Battle of Carthage ( 1861 ) - wikipedia Battle of Carthage ( 1861 ) Battle of Carthage Part of American Civil War Date July 5, 1861 ( 1861 - 07 - 05 ) Location Carthage, Missouri in Jasper County Result Missouri State Guard victory Belligerents United States of America Missouri State Guard Commanders and leaders Franz Sigel Claiborne F. Jackson Units involved Missouri State Guard Strength 1,100 4,000 armed 2,000 unarmed Casualties and losses 44 200 Operations to Control Missouri Boonville Cole Camp Carthage Wilson 's Creek Dry Wood Creek Liberty 1st Lexington Fredericktown 1st Springfield Battle of Mount Zion Church Blackwater / Milford The Battle of Carthage, also known as the Battle of Dry Fork, took place at the beginning of the American Civil War on July 5, 1861, in Jasper County, Missouri. The experienced Colonel Franz Sigel commanded 1,100 Federal soldiers intent on keeping Missouri within the Union. The Missouri State Guard was commanded by Governor Claiborne F. Jackson himself and numbered over 4,000 soldiers led by a hero of Mexico, Sterling Price, along with 2,000 unarmed troops who did not participate in the battle. The battle was a strategic victory by the Missouri State Guard in large part owing to new tactics introduced on the battlefield by independent partisan rangers serving with Capt. Jo Shelby. Carthage played a part in determining Missouri 's course during the war, as it helped spark recruitment for the Southern regiments. A founder of the county who fought in the battle and was then elected Lieutenant Colonel of the 13th Missouri Cavalry Regiment and 5th Missouri Infantry, attorney Robert Wells Crawford served as a recruiter for the Confederate Army in Missouri, a post he was nominated for by Waldo P. Johnson, formerly a United States Senator from Missouri in a letter to Missouri governor - in - exile Jackson dated October 24, 1862. Contents 1 Background 2 Opposing forces 2.1 Union 2.2 Confederate 3 Battle 4 Significance 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Background Map of Carthage Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program. Political views in Missouri were divided before the Civil War. St. Louis and its surrounding counties generally sympathized with the Northern states because that region was connected economically with the North. The area also had few slaves and contained a large German immigrant population, most of whom opposed slavery. Missouri Governor Claiborne F. Jackson was pro-Southern, and the rest of the state was very heavily divided. Publicly Jackson tried to stay neutral, but he was suspected by the Union men of secretly preparing the state militia to seize the Federal Arsenal in St. Louis. In April 1861, after the firing on Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln called for troops from all of the states to defeat the Confederacy. Missouri was asked to send four regiments. Governor Jackson refused the request. Instead, he called up the Missouri State Militia, possibly to seize the St. Louis Arsenal. If this was his intention, it was thwarted by the newly appointed commander of the arsenal, Captain Nathaniel Lyon of the 2nd U.S. Infantry. Lyon had previously been stationed in Kansas Territory and had developed well - known abolitionist views. Arriving in February 1861, Lyon quickly became associated with the `` Unconditional Unionist '' faction in St. Louis. Lyon, like many St. Louis Unionists, feared that Governor Jackson would employ the city 's secessionist Minutemen paramilitary organization and the local Missouri Volunteer Militia to capture the Arsenal. Beginning on April 22, 1861, on the orders of President Lincoln, Lyon mustered in four regiments of Federal Missouri Volunteers ( mostly former members of Republican Wide Awake marching clubs ), issuing them weapons drawn from the Arsenal stocks. Lincoln followed up with orders to remove most of the Arsenal 's remaining weapons to Illinois, a transfer which was carried out in secret on the night of April 24 -- 25, 1861. The crisis grew worse when a shipment of Confederate siege artillery arrived at the state Militia encampment, Camp Jackson, on May 8 -- 9, 1861. Confronted with ( what he considered ) clear proof of treasonous plotting at Camp Jackson, Lyon marched a force of Federal regulars and his new Missouri Volunteers to the Camp to arrest the militia. He then surrounded the state militia 's camp ; forced the troops to surrender ; and unwisely, starting from there, marched them as prisoners through St. Louis, inadvertently inciting a deadly riot ( the Camp Jackson Affair ). The action drew great protests from Missourians, and even representatives of the City of St. Louis petitioned Lincoln for Lyon 's dismissal. However, Lyon 's action was supported by most of St. Louis ' Unconditional Unionists, including Congressman Francis P. Blair, Jr., brother to Lincoln 's Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. The Blair brothers arranged for Lyon 's promotion to brigadier general. Continued Unconditional Unionist concerns over the accommodation of state authorities by Gen. William S. Harney, commander of the Department of the West, led to Harney 's removal on May 31, 1861. On June 10, 1861, Lyon met with Governor Jackson and Missouri State Guard Major General Sterling Price at St. Louis ' Planter 's House hotel in a last attempt to solve conflicting claims for state and federal sovereignty. The conference proved futile, with both parties making mutually unacceptable demands. After four hours, Lyon abruptly ended the meeting, and Jackson and Price retreated to Jefferson City, ordering railroad bridges burned behind them. Lyon moved elements of his St. Louis garrison up the Missouri River by steamer to capture the state capital at Jefferson City. Col. Franz Sigel took command of a second element of Federal troops moving from St. Louis into southwest Missouri to cut off Missouri State Guard forces who might retreat south in the face of Lyon 's advance. On June 12 he started to move his First and Second Battalions, along with five infantry companies, two rifle companies, and an artillery battery towards Springfield. The Missouri State Guard in Jefferson City retreated to Boonville, where a pivotal skirmish took place on June 17. Lyon quickly took the town and chased the Missouri State Guard south. Due to logistical difficulties, Lyon could not keep up with the retreating Guardsmen. Another group of State Guardsmen in Lexington also moved south under Sterling Price, after learning of the defeat at Boonsville. Sigel 's troops arrived in Springfield and quickly took the town. They prepared to march to Carthage, hoping to catch up with the retreating State Guardsmen. Jackson 's and Prices 's units met in Lamar on July 3 and started to organize. Jackson 's army grew to 6,000 men, a large number of whom joined along the march south. However, the force in Lamar was, for the most part, armed only with hunting rifles, shotguns, knives or, in some cases, no weapons at all. The next day, July 4, Sigel arrived at Carthage with 1,100 men. Learning that Sigel had encamped at Carthage, Governor Jackson took command and made plans to attack the smaller but better armed Union force. On the morning of July 5, Jackson marched his green soldiers south. The rival armies met 10 miles north of Carthage, and the State Guard raised two Confederate stars and bars flags on either side of their line, which stretched over half a mile. Sigel 's men provided an impressive display as they formed a line of battle and moved within 800 yards of the State Guard troops. Opposing forces Union Further information : Union order of battle Confederate Further information : Confederate order of battle Battle Opening the action with his artillery, Sigel closed to the attack. Jackson replied with his own artillery. Jackson and the State Guard then chased after Sigel 's brigade, engaging them in battle as they pushed them 10 miles southward until they reached the outskirts of Carthage. Jackson had his men divide up and attempt to surround Sigel 's force ; the battle went on steadily through the day until both forces faced off in the Carthage town square. Both sides then engaged in some skirmishing. At this point, Sigel learned of a large body of Guardsmen -- actually all unarmed recruits -- moving into the woods on his left outside of town. Fearing this force would turn his flank, he ordered a retreat. The State Guard pursued, but Sigel conducted a successful rearguard action. By evening, Sigel was back in Carthage. Under cover of darkness, he retreated further to Sarcoxie. Significance Joseph O. Shelby, commander of a band of secessionist partisan rangers. Chronologically the first major battle after Lincoln invoked `` the war power '' in lieu of a Declaration of War in his Message to Congress on July 4, 1861, the Battle of Carthage was strategically and tactically significant. The battle marks the only time a sitting U.S. State governor has led troops in the field, and then, against the Union to which his state belonged. Serving at the vanguard of Governor Jackson 's army, a band of 150 independent partisan rangers were under the command of Capt. Jo Shelby, a Missouri farmer. From tactical battlefield maneuvers under fire by Sigel 's batteries to pressing his retreat to Sarcoxie, Shelby 's rangers `` snatched the victory at Carthage from Sigel 's grasp, '' and pro-Confederate elements in Missouri celebrated their first victory. The depopulation of mineral - rich Jasper County and the destruction of Carthage by sustained hostilities throughout the war paved the way for Victorian - era resettlement. Notes ^ Jump up to : National Park Service battle description Archived September 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : Flaherty and Sutherland. General Jo Shelby, Undefeated Rebel. Pgs. 63 - 72 : Boonville and Carthage Jump up ^ List of Field Officers, Regiments and Battalions in the Confederate States Army, 1861 - 1865. Jump up ^ Waldo P. Johnson letter ( October 24, 1862 ), Miscellaneous Correspondence, Peter W. Alexander Collection, Columbia University : C.F. Jackson letter, October 24, 1862, Miscellaneous Correspondence, Peter W. Alexander Collection. Jump up ^ Confederate Tales of the War in the Trans - Mississippi Part One : 1861 edited by Michael E. Banasik. Jump up ^ Gerteis, Louis S. ( 2001 ). Civil War St. Louis. Lawrence, KS : University of Kansas Press. p. 94. ISBN 0 - 7006 - 1124 - X. External link in publisher = ( help ) Jump up ^ Lincoln, Abraham. July 4th ( 1861 ) Message to Congress References Monhegan, Jay. Civil War on the Western Border : 1854 - 1865. Boston : Little, Brown, 1956. Rombauer, Robert J., The Union Cause in St. Louis in 1861. St. Louis : St. Louis Centennial Year ( Press ), 1909 National Park Service battle description Ward L. Schrantz. Jasper County, Missouri in the Civil War. 1923. Piston, William Garrett, Wilson 's Creek, the Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It. Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 2000. O'Flaherty, Daniel. Sutherland, Daniel E. General Jo Shelby : Undefeated Rebel. Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press. Jun 1, 2000. 1954 ( first edition ). Further reading Burchett, Kenneth E. The Battle of Carthage, Missouri : First Trans - Mississippi Conflict of the Civil War ( Jefferson NC : McFarland, 2013. 230 pages online review Hinze, David C. & Karen Farnham. The Battle of Carthage : Border War in Southwest Missouri, July 5, 1861 Gretna, LA : Pelican Publishing Co., 2004. ISBN 978 - 1 - 58980 - 223 - 0. Originally published : Campbell, CA : Savas Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 1 - 882810 - 06 - 6. External links Harper 's Weekly illustrations Battle of Carthage State Historic Site Official reports of both side American Civil War Story : Battle of Carthage History Channel : This day in history : July 5, 1861 Found Poems : Cultural Fragments of Missouri 's Antebellum Frontier Coordinates : 37 ° 12 ′ N 94 ° 20 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 37.20 ° N 94.34 ° W ﻿ / 37.20 ; - 94.34 Missouri in the American Civil War 1861 Governor refuses to furnish quota of militia to the United States Seizure of United States Arsenal at Liberty Seizure of United States ordnance stores at Kansas City Capture of Camp Jackson Convention between Brig. Gen. William S. Harney, U.S. Army, and Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, Missouri State Guard Engagement at Boonville Skirmish at Cole Camp Engagement near Carthage Skirmish at Athens Martial law declared in St. Louis Battle of Wilson 's Creek Action at Dry Wood Creek Siege of Lexington Action at Blue Mills Landing Destruction of Osceola Operations about Ironton and Fredericktown Action at Springfield Engagement at Belmont Missouri admitted as a member of the Confederate States of America Brig. Gen. John M. Schofield, U.S. Army, assumes command of the Missouri Militia Skirmish at Blackwater Creek Action at Mount Zion Church 1862 Action at Roan 's Tan - Yard Operations at New Madrid Brig. Gen. Mosby M. Parsons, Mo. S.G., assumes command of the Missouri State Guard Action at Moore 's Mill Action at Kirksville Action at Independence Action at Lone Jack Engagement at Newtonia Skirmish at Island Mound Action at Clark 's Mill 1863 Engagement at Springfield Engagement at Hartville Action at Cape Girardeau Skirmish at Chalk Bluff Enrolled Militia of Missouri placed under command of Maj. Gen. Schofield General Order No. 11 Shelby 's raid in Arkansas and Missouri 1864 Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, C.S. Army, assumes command of the expeditionary forces at Princeton, Ark. Price enters Missouri Affair at Centralia Attack on Fort Davidson Action at Glasgow Action at Lexington Action at the Little Blue Action at Independence Action at the Big Blue Engagement at Westport Engagement at the Marmiton Engagement at Newtonia 1865 Negotiations for the surrender of the Confederate forces in the Trans - Mississippi Department Gen. E. Kirby Smith, C.S. Army, surrenders troops in Trans - Mississippi Department Units Confederate Union Places St. Louis Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Carthage_(1861)&oldid=801816645 '' Categories : 1861 in the United States Operations to Control Missouri Battles of the Trans - Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War Confederate victories of the American Civil War Battles of the American Civil War in Missouri Jasper County, Missouri 1861 in the American Civil War 1861 in Missouri July 1861 events Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links CS1 errors : external links Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Edit links This page was last edited on 22 September 2017, at 01 : 29. About Wikipedia

Question: where did the battle of carthage take place
Answer: Jasper County, Missouri