ARMY OPERATIONS. 



157 



bordering on the Missouri River. At this time 

 Gen. A. J. Smith being at Cairo -with 4,500 

 troops was ordered to Missouri. Preparations 

 were made to concentrate the forces as soon as it 

 should become manifest what course Gen. Price 

 would pursue, and the enrolled militia of the 

 State made ready to take the field. 



"When it became evident that Springfield was 

 safe from the blow, Gen. Sanborn moved with 

 all his available cavalry to reC-nforce Rolla, 

 where Gen. McXeil was preparing to secure the 

 depots and supply trains, while Gen. Ewing, 

 with the 47th Missouri volunteer infantry, 

 detachments of the 1st, 2d, and 3d State militia, 

 and the 14th Iowa, defended Pilot Knob on 

 Sept. 27th, and proved the presence of the 

 enemy's entire force in southeast Missouri. 

 The defence of Gen. Ewing was a severe blow 

 to the enemy, and allowed time for the enrolled 

 militia and citizens of St. Louis to prepare for 

 its defence. At this time it was covered only 

 by Gen. Smith's infantry and three regiments 

 of cavalry thrown as far as practicable toward 

 tue enemy. 



In the midst of the preparations at St. Louis, 

 the 132d, 134th, 136th; 139th, 140th, and 142d 

 regiments of Illinois hundred days' volunteers 

 arrived, which secured the safety of that city. 

 Meantime the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, 10th, llth, 13th, 

 and 80th regiments of enrolled militia, and the 

 National Guard of St. Louis, organized under 

 Gens. Pike. Wolff and Miller, to support Gen. 

 Smith's infantry, and turn the tide of invasion 

 westward. 



The troops of the central district of the State 

 were concentrated by Gen. Brown at Jefferson 

 City, and being reenforced by Gen. Fisk with 

 all the available troops north of the Missouri 

 River, they were prepared for the defence of 

 the State capital. In these efforts the citizens 

 cooperated with enthusiasm. 



Meanwhile, Gen. Price with his army, after 

 awaiting a day or two at Richwood's, and 

 threatening St. Louis, started for the State 

 capital. At the same time Gens. McXeil and 

 Sanborn, with all their available cavalry, moved 

 by forced marches and reached the point of 

 danger a few miles in advance of Price, and, 

 uniting with Gens. Fisk and Brown, saved the 

 State capital, and struck another blow to the 

 hopes of the invaders. 



On Oct. 8th, Gen. Pleasanton assumed com- 

 mand at Jefferson City, and sent Sanborn with 

 all his mounted force, four thousand one hun- 

 dred strong, to follow the enemy and harass 

 them until the remaining cavalry and infantry 

 supports could come up. The rear-guard of 

 the enemy was thus driven upon their main 

 force near Burnville, and Gen. Price was kept 

 between the Federal force and the Missouri 

 River until the latter were joined on the 19th 

 by the command of "Winslow, consisting of 

 fifteen hundred men who had followed the 

 enemy from Arkansas. This formed a pro- 

 visional cavalry division of sixty-five hundred 

 men under Gen. Pleasanton exclusive of escort 



guards. On tl.e 221, this force fell upon Gen. 

 Fagan at Independence and routed him, cap- 

 turing two guns. On the 23d, the Big Blue 

 was passed, and a contest with the main force 

 of the enemy took place, by which they wore 

 driven by d'ark beyond the Little Santa Fe. 

 On the 24th, after a march of sixty miles, the 

 enemy were overtaken at midnight at Marais 

 des Cygnes. Skirmishing began at 4 A. M. on 

 the 25th with artillery, when the enemy were 

 driven from the field with loss of mules, horses, 

 etc. They fell back skirmishing to the Little 

 Osage Crossing, where a charge was made upon 

 two divisions of them by two advanced brigades 

 under Cols. Benteenand"Phillips,and eight pieces 

 of artillery and nearly one thousand prison- 

 ers, including Gens. Marmaduke and Cabell, 

 were captured. The pursuit was kept up by 

 Gen. Sanborn's brigade with repeated and suc- 

 cessful charges to the Marmiton, whence the 

 enemy fled under cover of night toward Ar- 

 kansas. Kansas troops and Gen. Benteen's bri- 

 gade followed rapidly, and on the 28th Sanborn 

 reached Xewtonia, where the enemy made his 

 'ist stand, in time to turn the tide of battle, 

 which was going against Gen. Blunt, and rout- 

 ing the enemy, thus giving the final blow to 

 the invasion. 



The loss of the enemy was ten pieces of ar- 

 tillery, a large number of small arms, nearly all 

 his trains and plunder, and, besides his killed, 

 wounded and deserters, 1,958 prisoners. Gen. 

 Price claimed to have added to his force 6.000 

 Missourians. All his schemes were defeated, 

 and the injury done was confined to the narrow 

 belt of country over which his army marched. 

 The Federal loss was 346 officers and men. 

 After crossing into Arkansas the force of the 

 enemy became greatly reduced. 



Some military operations took place in East 

 Tennessee near the close of the year, the most 

 important of which was the defeat of Gen. A. 

 C. Gillem by the enemy under Gen. Breckin- 

 ridge. On Xov. 12th Gen. Breckinridge at- 

 tacked the Federal forces and drove them from 

 their intrenchments. On the 13th he ajrain 

 attacked them near Russellville. Gen. Gillem 

 gradually fell back in the direction of Knox- 

 ville, and was pursued by the enemy as far as 

 Strawberry Plains. Gen. Gillem lost heavily 

 in killed and wounded, besides several hundred 

 prisoners. Later in the year an expedition from 

 East Tennessee was made by Gen. Stoneman, in 

 conjunction with Gen. Burbridge, with better 

 success. On Dec. 12th Gen. Stoneman, with a 

 mounted force of four thousand men, and the 

 brigade of Gen. Gillem, moved against the ene- 

 my, who were drawn up at Kingsport, on the 

 Halsten River, to dispute its passr^o. This force 

 was flanked by Gen. Gillem, with a loss of a 

 hundred men and a wagon train, and pursued 

 to Bristol, where Gillem captured two hundred 

 and fifty more, two trains of cars, five engines, 

 and a large amount of stores. On Dec. 14th 

 Gen. Burbridge advanced to attack Gen. Yaighu 

 at Zollicoffer, but the latter withdrew to Abing- 



