Battle of Glasgow

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict = Battle of Glasgow
partof = the American Civil War


caption = The route of Price's Missouri Expedition.
date = 15 October, 1864
place = Glasgow, Missouri
territory = Glasgow occupied by Confederate forces from October 15 to October 18 1864
result = Confederate victory
status =
combatant1 = flagicon|USA|1861 United States (Union)
combatant2 = flagicon|CSA|1863 CSA (Confederacy)
combatant3 =
commander1 = Chester HardingPOW
commander2 = John Bullock Clark, Jr., Joe Shelby
commander3 =
strength1 = 800
strength2 = Unknown
strength3 =
casualties1 = 400
casualties2 = 50 Citation |last=|first= |title="Battle Summary: Glasgow, MO" |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/mo022.htm]
casualties3 =
notes =

The Battle of Glasgow was fought on October 15, 1864, in and around Glasgow, Missouri, a Union state, as a part of Price's Missouri Expedition during the American Civil War. It was a Confederate victory.

Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, the commander of Confederate forces engaged in Price's Missouri Expedition, decided to capture Glasgow to obtain the weapons and supplies that were supposed to be there in a storehouse. An unknown number of Confederate men were sent against the city, which contained a garrison of 800 Union soldiers. The Confederates besieged the city when they arrived. On October 15, 1864, artillery fire accompanied the advance of Confederate soldiers as they took various routes into the city. The Union soldiers fell back from Glasgow to the fortifications on nearby Hereford Hill, which had also been under siege. They formed a defensive line, but their commander, Col. Chester Harding, convinced that the Union forces could not win against the Confederates, surrendered his soldiers at 1:30 p.m. The Confederates occupied the city for three days, taking rifle-muskets, overcoats, and horses, before they re-joined Price's main army.

The victory, and the equipment captured, provided a morale boost to the soldiers of Price's army. However, the victory was not able to prevent Price's eventual decision to withdraw his soldiers from Missouri, after they had suffered high losses, and were running low on supplies.

Background

The battle of Glasgow was a part of Price's Missouri Expedition, a raid by Confederate forces under the command of Sterling Price, into Missouri, which begun on 19 September, 1864. Price's primary aims were to recruit men from the pro-Confederate areas of northern Missouri, capture the arsenal at St Louis, and capture animals and supplies for Confederate use. He hoped that his raid could relieve the pressure on Confederate forces in Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia by diverting Union troops to fight him, and he also hoped his raid would influence the November presidential election, by providing Union defeats that would reduce support for Abraham Lincoln.Citation |last=|first= |title="Society of Public Historians, Wichita State University, Kansas, United States" |url=http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=SPH&p=/MineCreek/PricesRaid/] After sustaining heavy casualties during the Battle of Fort Davidson, Price diverted his troops from the direction of St. Louis, and sent them towards Jefferson City. Nearing Jefferson City, Price concluded that it was too heavily defended, and ordered his troops to move towards Lexington and Kansas City. It was at this point that Price decided to detach troops from the main army to capture the city of Glasgow. He had been informed that there were weapons and supplies in a storehouse in the city, and he wanted to capture them so that they could be used by his soldiers. When the Confederates reached the city, they initiated a siege of Glasgow. Hereford Hill, a hill located near Glasgow on which fortifications had been built, was also put under siege.

Opposing forces

A Union garrison of 800 men was located in Glasgow, under the command of Colonel Chester Harding. The size of the Confederate forces engaged against them is unknown. The Confederate forces included infantry, cavalry, and artillery. The Confederates were under the command of Brig. Gens. John Bullock Clark, Jr., and Joe Shelby.

Battle

On 15 October 1864, the Confederates fired artillery into Glasgow to support their advance as they moved into the city along various routes. Union forces retreated from Glasgow, and re-grouped on Hereford Hill, where they formed a defensive line. The Confederate forces advanced against them, and Harding decided that his soldiers could not win. He surrendered his soldiers around 1:30 p.m., ending the battle, and giving the Confederates a victory.

Before the Union soldiers retreated from Glasgow, they destroyed as much Union equipment as they could. The city hall was being used as a storage building for a stockpile of munitions. The hall was blown up by Union soldiers, destroying a half-block of downtown Glasgow.Citation|last=Earngey|first=Bill|title="Missouri Roadsides: The Traveler's Companion"|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xcxWsmxRzVEC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=Battle+of+Glasgow&source=web&ots=BagwyFp0oA&sig=boKQjs1P2-0ODQGyFe5v9nVSS8Q&hl=en]

Aftermath

The Confederates occupied Glasgow for three days, taking rifle-muskets, overcoats, and horses, before leaving to re-join Price's army. The victory and capture of supplies and weapons were a boost to Price's army's morale. Price's army would continue to advance through Missouri, but the high losses and high amount of supplies that were used up by the Battle of Westport on 23 October 1864, convinced Price to withdraw his forces from the state. During the retreat, Price's men were periodically attacked by Union forces. Price had not been able to gain enough new recruits during his raid to replace his losses, and the large number of troops the Union deployed against him in Missouri had solidified the Union hold over Missouri. Price's raid was "barren of results". The battle of Glasgow is considered to have been a "token" victory.Citation |last=|first= |title="Civil War Missouri Price's 1864 raid" |url=http://civilwarmissouri.blogspot.com/2007/10/prices-1864-raid.html]

References

* [http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/mo022.htm U.S. National Park Service CWSAC Battle Summary]
* [http://civilwarmissouri.blogspot.com/2007/10/prices-1864-raid.html Civil War Missouri Price's 1864 raid ]
* [http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=SPH&p=/MineCreek/PricesRaid/ Society of Public Historians, Wichita State University, Kansas, United States]
* [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xcxWsmxRzVEC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=Battle+of+Glasgow&source=web&ots=BagwyFp0oA&sig=boKQjs1P2-0ODQGyFe5v9nVSS8Q&hl=en Missouri Roadsides: The Traveler's Companion By Bill Earngey]

Notes