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…

Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 3 Battle of Cole Camp — June 19, 1861: A pre-dawn pro-Southern attack crushed Union Home Guards in Benton County, Missouri. Two days after Boonville, Missouri’s war showed its other face — not a daylight push on a road, but a sudden strike in the dark. Cole Camp (June…

Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 2 Battle of Boonville — June 17, 1861: Lyon’s Union victory secured the Missouri River and scattered pro-Southern forces. If Camp Jackson lit the fuse in St. Louis, Boonville was the first time Missouri’s Civil War sprinted into the open. On June 17, 1861, the fight for the Missouri…