Key Facts
- Dates
- October 22–23, 1864
- Campaign
- Price's Raid
- Confederate losses
- Over two-thirds of Price's army by campaign's end
- Preservation
- Part listed on National Register of Historic Places
- Final Confederate position
- Army reached Texas by December 1864
Strategic Narrative Overview
On October 22, Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby's division crossed an unguarded ford on the Big Blue River, breaking Union General Blunt's defensive line and forcing Union troops to retreat to the Kansas state line, where the 2nd Kansas State Militia was overwhelmed at the Mockbee Farm. On October 23, General Pleasonton attacked Confederate forces under Marmaduke at Byram's Ford, broke through at Potato Hill, and the Confederate army simultaneously suffered defeat at the Battle of Westport.
01 / The Origins
With the Confederate States of America near collapse in late 1864, Major General Sterling Price launched an invasion of Missouri known as Price's Raid. He aimed to capture St. Louis and Jefferson City, hoping to rally Confederate sympathizers and relieve pressure on other fronts. Union resistance frustrated those objectives, forcing Price to redirect his army westward toward Kansas City, where it became caught between two converging Union forces.
03 / The Outcome
Price's army withdrew southward in disorder after the twin defeats at Byram's Ford and Westport. Though the Confederate wagon train escaped Union forces, the army suffered further defeats and reached Texas by December 1864 having lost over two-thirds of its men along with significant equipment and supplies. The campaign had only minimally hampered the Union war effort and marked the end of major Confederate operations west of the Mississippi River.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Sterling Price, Joseph O. Shelby, John S. Marmaduke.
Side B
1 belligerent
James G. Blunt, Alfred Pleasonton, John McNeil.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.