Battle of Belmont 1861
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 7 November 1861 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1861 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 36.7657, -89.1240 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Belmont was fought on November 7, 1861, in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the future Union Army general in chief and eventual U.S. president, who was fighting Major General Leonidas Polk. Grant's troops in this battle were the "nucleus" of what would become the Union Army of the Tennessee.
On November 6, Grant moved by riverboat from Cairo, Illinois, to attack the Confederacy's small outpost near Belmont, Missouri across the Mississippi River from the Confederate stronghold at Columbus, Kentucky. He landed his men on the Missouri side and marched to Belmont. Grant's troops overran the surprised Confederate camp and destroyed it. However, the scattered Confederate forces quickly reorganized and were reinforced from Columbus. They counterattacked, supported by heavy artillery fire from across the river. Grant retreated to his riverboats and took his men to Paducah, Kentucky. The battle was relatively unimportant, but with little happening elsewhere at the time, it received considerable attention in the press.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Belmont (revision 1374186086), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Island Number Ten 1862 · 46 km
- Battle of Paducah 1864 · 59 km
- Battle of Cape Girardeau 1863 · 72 km
- Battle of Paris (Tennessee) · 86 km
- Battle of Chalk Bluff 1863 · 98 km
- Battle of Fort Henry 1862 · 101 km
Other battles of the Trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War
- Action at Blue Mills Landing 1861
- Battle of Carthage, Missouri 1861
- Battle of Wilson's Creek 1861
- Engagement at Fredericktown 1861
- First Battle of Lexington 1861
- First Battle of Springfield 1861
- Battle of Cane Hill 1862
- Battle of Moore's Mill 1862
- Battle of St. Charles 1862
- First Battle of Newtonia 1862
All 16 battles of the Trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles