The Battle of Marais des Cygnes () took place on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas, during Price's Missouri Campaign during the American Civil War. It is also known as the Battle of Trading Post. In late 1864, Confederate Major-General Sterling Price invaded the state of Missouri with a cavalry force, attempting to draw Union troops away from the primary theaters of fighting further east. After several victories early in the campaign, Price's Confederate troops were defeated at the Battle of Westport on October 23 near Kansas City, Missouri. The Confederates then withdrew into Kansas, camping along the banks of the Marais des Cygnes River on the night of October 24. Union cavalry pursuers under 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 Lieutenant Colonel Frederick W. Benteen, bringing the total Union strength to 3,500. The battle began early the next morning as Sanborn drove Major General John S. Marmaduke's Confederate rearguard from its position north of the river. Union troops captured cannons, prisoners, and wagons during this stage of the fighting. Marmaduke attempted to make a stand at the river crossing, but his position was outflanked by a Union cavalry regiment, forcing him to abandon it. A rearguard action by Confederate Brigadier General John B. Clark Jr.'s 1,200-man brigade bought Price more time to retreat and disengage. Some of Price's men were still caught near Mine Creek later that morning and were badly beaten in the Battle of Mine Creek. That evening, the Battle of Marmiton River became the day's third action, after which Price burned his 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
When the American Civil War began in 1861, the state of Missouri was a slave state, but did not secede because the state was politically divided. Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson and the Missouri State Guard (MSG) supported secession and the Confederate States of America, while Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon and the portion of the Union Army under his command supported the United States and opposed secession. Under 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. In March 1862, a Confederate defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas gave the Union control of Missouri. For the rest of the year, and through 1863, Confederate activity in the state was largely restricted to guerrilla warfare and raids.
By the beginning of September 1864, events in the eastern United States, especially the Confederate defeat in the Atlanta campaign, gave incumbent president Abraham Lincoln, who supported continuing the war, an edge in the 1864 United States presidential election over George B. McClellan, who promoted ending the war. At this point, the Confederacy had very little chance of winning the war. Meanwhile, in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, the Confederates had defeated Union attackers in the Red River campaign in Louisiana in March through May. As events east of the Mississippi River turned against the Confederates, General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department, was ordered to transfer the infantry under his command to the fighting in the Eastern and Western Theaters. This proved to be impossible, as the Union Navy controlled the Mississippi River, preventing a large-scale crossing.
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 Confederate Governor of Missouri Thomas Caute Reynolds suggested that an invasion of Missouri would be an effective offensive; Smith approved the plan and appointed Price to command the campaign. Many of the Union troops previously defending Missouri had been transferred out of the state, leaving the Missouri State Militia as the state's primary defensive force. Price expected that the offensive would create a popular uprising against Union control of Missouri, divert Union troops away from principal theaters of combat, and aid McClellan's chance of defeating Lincoln. Price's column entered the state on September 19. This force was formally known as the Army of Missouri and contained three divisions, which were commanded by Major Generals James F. Fagan and John S. Marmaduke and Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby. The Confederates had 13,000 cavalrymen and 14 small-bore cannons.
Prelude
thumb|right|alt=Map of Price's Raid|Map of Price's Raid
By September 24, Price's column had reached Fredericktown, where he learned that the town of Pilot Knob and the St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad were held by Union forces under the command of Brigadier General Thomas Ewing Jr. Price had no interest in allowing an enemy force to operate in the rear of his army while he advanced to 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. 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.
After abandoning the St. Louis thrust, Price's army headed for Jefferson City, although the Confederates were slowed by bringing along a large supply train. On October 7, the Confederates approached Jefferson City, which was held by about 7,000 men mostly inexperienced militia commanded by Brigadier General Egbert Brown. Faulty Confederate intelligence placed the Union strength at 15,000, and Price, fearing another defeat like Pilot Knob, decided not to attack the city, and began moving his army toward Boonville the next day. Boonville was in the pro-Confederate region of Little Dixie, and Price was able to recruit new soldiers. Estimates of the number of new recruits vary between writers: the historian Charles D. Collins states 1,200 men; Christopher Phillips, writing for the Kansas City Public Library, provides 2,000 men; and the historian Kyle Sinisi states that a minimum of 2,500 men joined the Confederates in the region. Price, needing weapons, although a 2010 survey performed by the American Battlefield Protection Program determined that it is likely eligible for listing.
See also
- List of battles fought in Kansas
- Kansas in the American Civil War