Battle of Dry Wood Creek

Battle of Dry Wood Creek
Part of the American Civil War
DateSeptember 2, 1861 (1861-09-02)
LocationVernon County, Missouri
Result Missouri State Guard victory
Belligerents
United States United States (Union) Missouri State Guard
Commanders and leaders
James H. Lane Sterling "Pap" Price
Units involved
Kansas Brigade Missouri State Guard
Strength
600 [1] Unknown
Casualties and losses
11 total
5 killed
6 wounded		 20 total
4 killed
16 wounded
Map of Dry Wood Creek Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

The Battle of Dry Wood Creek (also known as the Battle of Big Dry Wood Creek or the Battle of the Mules) was fought on September 2, 1861 in Vernon County, Missouri during the American Civil War.[2][3][1] The Missouri State Guard troops were successful in their campaign to force the Union Army to abandon southwestern Missouri and to concentrate on holding the Missouri Valley.

Background

Following his victory at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Major General Sterling "Pap" Price and his Missouri State Guard occupied Springfield, Missouri. Price then headed northwest with 6,000 poorly trained and under-equipped guardsmen to capture Fort Scott, Kansas. Kansas "Jayhawker" and senator Colonel James H. Lane led a 600-man battalion of Union cavalry from Fort Scott to learn the whereabouts of the rumored Missouri State Guard force.

The battle

Lane's battalion soon encountered Price's men at Hogan's Crossing[4][5] on Big Dry Wood Creek, roughly 12 miles from the fort. Lane surprised the Confederates, but the Southerners' numerical superiority soon determined the encounter’s outcome. After a sharp skirmish lasting two hours, they forced the Union cavalry to retire to Fort Scott and captured their mules.[1] Lane secured the fort, then proceeded towards Kansas City. The Missouri State Guard continued on towards Lexington, while Price recruited more guardsmen.

Casualties

Federal losses were 5 killed and 6 wounded.[2] Missouri State Guard losses were 4 killed and 16 wounded, all in Brigadier General James S. Rains' Eighth Division, Missouri State Guard.

Location

The battle site is just southeast of Deerfield, Missouri, on Highway 54 between Nevada and Fort Scott. All of the land within the battlefield boundary is privately owned.[6] A monument commemorating the battle is located in Nevada, Missouri.[7]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 National Park Service Battle Summary
  2. 1 2 Lane, J. H. "Report of Brigadier General J. H. Lane". Ohio State University. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  3. ↑ The Union Army: Cyclopedia of battles. Federal Publishing Company. 1908. p. 368.
  4. ↑ Campbell, Robert Allen (1875). Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri. p. 622.
  5. ↑ In the Summer of 1867 one grave was moved to Fort Scott National Cemetery. Statement of the Disposition of Some of the Bodies of Deceased Union Soldiers and Prisoners of War Whose Remains Have Been Removed to National Cemeteries in the Southern and Western States. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1868. p. 49.
  6. ↑ "Map of Dry Wood Creek Battlefield" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Battle of Drywood". waymarking.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.

References

External links

Coordinates: 37°49′11″N 94°29′10″W / 37.8197°N 94.4862°W / 37.8197; -94.4862

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