Missouri State Archives. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Collins 2016, p. 37.
  14. ^ Collins 2016, p. 39.
  15. ^ Neely, Jeremy. "General Orders No. 11". Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1855–1865. Kansas City Public Library. Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  16. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 380–382.
  17. ^ Collins 2016, p. 53.
  18. ^ Collins 2016, p. 57.
  19. ^ Collins 2016, p. 59.
  20. ^ a b Phillips, Christopher. "Price's Missouri Expedition (or Price's Raid)". Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1855–1865. Kansas City Public Library. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  21. ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 125.
  22. ^ Warner 1987, p. xviii.
  23. ^ Collins 2016, pp. 63, 65.
  24. ^ Jenkins 1906, p. 52.
  25. ^ a b Kennedy 1998, p. 382.
  26. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 382–384.
  27. ^ a b Collins 2016, p. 121.
  28. ^ Collins 2016, p. 126.
  29. ^ a b Collins 2016, p. 123.
  30. ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 264.
  31. ^ a b c Collins 2016, pp. 124–125.
  32. ^ Buresh 1977, p. 76.
  33. ^ a b c Lause 2016, p. 157.
  34. ^ Collins 2016, p. 127.
  35. ^ Collins 2016, p. 128.
  36. ^ Stalnaker 2011, p. 67.
  37. ^ a b c Collins 2016, p. 129.
  38. ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 260.
  39. ^ a b c Collins 2016, pp. 128–129.
  40. ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 265.
  41. ^ a b Scott 1893, p. 329.
  42. ^ Buresh 1977, p. 78.
  43. ^ a b Stalnaker 2011, p. 68.
  44. ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 268.
  45. ^ a b Scott 1893, p. 330.
  46. ^ Buresh 1977, p. 80.
  47. ^ a b c Collins 2016, p. 131.
  48. ^ a b c Lause 2016, p. 158.
  49. ^ a b Stalnaker 2011, p. 69.
  50. ^ Buresh 1977, p. 81.
  51. ^ Sinisi 2020, pp. 268, 274.
  52. ^ Sinisi 2020, p. 274.
  53. ^ Stalnaker 2011, p. 70.
  54. ^ Buresh 1977, p. 82.
  55. ^ a b c Collins 2016, p. 133.
  56. ^ Sinisi 2020, pp. 274–275.
  57. ^ a b Sinisi 2020, p. 275.
  58. ^ a b Collins 2016, pp. 134–135.
  59. ^ Buresh 1977, pp. 84–85.
  60. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 384–385.
  61. ^ Castel 1993, p. 245.
  62. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 385–386.
  63. ^ NPS Project Team 2010, p. 24.
  64. ^ NPS Project Team 2010, p. 5.
  65. ^ NPS Project Team 2010, p. 12.
  66. ^ "National Register Database and Research". National Park Service. February 14, 2021. Archived from the original on August 28, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  67. ^ "National and State Registers of Historic Places". Kansas Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  68. ^ NPS Project Team 2010, p. 14.

Sources

38°15′19″N 94°40′42″W / 38.2552°N 94.6783°W / 38.2552; -94.6783

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