Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 13 Battle of Mount Zion Church — December 28, 1861: Union forces under Benjamin Prentiss scattered a Missouri State Guard recruiting force in Boone County. Mount Zion Church is proof that Missouri’s war didn’t “slow down” in winter — it just got sharper. On December 28, 1861, a Union…

Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 12 Battle of Belmont — November 7, 1861: Ulysses S. Grant’s first major Civil War battle tested Union river operations on the Mississippi. Belmont is one of those early-war fights that feels like a preview of what the Union would become later—fast movement, river logistics, and a hard lesson…

Missouri Civil War Battles — Part 11 First Battle of Springfield — October 25, 1861: Maj. Charles Zagonyi’s cavalry captured Springfield in a bold Union charge. Springfield wasn’t just a place on the map in 1861 — it was a prize that kept pulling both sides back into the same ground. On October 25, 1861,…