Did you know? Civil War battles in Southeast Missouri

Missouri was a border state during the American Civil War, and Missourians fought on both sides of the war. Battles raged across every corner of the state.

In Southeast Missouri, close to the vital Mississippi River, the war was unavoidable. Several battles and skirmishes were fought in the area, some close to home.

The Battle of Belmont

Ulysses S. Grant, future president of the United States, fought his first battle of the Civil War near the now-flooded town of Belmont in Mississippi County.

Ulysses S. Grant commanded Union forces during the Battle of Belmont in Southeast Missouri in 1861. It was his first combat experience of the Civil War. The general would later become the 18th president of the United States.Mathew Brady ~ Associated Press, file

Ulysses S. Grant commanded Union forces during the Battle of Belmont in Southeast Missouri in 1861. It was his first combat experience of the Civil War. The general would later become the 18th president of the United States.Mathew Brady ~ Associated Press, file

According to American Battlefield Trust, on Nov. 7, 1861, Brig. Gen. Grant led 3,114 Union soldiers to capture a Confederate outpost by the Mississippi River, due east of East Prairie, Missouri.

He intended to prevent Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk's rebel troops in Kentucky from reinforcing their armies in Arkansas.

The battle was a back-and-forth affair lasting for hours until Union field artillery scattered Confederate ranks. When federal soldiers swarmed into the outpost, they started raucously celebrating their victory.

To instill order, Grant had the outpost torched. Some wounded rebels, however, were burned inside their tents.

Thinking their comrades were being murdered, Polk led his men across the Mississippi and unleashed his own artillery, forcing Grant to order a retreat.

The armies suffered more than 600 casualties, including more than 100 soldiers killed apiece.

However, both the Union and Confederacy treated Belmont like a victory. Polk had dislodged Grant's forces, but Grant had achieved his goal of keeping the enemy away from Arkansas.

Four soldiers from Company K., Mo. Militia (from left) -- F. Brase, F. Lange, H. Wolpers and H. Markwort. Missourians fought on both sides of the Civil War, including in battles within their home state.Courtesy of Jackson Heritage Association

Four soldiers from Company K., Mo. Militia (from left) -- F. Brase, F. Lange, H. Wolpers and H. Markwort. Missourians fought on both sides of the Civil War, including in battles within their home state.Courtesy of Jackson Heritage Association

The Battle of Island No. 10

In early 1862, the Union army was looking for a way to break the Confederate grip on the Mississippi River. One thing standing in its way was Island No. 10, an island now long since eroded that straddled the Missouri- Tennessee state line.

As long as the rebels maintained a garrison there, federal forces couldn't traverse the river south of the Kentucky Bend.

On March 3, 1862, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command, Union Brig. Gen. John Pope laid siege to the nearby city of New Madrid. Confederate soldiers held out for 10 days before abandoning the city for Island No. 10.

To attack the enemy garrison, Union troops spent two weeks excavating a 12-mile canal through the bayou near New Madrid. This allowed the ironclad gunboats USS Carondelet and USS Pittsburgh to slip past Island No. 10 on the nights of April 4 and April 6, respectively.

All the while, the Union had kept up a constant artillery barrage. With the ironclads now stationed by New Madrid providing cover fire, Pope's forces crossed the Bend into Tennessee unimpeded.

They forced the Confederate garrison into submission April 8. Thousands of soldiers, including several officers, were taken prisoner.

The Battle of Cape Girardeau

Union forces first arrived in Cape Girardeau in July 1861, according to the Fort D Historic Site website. They constructed forts to protect against Confederate attacks.

As a riverfront city close to America's new southern border, it was seen as a potential target for an enemy assault.

John Sappington Marmaduke, later the 25th governor of Missouri, led Confederate troops in the Battle of Cape Girardeau on April 26, 1863. The battle lasted for a few hours, with neither side suffering many casualties. Marmaduke eventually ordered a retreat and pulled his forces back to Jackson.Southeast Missourian file

John Sappington Marmaduke, later the 25th governor of Missouri, led Confederate troops in the Battle of Cape Girardeau on April 26, 1863. The battle lasted for a few hours, with neither side suffering many casualties. Marmaduke eventually ordered a retreat and pulled his forces back to Jackson.Southeast Missourian file

Nearly two years later, foresight became fact when Confederate Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke led his 5,000-strong division into Missouri on a supply raid.

According to the Missouri Civil War passport program website, Marmaduke learned his Union counterpart John McNeil, infamous for executing rebel prisoners in northern Missouri, was in nearby Bloomfield.

When his army arrived, they discovered McNeil had razed the town to prevent the enemy from resupplying there.

One of Marmaduke's colonels tracked McNeil and his 4,000 men to Cape Girardeau. McNeil evacuated the city's women and children, then reinforced his western flank with cannons and holed up in the city's forts.

Fighting broke out around 10 a.m. April 26, 1863. Marmaduke's line stretched across what is now Capaha Park and Broadway. Both sides attempted to dislodge the other, even sending cavalry to attack.

The battle was concentrated around Fort B, located on the present-day River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

In the end, McNeil's artillery proved too much for the Confederates. Shortly after 2 p.m., Marmaduke pulled his men back to Jackson and later retreated to Arkansas.

Marmaduke was a native son of Missouri, and both his father and uncle had served as its governor. He would later follow in their footsteps, becoming the state's 25th governor in 1885.