Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 16 Battle of Moore’s Mill — July 28, 1862: Odon Guitar defeated Joseph Porter’s Confederate recruiting force near Auxvasse Creek in Callaway County. Moore’s Mill is one of those Missouri fights where the countryside becomes the weapon—tight roads, creek bottoms, and an ambush that turns a routine movement into…

Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 15 Battle of Pea Ridge — March 7–8, 1862: Samuel Curtis defeated Earl Van Dorn in Arkansas, securing Union control of Missouri. Pea Ridge is the battle that decides whether Missouri stays a contested prize—or becomes a locked door. On March 7–8, 1862, Union troops under Samuel R. Curtis…

Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 14 Battle of Roan’s Tan Yard — Union cavalry smashed John Poindexter’s Missouri State Guard recruiting camp in Randolph County on January 8, 1862. Roan’s Tan Yard is the kind of Missouri fight that doesn’t look “big” until you realize what it was really about: stopping a recruiting base…