Battle of Cole Camp ( 1861 ) The Battle of Cole Camp was a skirmish of the American Civil War , occurring on June 19 , 1861 , in Benton County , Missouri . The rebel victory assured an open line of march for the fleeing governor and Missouri State Guard away from Lyon ' s force in Boonville . Background . On June 15 , 1861 , Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon took control of the Missouri capitol in Jefferson City . Two days later , he routed the portion of the Missouri State Guard then assembling at Boonville with pro - secession Missouri Governor Claiborne F . Jackson . As the portion of the guard accompanying Governor Jackson fled to the southwest of the state , a Unionist Missouri Home Guard regiment was in position to obstruct his retreat . The majority of the inhabitants of Benton County were of Southern origin and sentiment ; however , the German immigrants and their descendants were predominantly pro - Union and anti - slavery . These formed the core of the Benton County Home Guard . Captain Abel H . W . Cook began to form the regiment in early June and called for the volunteers to assemble northeast of Cole Camp on June 11 . A secessionist force was gathering nearby at Warsaw . Captain Walter S . O ' Kane organized the Warsaw " Grays " and Captain Thomas W . Murray organized the " Blues . " The combined force numbered about 350 , with 100 of them mounted . two weeks after Cole Camp , just before the Battle of Carthage , O ' Kane was elected lieutenant colonel of the battalion while Murray was elected major . The secessionists were aided by Benton County ' s Sheriff , Bartholomew W . Keown . Keown attempted to arrest captains Cook and Mitchell at the Union Home Guard camp , but they refused to comply . The " arrest " apparently was a pretense for gathering intelligence . The Engagement . The Unionist force occupied two adjoining farms ~ 600 yards apart belonging to Henry Harms and John Heisterberg . The Home Guards called the location Camp Lyon . Cook had about 400 infantry muskets . While up to 900 men had initially gathered , as many as half were furloughed for lack of weapons or for other reasons . O ' Kane ' s force marched from Warsaw toward Cole Camp on June 18 to attack the gathering Home Guard . A respected older citizen , John Tyree , had witnessed the preparations of the secessionists and reported it to the officers at Camp Lyon . As he returned from reporting this , he was captured by O ' Kane ' s force . Some of the men recognized him from earlier in the day , surmised what he had done , tied him to a tree and shot him . ( Ironically , he was a slaveowner although a Union man . ) Despite Tyree ' s warning , Cook ' s preparations were inadequate , for his pickets were overrun without alerting the sleeping Home Guard . There were admissions of extensive drinking in the camp and the men were slumbering in the early morning hours of June 19 when the attack began . O ' Kane ' s infantry double - quicked from the east to the Heisterberg barn where a portion of the Home Guard were and delivered a volley into the shocked men . However , a company of Home Guard under Captain Elsinger was just north of the barn . They responded with fire into the flank of the attackers , but having little ammunition were soon forced to withdraw . O ' Kane ' s mounted force then slammed into and drove away another nearby group of Home Guard that was attempting to form to repel the infantry . Meanwhile , the remaining unengaged Union men at the Harms barn under Captains Grother and Mueller formed to join the fracas . The presence of a Union flag now in the hands of the rebels confused the men and they held their fire until they were fired upon . They withdrew without engaging and the fighting ended . Capt . Cook supposedly fled at the beginning of the fight . He claimed to have left to consult with Captain Totten of Lyon ' s forces , but his men claimed otherwise and Henry Imhauser was elected commander in July . The regiment disbanded in September , and in November , Cook was " shot by rebels " in Henry County . His widow was denied a pension because Cook " was not in U . S . service at time of death . " Walter S . O ' Kane subsequently served as Aide - de - Camp , 8th Confederate Cavalry Division , and died 1908 in Arkansas . Casualties and Impact . Federal casualties were heavy with at least 34 killed or mortally wounded , 60 wounded , and 25 made prisoner . Perhaps most importantly , O ' Kane ' s force captured 362 muskets with bayonets that would prove useful at the battles of Carthage and Wilson ' s Creek . Secessionist losses were around seven killed and 25 wounded . O ' Kane ' s men apparently murdered one of the prisoners who spoke little English and was a cook . They mistook him for Capt . Cook and shot him on the spot . The victory opened a path for the fleeing Missouri State Guard . When O ' Kane ' s men joined the gathering Missouri State Guard , their tale provided a morale boost to the rest of the beleaguered force . Sheriff Keown was captured along with 683 other Missouri State Guard recruits on December 19 in the Skirmish at Blackwater Creek ( actually a river . ) As a result of his actions at Cole Camp and in another affair , he was charged with spying and robbing loyal citizens , but died in prison on April 16 , 1862 before a trial was held .