Battle of Little Blue River 1864
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 21 October 1864 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1864 | 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 | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 39.1369, -94.3139 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Little Blue River was fought on October 21, 1864, as part of Price's Raid during the American Civil War. Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army led an army into Missouri in September 1864 with hopes of challenging Union control of the state. During the early stages of the campaign, Price abandoned his plan to capture St. Louis and later his secondary target of Jefferson City. The Confederates then began moving westwards, brushing aside Major General James G. Blunt's Union force in the Second Battle of Lexington on October 19. Two days later, Blunt left part of his command under the authority of Colonel Thomas Moonlight to hold the crossing of the Little Blue River, while the rest of his force fell back to Independence. On the morning of October 21, Confederate troops attacked Moonlight's line, and parts of Brigadier General John B. Clark Jr.'s brigade forced their way across the river. A series of attacks and counterattacks ensued, neither side gaining a significant advantage.
Meanwhile, Blunt had received permission from Major General Samuel R. Curtis to make a stand at the Little Blue River, and he and Curtis returned to the field with reinforcements that brought total Union strength up to about 2,800 men.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Little Blue River (revision 1370447776), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Action at Blue Mills Landing 1861 · 9 km
- Battle of Mount Elba 1864 · 10 km
- First Battle of Independence 1862 · 10 km
- Second Battle of Independence 1864 · 12 km
- Battle of Byram's Ford 1864 · 23 km
- Battle of Westport 1864 · 27 km
Other battles of the American Civil War
- Siege of Suffolk 1863
- Siege of Vicksburg 1863
- Skirmish at Ashley's Mills 1863
- Skirmish near Brooklyn, Kansas 1863
- Skirmish of Sporting Hill 1863
- Action at Ashley's Station 1864
- Ambush of the steamboat J. R. Williams 1864
- Bahia incident 1864
- Battle of Adairsville 1864
- Battle of Albemarle Sound 1864
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles