Kansas topics in Chronicling America - Battle of Mine Creek
During the Civil War, tensions between Kansas and Missouri were high. Missouri was a slave state that did not secede from the Union, and Kansas was a free state. Instead of full military battles, groups from both Kansas and Missouri made raids across the border using guerrilla warfare. General Sterling Price led Confederate troops into the state in hopes to secure the state of Missouri for the South and to find new recruits. Price was instructed to retreat, if needed, through Kansas. As Price and his men travelled through Missouri towards Kansas City, word spread to Kansas that there might be an invasion; the state militia was organized and called out. Union forces turned Price away once he made it to Kansas City, and his troops soon crossed into Kansas and set up camp. Along the way, Price had taken cattle, horses, and other supplies. These supplies slowed his troops down, and the Union army eventually caught up with them. A number of skirmishes occurred, until the decisive Battle at Mine Creek took place on October 25, 1864. Less than 2,500 Union soldiers faced down nearly 7,000 Confederate soldiers, yet the Union forces won the battle against the Confederates by launching a cavalry charge, breaking their line of defense. Price and his men were forced to abandon their supplies and retreat. The Union troops continued their pursuit of the Confederates, and defeated them in Missouri three days later.[i]
[i] Chinn, Jennie A. The Kansas Journey. Salt Lake City, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2005. 110-112.
Below are article links to a sampling of historic newspapers that can be found in the Chronicling America: American Historic Newspapers digital collection.
Suggested search terms: Order #11, Order No. 11, Order Number 11, Order Number Eleven; General Ewing, Battle of Mine Creek; Mine Creek; Battle of the Osage; General Price
“Pleasanton,”Western Kansas world. (WaKeeney, Kan.), 07 Nov. 1891.
“Kansas News,”The independent. (Oskaloosa, Kan.), 19 Sept. 1863.
“That Longest March,”The National tribune. (Washington, D.C.), 23 May 1907
“The Slaughter at the Sunken Road,”The National tribune. (Washington, D.C.), 04 March 1908.
