Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 6 Battle of Athens — August 5, 1861: David Moore’s Home Guards repelled Martin Green’s pro-Southern force in northeast Missouri. Most people think Missouri’s Civil War story starts and ends in the southwest — but Athens proved the border counties were just as combustible. On August 5, 1861, a…

Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 5 Battle of Dug Springs — August 2, 1861: A sharp skirmish near Clever, MO tested Lyon’s army before Wilson’s Creek. Eight days before Wilson’s Creek, the war around Springfield got tested — not in a grand set-piece battle, but in a sharp collision on the Old Wire Road.…

Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 4 Battle of Carthage — July 5, 1861: A running fight in Jasper County pushed Sigel’s Federals back through Carthage toward Sarcoxie. The Battle of Carthage wasn’t a stand-and-fight on one tidy field — it was a rolling clash that swept down the road, hit the town, and kept…