First Battle of Newtonia
First Battle of Newtonia | |||||||
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Part of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War | |||||||
Stone wall near the Ritchey House. Fighting occurred close to this area during the battle. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Confederate States of America | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Frederick Salomon | |||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Salomon's brigade |
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Strength | |||||||
c. 4,000 to c. 4,500 | c. 5,500 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
245 or over 400 | 78 | ||||||
The First Battle of Newtonia was fought on September 30, 1862, between
Both sides brought up further reinforcements, and seesaw fighting took place during much of the afternoon. Shortly before nightfall, Cooper's Confederates made an all-out attack against the Union line; this led Salomon to withdraw from the field.
Background
As
In
Meanwhile, the population of the state of
Prelude
This state of affairs did not last long. Price sent some of his troops into Missouri to obtain supplies and recruit new volunteers. The state was also raided by Confederate forces including the command of
This period of increased Confederate activity in Missouri was related to Major General
Cooper sent a scouting force to the Newtonia area on September 27. Commanded by Colonel Trezevant C. Hawpe, it was composed of the
Opposing forces
Union
The Union force engaged at Newtonia was a mixture of all three arms of the Union Army:
Confederate
The Confederate forces at Newtonia included the 1st Cherokee Battalion, the
Battle
Preliminary action
On September 29, Salomon sent out three scouting forces: one to
September 30
The detachment from the 9th Wisconsin Infantry, joined by two more companies of the regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Jacobi, was reinforced by 45 men of the 6th Kansas Cavalry, 50 men from the 3rd Indian Home Guard, and three guns of the 25th Ohio Battery; the group reached the Newtonia area around 07:00 on September 30.
The men of the 31st Texas Cavalry had been taking shelter behind a stone wall, but left its cover to assault the Union line. This charge was quickly repulsed by
Like Cooper, Salomon learned about the fighting by hearing the sounds of battle coming from Newtonia. In response, Salomon sent the rest of the 6th Kansas Cavalry and the 3rd Indian Home Guard towards the town.
The repulse of the 6th Kansas Cavalry and 3rd Indian Home Guard had occurred in the mid-morning of the 30th, and no further serious fighting occurred until the early afternoon. Salomon had left Sarcoxie earlier, but did not reach the Union line until about 15:30. He then proceeded to form a defensive line with nine available cannons, as well as the 6th Kansas Cavalry, the 3rd Indian Home Guard, and a portion of the 9th Wisconsin Infantry. Three cannons and their crews that had seen heavy fighting in Lynde's morning action and the 10th Kansas Infantry formed a reserve.[59][60] The Union guns began an artillery duel with Howell's cannons,[60] and the Confederate cannoneers were soon forced to retreat.[59] An attempt by the Confederates to use the Ritchey barn as a fortification proved futile once the Union guns found the range of the structure.[51] Meanwhile, the Confederates were again reinforced: Bledsoe's battery returned after leaving the field to resupply, and the 1st Choctaw Regiment arrived.[59]
Cooper then sent Jeans' regiment and the 22nd Texas Cavalry to probe the Union line,[61] but artillery fire and the 3rd Indian Home Guard drove them back;[62][63] the 6th Kansas Cavalry was detached south as a result of this threat.[64] The 3rd Indian Home Guard pursued the retreating Confederates, threatening the stability of the main Confederate line, but a flank attack by the 1st Choctaw Regiment stabilized the situation for the Confederates. The 1st Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles also counterattacked.[65] Salomon sent the 10th Kansas Infantry into the fray to support the 3rd Indian Home Guard, but fire from Howell's Confederate artillery, which had moved closer to the Union line, and an advance by the 22nd Texas Cavalry, compelled the Union troops to break off the assault.[62] Cooper responded by initiating an attack with his entire force against the Union line.[66] Salomon then ordered a withdrawal, and the Union troops began to retreat from the field.[67]
A brigade of Unionist Missouri state militia forces commanded by Colonel George Hall arrived on the field as Salomon was ordering his retreat. Hall was ordered to cover the Union withdrawal, and the militia formed a line between Salomon's retreating force and the pursuing Confederates.
Aftermath
During the battle, the Confederates suffered 78 casualties; Union casualties are variously reported as 245[28][72] or over 400.[66] Confederate casualties were highest in the 5th Missouri Cavalry, which lost four men killed and 11 wounded. The Confederates saw 15 officers become casualties, including one killed in each of the 1st Choctaw Regiment and the 1st Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles.[36] Salomon did not file an official report of his losses. However, he did note that the morning stage of the battle resulted in more Union casualties than the afternoon stage.[73] Four companies of the 9th Wisconsin Infantry were stated to have suffered particularly high losses;[26] those companies had been engaged with Lynde in the morning fight.[73]
Despite defeating Salomon's Union force, the Confederate position around Newtonia was still not secure. Salomon had represented only the advance guard of Blunt's command.[74] On October 2, additional troops of Blunt's division reached the Newtonia area from Fort Scott, Kansas, and Totten's division arrived from Springfield.[75] By October 4, Cooper had decided to abandon Newtonia and southwestern Missouri. Shelby's cavalry was tasked with remaining in Newtonia to serve as a rear guard. However, he did not remain there long, as he soon received word that his line of retreat was in danger of being cut by the Union advance. Shelby fell back, and the Union troops occupied Newtonia after a brief bombardment of the town.[76]
The Confederate Native American troops retreated back to Indian Territory;[74] the others retreated into northwestern Arkansas.[28] As the Confederates engaged at Newtonia retreated from Missouri, other Confederate troops attacked and forced the surrender of a small Union garrison at the Battle of Clark's Mill near Vera Cruz.[77] First Newtonia was the first battle in the American Civil War that saw Native Americans fight on both sides in an organized manner.[26]
On October 28, 1864, the Second Battle of Newtonia was fought near the site of the 1862 battle. In the 1864 battle, a Union army commanded by Blunt attacked and defeated a Confederate army led by Price. The Confederates had been retreating southwards after being defeated at the battles of Westport in Missouri, and Mine Creek in Kansas.[78][79]
Preservation
The First Battle of Newtonia Historic District preserves 152.3 acres (61.6 ha) of the battlefield;[80] the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.[81] The separately-listed Mathew H. Ritchey House is located within the district. The site contains the Ritchey barn and barnyard site, a Civil War-era cemetery, the Newtonia Branch stream, the historic Neosho Road, and the battlefield itself. While much of the land in the district is privately owned, the Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association has ownership of 20 acres (8.1 ha). At least nine Union soldiers are buried in the cemetery, although not all of them are related to the First Battle of Newtonia. More war-related burials had previously been located there, as many of the military burials were exhumed and moved to the Springfield National Cemetery in 1869.[82]
The Mathew H. Ritchey House is notable for having served as a headquarters building for both sides during the two battles of Newtonia[83] and was used as a field hospital after the fighting.[26] The American Battlefield Trust has participated in the preservation of 8 acres (3.2 ha) of the battlefield.[84]
The American Battlefield Protection Program has suggested that it may be possible to enlarge the area of the historic district. However, the same study determined that the site did not meet the inclusion criteria for becoming an official unit of the National Park Service, as the cultural features at Newtonia were deemed too similar to those preserved in other National Park Service sites.[85] The Ritchey House and 25 acres of the battlefields including the Old Newtonia Cemetery were added to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in 2022 by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, despite National Park Service opposition due to the lack of connection, need for protection, or enhancement of public enjoyment.[86][87]
Notes
- ^ Officially known as the 12th Missouri Cavalry Regiment.[35]
References
- ^ Holmes 2001, p. 35.
- ^ Bearss 2007, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Bearss 2007, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 4.
- ^ Bearss 2007, pp. 30–31.
- ^ Bearss 2007, p. 34.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 11–15.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 19–21, 23.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 23–25.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 35–37.
- ^ Gerteis 2012, pp. 138, 141.
- ^ Gerteis 2012, p. 141.
- ^ Gerteis 2012, pp. 144–145.
- ^ Gerteis 2012, pp. 146–147.
- ^ Gerteis 2012, p. 149.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 7–10.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 14–15.
- ^ Bearss 1966, pp. 284, 286.
- ^ Allardice 1995, p. 191.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 15.
- ^ Gerteis 2012, p. 147.
- ^ Gerteis 2012, pp. 147–148.
- ^ a b c Bearss 1966, pp. 286–287.
- ^ National Park Service 2013, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d Ostmeyer, Andy (February 19, 2011). "Damnable Time". The Joplin Globe. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ Bearss 1966, pp. 291–292.
- ^ a b c d Kennedy 1998, p. 134.
- ^ a b "Missouri Civil War Battles". National Park Service. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c Official Records 1880, p. 291.
- ^ Bearss 1966, p. 299.
- ^ a b Foote 1986, p. 784.
- ^ a b Wood 2010, p. 89.
- ^ a b c d e f Spurgeon & Pierpaoli 2013, p. 1400.
- ^ McGhee 2008, pp. 97–99.
- ^ a b Official Records 1880, p. 301.
- ^ Bearss 1966, pp. 287, 293, 302.
- ^ O'Flaherty 2000, p. 125.
- ^ a b c Bearss 1966, pp. 292–293.
- ^ a b c "The War in Missouri: The First Fight at Newtonia. Full and Interesting Particulars from an Officer Engaged". The New York Times. October 16, 1862. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Bearss 1966, p. 295.
- ^ Official Records 1880, p. 305.
- ^ Official Records 1880, p. 293.
- ^ Official Records 1880, p. 294.
- ^ Bearss 1966, pp. 295–300.
- ^ Bearss 1966, pp. 301–302.
- ^ Official Records 1880, p. 197.
- ^ a b Bearss 1966, pp. 303–304.
- ^ McGhee 2008, p. 7.
- ^ a b Bearss 1966, pp. 304–305.
- ^ a b Hazelwood et al. 2004, p. 16.
- ^ Bearss 1966, pp. 306–308.
- ^ Britton 1922, pp. 93–94.
- ^ Britton 1922, p. 94.
- ^ Bearss 1966, pp. 308–310.
- ^ a b Bearss 1966, pp. 310–312.
- ^ McGhee 2008, p. 99.
- ^ Official Records 1880, p. 298.
- ^ a b c Bearss 1966, pp. 313–314.
- ^ a b Britton 1922, p. 95.
- ^ Official Records 1880, p. 304.
- ^ a b Bearss 1966, pp. 314–316.
- ^ Official Records 1880, pp. 295–296.
- ^ Britton 1922, p. 96.
- ^ a b National Park Service 2013, p. 16.
- ^ a b c Spurgeon & Pierpaoli 2013, p. 1401.
- ^ Bearss 1966, pp. 317–318.
- ^ Britton 1922, p. 97.
- ^ Wood 2010, pp. 86–88.
- ^ Hazelwood et al. 2004, p. 17.
- ^ Bearss 1966, pp. 318–319.
- ^ Weeks 2009, p. 47.
- ^ a b Bearss 1966, p. 319.
- ^ a b O'Flaherty 2000, p. 126.
- ^ Wood 2010, pp. 91–92.
- ^ Wood 2010, pp. 94–96.
- ^ Gerteis 2012, pp. 148–149.
- ^ "Second Battle of Newtonia". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 285–286.
- ^ Hazelwood et al. 2004, pp. 4.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places 2005 Weekly Lists" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ Hazelwood et al. 2004, pp. 8–9.
- ^ "Newtonia Battlefield". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ^ "Newtonia Battlefield". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- ^ National Park Service 2013, p. 34.
- ^ "S. Rept. 117-185 - Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Addition". Congress.gov. October 18, 2022.
- ^ Ostmeyer, Andy (October 15, 2021). "Fight to preserve Newtonia continues, but with new sense of urgency". Joplin Globe. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
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