Battle of Little Blue River The Battle of Little Blue River was a minor battle of the American Civil War , occurring on October 21 , 1864 in Jackson County , Missouri during Price ' s Missouri Expedition of that year . It became the opening round of the Second Battle of Independence , which began on this same day and was essentially a continuation of this engagement . This led in turn to the Battle of Westport on October 23 , resulting in Price ' s defeat and the ending of major Confederate military operations in Missouri . Background . In the fall of 1864 , Confederate Maj . Gen . Sterling Price was dispatched by his superior , Lt . Gen . Edmund Kirby Smith , to attempt to seize Missouri for the Confederacy . Unable to attack his primary objective , St . Louis , Price decided to execute Smith ' s backup plan for a westward raid through Missouri and into Kansas and the Indian Territory . Their ultimate goal was to destroy or capture Union supplies and outposts , which might negatively affect Abraham Lincoln ' s chances for reelection in 1864 . After his victory at the Battle of Glasgow , Price continued his march westward , in the direction of Kansas City and Fort Leavenworth , headquarters of the Federal Department of Kansas . But his progress was slow , giving the Union Army a chance to concentrate their forces . Maj . Gen . William S . Rosecrans , commanding the Department of the Missouri , proposed a pincer movement to trap Price and his army , but he was unable to communicate with Maj . Gen . Samuel R . Curtis , commander of the Department of Kansas , to formalize the plan . Curtis was experiencing difficulty because many of his soldiers were Kansas militia ( under George Dietzler ) , and they refused to enter Missouri . However , a force of about 2 , 000 men under the command of Maj . Gen . James G . Blunt did set out for Lexington . He met the Confederate troops there on October 19 and slowed their progress , but was ultimately forced to withdraw . On the 20th , Blunt ’ s retreating column arrived on the Little Blue River , a minor stream five miles east of Independence . Battle . The Union force turned at the Little Blue to engage the Confederates again , using strong defensive positions on the west bank . Curtis , however , ordered Blunt back to Independence , leaving only a token force , under Col . Thomas Moonlight , on the river itself . The following day , however , Curtis ordered Blunt to take all of his volunteers and return to the Little Blue . As Blunt neared the stream , he discovered that Moonlight ’ s small force had engaged Price ' s advance guard just after sunup , burning the bridge as previously ordered . Price ' s main force had arrived by this time and was fiercely engaging Moonlight ' s brigade , which was stubbornly guarding every available ford in the area . Blunt quickly entered the fray , attempting to drive Price back beyond the defensive positions that he wished to reoccupy . A five - hour battle ensued , as Union troops forced the Confederates to fall back at first , entrenching themselves behind several rock walls as they awaited an inevitable Southern counterattack . Although witnesses reported that the hopelessly - outnumbered Federals compelled their enemy to fight for every inch of ground , Confederate numerical superiority slowly took its toll . Gradually , the Northerners were forced to retreat , and the focus of the battle shifted to Independence itself . Aftermath . Although Union rearguard units attempted throughout the afternoon of the 21st to retard Price ' s advance through the streets and byways of Independence ( the Second Battle of Independence ) , they ultimately proved unsuccessful and were forced to retreat to the Big Blue River west of town . The following day , Union forces attacked the Confederates in Independence and initially routed them , only to be compelled to retreat later in the day by units under Brig . Gen . John S . Marmaduke . Although Price could claim victories at the Little Blue and Independence , both ultimately proved hollow . Once again , his army had been slowed , and more Union reinforcements were arriving . On the 23rd of October , the full Union and Confederate forces collided at the Battle of Westport , often called " the Gettysburg of Missouri , " resulting in a final , decisive defeat for Price and the end of his campaign — and all major Confederate operations — in the state .