Independence was a Civil War engagement fought in Missouri, 1862. It was a Confederate victory.
On August 11, 1862, Col. J.T. Hughes's Confederate force, including William Quantrill, attacked Independence, at dawn, in two columns on different roads. They drove through the town to the Union Army camp, capturing, killing, and scattering the Yankees. Lt. Col. James T. Buel, commander of the garrison, attempted to hold out in one of the buildings with some of his men. Soon the building next to them was on fire, threatening them. Buel then, by means of a flag of truce, arranged a meeting with the Confederate commander, Col. G.W. Thompson, who had replaced Col. J.T. Hughes, killed earlier. Buel surrendered and about 150 of his men were paroled, the others had escaped, hidden, or been killed. Having taken Independence, the Rebel force headed for Kansas City. Confederate dominance in the Kansas City area continued, but not for long.
On August 11, 1862, Confederate and Union forces clashed in Independence, a city in Jackson County, Missouri, in what became known as the First Battle of Independence. The clash, though a small one within the broader scope of the Civil War, ended with the Confederates coming out on top, allowing them to keep their grip on the Jackson County area for several more days as recruiters finished their efforts there.
This engagement is distinct from the Second Battle of Independence, fought in 1864, which the Union went on to win.
Before sunrise, Col. John T. Hughes led his Confederate command, joined by partisan leader William Quantrill, into Independence along two separate roads. Pushing through the town itself, they reached the Union Army camp and unleashed a lethal volley upon the still-sleeping soldiers. While Captain Breckenridge urged that the Federals give up, Captain Jacob Axline instead positioned his men behind a rock wall and a ditch close by, even as the Confederates ransacked the camp in search of ammunition. Repeated assaults on Axline's position followed, yet the wall held each time. It was during this fighting that Colonel Hughes lost his life, and both Thompson and Hays suffered wounds.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Buel tried to hold his ground with a portion of his command inside the bank building serving as his headquarters. Only after Confederates set fire to a neighboring structure did he give up the fight. Under a flag of truce, he negotiated terms with Col. Gideon W. Thompson, who had taken command following Hughes's death. Buel then surrendered, and roughly 150 of his soldiers were granted parole, while the rest had either fled, gone into hiding, or been killed.
Sensing that they could not hold their position for long, the Union soldiers guarding the jail loosed a single volley before abandoning their post. Guerrilla commander George Todd seized the opportunity to release the men held inside, including City Marshal James Knowles, who had been locked up for killing an unruly townsman. During the same action, Todd took Captain Aaron Thomas of the 2nd Battalion Missouri State Militia Cavalry into custody. It was Knowles who had previously led Thomas and his men into a successful ambush against Todd's fighters, an engagement that cost several guerrillas their lives. In retaliation, Todd and his band put both Knowles and Thomas to death without trial. In a twist of fate, Todd himself would fall in 1864 during the Second Battle of Independence.
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