Battle of Cape Girardeau The Battle of Cape Girardeau was a military demonstration of the American Civil War , occurring on April 26 , 1863 in Cape Girardeau , Missouri . The conflict was part of the pursuit of US Brigadier General John McNeil through Southeast Missouri by Confederate Brigadier General John S . Marmaduke . Though the conflict to this day is known as a battle , it was a relatively small engagement whose primary importance was as the turning point that brought General Marmaduke ' s second Missouri raid to an end . Background . General Marmaduke began his second raid into Missouri from Northeast Arkansas on April 18 , 1863 . During the raid , he intended to obtain much - needed supplies for his troops , several hundred of whom were unarmed and un - mounted . The General feared that if left behind his unarmed troops might desert , but if taken along they may be supplied with arms and horses as captured during the raid . Marmaduke organized his division of about 5 , 000 men into two columns , each made up of two brigades . Colonel George W . Carter led one of the columns , which consisted of a brigade led by Colonel Colton Greene and the other by Carter himself . The second column was led by Colonel Joseph O . Shelby and consisted of Shelby ' s famous " Iron Brigade , " commanded by Colonel George W . Thompson , and another brigade commanded by Colonel John Q . Burbridge . In all , the division had between eight and ten pieces of artillery . General Marmaduke ordered Colonel Carter ’ s column to advance toward Bloomfield , Missouri and attempt to capture the Federal garrison there under the command of US Brigadier General John McNeil . If McNeil had been able to escape , the Confederates thought that he would head north to Pilot Knob , the Union headquarters of the region . Thus Marmaduke accompanied Colonel Shelby ’ s column north to Fredericktown to intercept such an attempt . Shelby ’ s column arrived at Fredericktown on April 22 , 1863 , but Carter ’ s column did not reach Bloomfield until April 23 because of difficulty crossing the Mingo swamps . Carter arrived at Bloomfield to find that McNeil had left it in ruins two days earlier . Having learned of Marmaduke ’ s position on the road to Pilot Knob , McNeil disobeyed his orders to retreat to Pilot Knob and instead fled northeast to heavily fortified Cape Girardeau , arriving on the evening of April 24 . Carter had been instructed not to pursue McNeil if he fled in any direction other than the road to Fredericktown and Pilot Knob . However , Carter also disobeyed orders and indeed pursued McNeil to within four miles of Cape Girardeau , arriving mid - day on April 25 . Carter then sent a letter to McNeil demanding the garrison ’ s surrender and a reply within 30 minutes . The letter was signed by Confederate Major General Sterling Price with the hope that his name would instill fear in McNeil that General Price was nearby . However , McNeil was confident in the strength of his defense and refused to surrender . Fearing an attack , Carter sent word of the situation to General Marmaduke , who then proceeded with Colonel Shelby ’ s column to reinforce Carter ’ s troops in any possible actions at Cape Girardeau . Fortifications . In 1861 General Ulysses S . Grant approved the construction of four forts at strategic locations around the city of Cape Girardeau . They were named Forts A , B , C , and D . Fort A was positioned on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River at the north edge of town and was meant to defend the city against Confederate gunboats on the river . Fort B was located on a hill now occupied by Southeast Missouri State University and was built to protect the city from enemy approaches on the Perryville Road and Jackson Road ( now Broadway Avenue ) . Fort C was near the present intersection of South Ellis Street and Good Hope Street and guarded approaches on the Bloomfield Road , Gordonville Road ( now Independence Street ) , and Commerce Road ( now Sprigg Street ) . Fort D was located on a river bluff south of the city , and like Fort A , it was primarily a river defense . It was the largest and most important garrison in the region and is the only fort remaining in Cape Girardeau today . However , Fort D did not play an important role in the Battle of Cape Girardeau . Action . On the night of April 25 , in anticipation of the attack , General McNeil ordered the evacuation of women and children via steamboat to a safe location upriver . Also during the night two gunboats and a steamer arrived with additional troops to support McNeil ’ s forces . With the gunboats in place McNeil did not foresee any threat from the Mississippi River side of the city , so he had cannons moved from Forts A and D along the river to Forts B and C on the western side of the city . In all , McNeil ' s forces totaled about 4 , 000 men , including supporting regiments from Iowa , Wisconsin , Nebraska , and Illinois , though it should be noted that some of these regiments may have arrived after the action had ended . Shelby ’ s column arrived at Cape Girardeau early on April 26 . With General Marmaduke ’ s full division then on the western edge of the city , it assumed a formation that consisted of Colonel Burbridge ’ s brigade in the center , Shelby ’ s on the left , and Carter ’ s on the right . The line extended from just east of St . Mary ’ s Cemetery on the north ( near the present intersection of Missouri Ave and Mississippi St ) to Gordonville Road on the south . Its center was on the Jackson Road . The attack began around 10 : 00 am on April 26 . Unsuccessful charges were made by cavalry units from both sides , the Federal troops being driven back by Colonel Shelby ' s superior cavalry forces and the Confederates being met with heavy fire from field artillery and the guns of Forts B and C . The artillery fire between the forts and Shelby ' s Brigade made up the bulk of the action . The fighting lasted approximately four to five hours , ceasing sometime after 2 : 00 pm when General Marmaduke ordered his forces to withdraw . Aftermath . No reliable reports were made of the numbers killed and wounded during the action , as " official " figures tended to be exaggerated and unfounded . The number of confirmed dead was no more than ten on either side , though some reports claim that the total number killed was close to a hundred , plus over three hundred wounded . Following the conflict , General Marmaduke retreated to Jackson and then led his troops back to Arkansas , bringing to an end his second Missouri raid . Marmaduke was followed by Federal forces , but no contact was made before crossing the Arkansas border . Possibly as punishment for disobeying orders and instigating the needless conflict at Cape Girardeau , Colonel Carter was demoted to commanding a brigade rather than his entire column . Though neither side had a clear victory at the closing of the day ' s fighting , the battle was a strategic Union victory that forced the Confederate forces to retreat to Arkansas . Historian Henry Phillips concluded , " while it was not of sufficient magnitude to be termed a battle in technical military parlance , all of the potentials were present for a sanguinary battle , and the reason a battle did not occur was because the commanders of the two hostile forces each had reasons that he deemed sufficient for not forcing the issue . "