Battle of Boonville The First Battle of Boonville was a minor skirmish of the American Civil War , occurring on June 17 , 1861 , near Boonville in Cooper County , Missouri . Although casualties were extremely light , the battle ' s strategic impact was far greater than one might assume from its limited nature . The Union victory established what would become an unbroken Federal control of the Missouri River , and helped to thwart efforts to bring Missouri into the Confederacy . Four battles were fought at Boonville during the Civil War : the first battle forms the main subject of this article , while the others are described below under other battles at Boonville . Background . At the onset of the Civil War , Missouri , like many border states in the Union , was deeply divided over whether to support the United States under Abraham Lincoln , or join the nascent Confederacy under Jefferson Davis . Claiborne F . Jackson , the pro - Southern governor , wanted his state to secede , but Missouri ' s overall sentiment was initially neutral . An elected State convention did not pass a secession ordinance , as Jackson had hoped it might . However , pro - secession elements did not let this setback dissuade them . They seized the small Federal armory in Liberty , Missouri , planning to subsequently confiscate a much more sizable stock of weapons located at the St . Louis Arsenal . This plot was temporarily thwarted by an energetic young officer , Captain Nathaniel Lyon . Lyon allied himself with Missouri Congressman Frank Blair and anti - slavery German immigrants in St . Louis to secure the arsenal for the Union . In the process , Lyon used a mixed force of U . S . Army Regulars and Federally enrolled Missouri Volunteers ( mostly ethnic Germans ) to capture the Missouri Volunteer Militia ( MVM ) which had assembled ( purportedly for an innocuous annual drill ) at Camp Jackson on the outskirts of St . Louis on May 10 , 1861 . When Lyon unwisely attempted to march his prisoners through the streets of St . Louis , a deadly riot erupted . The Missouri General Assembly , far more secessionist than the state ' s population at that time , convened an emergency session that night , and passed a series of emergency bills creating the Missouri State Guard , and granting Governor Jackson near - dictatorial powers to take any actions necessary to " repel invasion " ( by Federal forces ) and " suppress insurrection " ( by Missourians enlisted in Federal forces ) . The new State Guard began organizing statewide in nine decentralized military districts , initially structured around the independent militia companies of the pre - Camp Jackson MVM . State Guard authorities also worked to manage the large numbers of volunteers who flooded into Jefferson City to protect the state capitol from Federal attack that Jackson ' s supporters believed were imminent . A failed truce . Attempts were made to reconcile the two sides . A semi - formal truce was negotiated between General William S . Harney Commander of the Western Department of the U . S . Army and Missouri State Guard Major General Sterling Price . They agreed to maintain order in the parts of the state under the control of their various forces , protect the persons and property of all persons , and avoid actions which might excite conflict . Harney unofficially agreed to ( generally ) restrict Federal forces to metropolitan St . Louis . Price ordered that the mustering of Missouri State Guard volunteers in Jefferson City be halted . Instead , potential guardsmen were directed to muster with regional commanders in nine new Military Districts , the organizational course of action initially envisioned under the post - May 10 Military Bill . Harney understood that Price had would hold the state for the Union , and in fact , Price promised him that should Confederate forces enter Missouri , the MSG would fight alongside the U . S . Army to drive the Confederates out . At the same time however , representatives from Governor Jackson and Missouri ' s Lt Governor , Thomas C . Reynolds were meeting with Confederate authorities asking them to send send an army into Missouri . They promised Confederate President Jefferson Davis that the Missouri State Guard would cooperate with the Confederate Army to drive Federal forces from Missouri and " liberate " the state . Missouri Unionists felt that Harney ' s confidence in Governor Jackson and General Price was dangerously misplaced , and that Harney ' s unilateral adherence to the " truce " was endangering the state . In a stream of letters and cables to the Lincoln government , they demanded Harney ' s removal , and eventually on May 30 , General Harney was superseded by ( recently promoted ) Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon . Lyon , Jackson , and Price met one last time , on June 11 , at the Planter ' s House hotel in St . Louis . Jackson demanded that Federal forces remain isolated in St . Louis and that pro - Unionist Home Guard companies of Missouri Unionists around the state be disbanded . Jackson made a wide variety of promises , but all his position came down to : Federal abandonment of the state ( outside St . Louis ) ; disarmament of all Missouri Unionists ( except those officially enlisted in the four regiments called for under Lincoln ' s April militia call ) ; and no meaningful verification . ( Federal authorities would rely on Jackson ' s and Price ' s good will and assurances that they would hold the state for the Union . ) In the face of Jackson ' s inflexible position , Lyon ( according to Governor Jackson ' s secretary ) eventually stated that rather than allow Jackson to dictate to the federal Government he ( Lyon ) would " see you , and you , and you , and you , and every man , woman , and child in the state dead and buried . " Lyon concluded by turning to the Governor , and stating " This means war . In an hour one of my officers will call for you , and conduct you out of my lines . " Governor Jackson and General Price fled toward the capital at Jefferson City , arriving there on June 12 . They ordered the bridges on the main rail lines burned . After quickly concluding that Jefferson City could not be held , Jackson and the State Guard departed for Boonville the next day . General Lyon promptly set out after them by steamboat , with two Federal volunteer regiments , a company of U . S . regulars and a battery of artillery — about 1 , 700 men in all . His goal was to seize the capital and disperse the State Guard . Price hoped to buy enough time to consolidate State Guard units from Lexington and Boonville , though he planned to withdraw from Boonville if Lyon approached . State Guard Colonel John S . Marmaduke ' s unit began organizing at Boonville , while Brig . Gen . Mosby M . Parsons was instructed to take up a position to the south in Tipton . At this juncture , Price left Boonville due to illness and joined the forces assembling at Lexington . This was unfortunate , as it left the governor — a politician — in charge . Instead of retreating , Jackson decided to make a stand , because he feared political fallout if he made another withdrawal . Many of his men were eager to face the enemy , but they were armed only with shotguns and hunting rifles , and lacked sufficient training to fight effectively at the time . Marmaduke was opposed to giving battle , but he reluctantly assumed command of the waiting state forces . Lyon , meanwhile , had reached Jefferson City on June 15 , learning that Jackson and Price had retreated towards Boonville . Leaving behind 300 troops of the 2nd Missouri Volunteers to secure the capital , Lyon resumed his pursuit of Price on June 16 , landing about below Boonville on June 17 . Informed of Lyon ' s approach , Jackson attempted to call up Parsons ' command at Tipton , but it was unable to arrive in time . The battle . The battle itself was actually little more than a skirmish , but it was one of the first significant land actions of the war , and had grave consequences for Confederate hopes in Missouri . After disembarking , Lyon ' s troops marched along the Rocheport Road toward Boonville at around 7 am . Part of Marmaduke ' s eager but ill - equipped State Guard force waited on a ridge behind the bluff , totalling about 500 men . They had no artillery support , since it was all with Parsons at Tipton . Inexplicably , Governor Jackson , observing from a mile or so away , held his only reasonably - disciplined and organized command the long established ( St . Louis ) Washington Blues militia company ( usually known as " Captain Kelly ' s Company " ) in reserve ; it would take no part in the battle . Lyon ' s command encountered State Guard pickets as they approached the bluffs , but Lyon deployed skirmishers and continued to push his men forward rapidly . The Union artillery ( Captain Totten ' s battery , Company F , 2nd U . S . Lt Artillery ) quickly displaced sharpshooters stationed in the William Adams house , while Union infantry closed with the line of guardsmen and fired several volleys into them , causing them to retreat . This portion of the fighting lasted barely 20 minutes . Some attempts were made to rally and resist the Federal advance , but these collapsed when a Union company flanked the Guard ' s line , supported by cannon fire from a light howitzer on the river steamer " Augustus McDowell " . As Marmaduke feared , the Guard ' s retreat rapidly turned into a rout . The guardsmen fled back through Camp Bacon and the town of Boonville ; some continued on to their homes , while the rest retreated with the Governor to the southwest corner of Missouri . Lyon took possession of Boonville at 11 am . The short fight at Boonville and the State Guard ' s precipitate retreat earned the battle the nickname of " The Boonville Races . " Casualties and impact . Federal casualties were light , with five men killed or mortally wounded and seven less seriously injured . There are no reliable figures of casualties for the Missouri State Guard : but it appears five were killed or mortally wounded and ten wounded , while about 60 to 80 were captured . Lyon seized the State Guard ' s supplies and equipment , which included two iron 6 - pounder cannon without ammunition , 500 obsolete flintlock muskets , 1200 pair of shoes , a few tents , and food . The real impact of the Battle of Boonville was strategic , far out of proportion to the minimal loss of life . The Battle of Boonville effectively ejected the secessionist forces from the center of Missouri , and secured the state for the Union . Price realized he could not hold Lexington and retreated , though he would return three months later to re - take the city . Secessionist communications to the strongly pro - Confederate Missouri River valley were effectively cut , and would - be recruits from slave - owning regions north of the Missouri River found it difficult to join the Southern army . Provisions and supplies also could no longer be obtained from this section of the state . A second result of the battle was demoralization . While the Missouri State Guard would fight and win on other days ( most notably at Wilson ' s Creek and Lexington just two and three months later , respectively ) , it was badly dispirited by this early defeat . Lyon ' s victory gave the Union forces time to consolidate their hold on the state , while Marmaduke ' s disappointment led him to resign from the Missouri State Guard and seek a regular commission in the Confederate Army . Marmaduke and Price would team up again during Price ' s great Missouri Raid of 1864 , culminating in their defeat at the Battle of Westport on October 23 of that year , which in turn put an end to significant Confederate operations in the state . Other battles at Boonville . Following the battle of June 17 , Boonville would serve as the scene for three other Civil War engagements , all of extremely minor importance : Second Battle of Boonville . The Second Battle of Boonville was fought on September 13 , 1861 , when Colonel William Brown of the Missouri State Guard led 800 men in an attack on 140 pro - Union Boonville Home Guardsmen while the Union soldiers were eating breakfast . Due to rain , the Confederates wrapped their flags in black sheathing , which the Home Guard mistook as a sign of no quarter . Highly motivated by a perception that the fight was one of " victory or death " , the Home Guardsmen managed to defeat the State Guard troops , killing Colonel Brown in the process . Third Battle of Boonville . The Third Battle of Boonville was fought on October 11 , 1863 , during Shelby ' s Great Raid , and saw General Joseph Shelby ' s troops engage Union forces in the city . When Federal reinforcements arrived the next day , the Confederates retreated westward . Fourth Battle of Boonville . The Fourth Battle of Boonville was fought on October 11 , 1864 between Unionists and elements of General Sterling Price ' s Army of Missouri , who had occupied the town . This skirmish resulted in a Confederate victory , though Price ' s forces abandoned the city the following day .