Trans-Mississippi Theater · The Civil War

Operations to Control Missouri

The Operations to Control Missouri ran from June 17, 1861 to October 25, 1861, a span of 131 days across MO. Its 8 principal battles account for 3,225 Union and 1,648 Confederate casualties in the surviving records, with the balance of decisive actions falling to the Confederate.

At a glance

The campaign in figures

Principal battles
8
Duration
131 days
States
MO
Union casualties
3,225
Confederate casualties
1,648
Order of events

Principal battles, in sequence

DateEngagementStateResultCasualties
Jun 17, 1861BoonvilleGrade CMOUnion victory81 total
Jul 5, 1861CarthageGrade CMOConfederate victory244 total
Aug 10, 1861Wilson's CreekGrade AMOConfederate victory2,330 total
Sep 2, 1861Dry Wood CreekGrade DMOConfederate victoryTotal unknown
Sep 13, 1861LexingtonGrade CMOConfederate victory1,874 total
Sep 17, 1861LibertyGrade DMOConfederate victory126 total
Oct 21, 1861FredericktownGrade DMOUnion victoryTotal unknown
Oct 25, 1861SpringfieldGrade DMOUnion victory218 total
Beyond the principal battles

Recorded engagements in the campaign area

DateEngagementStateCasualties
Sep 13, 1861Siege of LexingtonMO42 killed, 108 wounded, 1624 missing/captured
Jul 5, 1861Engagement, Carthage, Dry Forks, Crooked Briar ForkMO18 killed, 53 wounded, 5 missing/captured
Oct 21, 1861Action, Fredericktown, IrontonMO6 killed, 60 wounded
Oct 25, 1861Skirmish, SpringfieldMO18 killed, 37 wounded
Sep 17, 1861Skirmish, Blue Mills LandingMO11 killed, 39 wounded
Oct 15, 1861Skirmishes, Big River Bridge, near PotosiMO1 killed, 6 wounded, 33 missing/captured
Sep 22, 1861Action, OsceolaMO7 killed, 10 wounded
Jul 17, 1861Skirmish, FultonMO1 killed, 15 wounded
Jul 24, 1861Action, Blue MillsMO1 killed, 12 wounded
Jul 15, 1861Skirmishes, Wentzville, Northern Missouri R. R.MO7 killed, 1 wounded
Sep 12, 1861Skirmish, Black River, IrontonMO2 killed, 5 wounded
Jul 26, 1861Skirmish, Lane's Prairie, near RollaMO3 wounded
Jul 17, 1861Skirmish, MartinsburgMO1 killed, 1 wounded
Jul 18, 1861Aciton near HarrisonvilleMO1 killed
Aug 10, 1861Skirmish, PotosiMO1 killed
Jun 17, 1861Skirmish, IndependenceMO-
Jul 4, 1861Skirmish, FarmingtonMO-
Jul 15, 1861Skirmish, MexicoMO-
Jul 18, 1861Skirmish, MartinsburgMO-
Jul 20, 1861Expedition from Springfield to ForsythMO-

42 further recorded engagements fall within this campaign’s dates and ground. The complete geographic record is held on the state page: MO.

Who commanded

Commanders on both sides

Confederate
Other
On the ground

Battle map

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Solid markers are precisely located sites. A soft circle marks an approximate location, centred on the nearest recorded settlement where the exact site is unrecorded.

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