James Gillpatrick Blunt

A Long and Bloody Conflict: Military Operations in Missouri and Kansas, Part II

The start of 1862 witnessed the federals in their most precarious position of the war in Missouri. Sterling Price’s Missouri State Guard (MSG) controlled the interior of the state – including large sections of the strategically vital Missouri River Valley. Guerrillas ran rampant through the interior as well. It was up to the newly-installed commander of the Department of the Missouri, Major General Henry W. Halleck to restore the Union’s fortunes in the states. Halleck was not idle over the holiday season of 1861, as he instructed Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis, commander of the recently-formed Federal Army of the Southwest, on his plans for the upcoming campaign season.

Terry Beckenbaugh
U. S. Air Force Command and Staff College

By Terry Beckenbaugh, U. S. Air Force Command and Staff College

The Battle of the Little Blue, fought just east of Independence in Jackson County, Missouri, on October 21, 1864, was part of Sterling Price’s “Missouri Expedition” and a prelude to the larger and more decisive Battle of Westport two days later. The Battle of the Little Blue was an attempt by the federal Army of the Border’s vanguard (led by Major General James G. Blunt) to delay the Confederate Army of Missouri (commanded by Major General Sterling Price) until the pursuing Union force of the Department of the Missouri, commanded by Major General Alfred Pleasonton, could hit the rebels from behind. Although the outcome of the Battle of the Little Blue was a tactical Confederate victory, Blunt’s delaying action bought valuable time for Pleasonton to catch up with Price’s rearguard two days later at Westport.

By Terry Beckenbaugh, U. S. Air Force Command and Staff College

James Gillpatrick Blunt was a major figure in the Civil War in Kansas and Missouri. Blunt was a jayhawker during the “Bleeding Kansas” period and later rose to become a major general in the U.S. Army, winning several key victories. He is most famous for his roles in the battles of Prairie Grove and Honey Springs, as well as the part he played in repulsing Sterling Price’s 1864 cavalry raid. Blunt was the only major general from Kansas during the Civil War.

By Tony O’ Bryan, University of Missouri—Kansas City

The Battle of Lone Jack occurred in Jackson County, Missouri over the weekend of August 15-17, 1862, as a result of the Union attempting to wrest military control over the border region from the hands of the bushwhackers.

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