Articles > Civil War

Preserving Sacred Ground

By Larry Wood

According to Tom Higdon, treasurer of the protection association, the First Battle of Newtonia on September 30, 1862, is thought to be the only engagement of the Civil War in which American Indian units of regimental strength fought on opposite sides. The Second Battle of Newtonia on October 28, 1864, is considered the last significant battle west of the Mississippi.

In the summer of 1862, Confederate leaders determ…... Read more >

Slavery + Scott

By Jerre Repass

Calvin C. Chaffee was in for quite a surprise. An abolitionist elected to Congress, he had married the widow Irene Emerson in 1850. He was apparently unaware that she owned arguably the most prominent slave in America, Dred Scott. Rather interesting baggage.

Scott had garnered attention after being involved in a number of trials leading all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Originally born into slavery, hi…... Read more >

2006 Civil War Guide

Skirmishes and Scars of the Show Me State’s Struggle

By Rebecca Smith

Literally a stomping ground during the Civil War, almost every corner of Missouri has a story to tell. From city streets to fields of corn to cemeteries, there are legends and stories of battles, encampments, guerrilla warfare, and the underground railroad. Use this guide to discover those stories.

ARROW ROCK Secessionist Gov. Claiborne Jackson died in Arkansa…... Read more >

Missour Civil War Women

By Larry Wood

Women in the War Between the States disguised themselves as men and fought alongside them, in addition to their more traditional support roles as nurses, cooks, laundresses, messengers, and spies. And the women who fought in the Civil War played the most prominent roles in Missouri, the border state where sharply divided loyalties fueled a bitter guerrilla conflict, bringing the war home to everyday people and inevitably lea…... Read more >