Missouri in the Crossfire – The Five Phases
Missouri’s Civil War wasn’t one story — it was five. Five Phases. Five eras. Five turning points. Five ways the war reshaped the Show-Me State.
This page keeps every blog in the correct order, updated weekly as new chapters release. Start at the beginning or jump to the era you’re most interested in.
Table of Contents
Missouri’s Civil War from Bleeding Kansas to Reconstruction. Explore five in-depth series revealing the state’s most chaotic era.
Series 1: The Fires Before the War – Bleeding Kansas (1854 – 1860)
Discover how Bleeding Kansas ignited the nation’s deadliest conflict. Before the Civil War began, Missouri’s border was already burning.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 unleashed chaos on Missouri’s border and set the stage for the Civil War. Discover how it changed everything.
Discover how Border Ruffians and Free-Staters turned Missouri’s frontier into a battlefield before the Civil War—where ballots gave way to bullets.
Explore the Sack of Lawrence and Pottawatomie Creek—two Bleeding Kansas massacres that turned the border war into a prelude to Civil War.
Series 2: From Secession to Pea Ridge (1860 – 1862)
Articles Posted When They Come Available
Series 3: The Guerrilla Years (1862 – 1864)
Articles Posted When They Come Available
Series 4: Price’s Raid & Missouri’s Last Confederate Gamble (1864 – 1865)
Articles Posted When They Come Available
Series 5: Aftermath & Memory (1865 – 1900)
Articles Posted When They Come Available