Mine Creek Union order of battle

The following Union Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Mine Creek of the American Civil War. The Confederate order of battle is listed separately.

Command Disputes

By order of MG James G. Blunt (General Field Orders No. 2) the militia regiments of William H. M. Fishbeck, Brigadier General of Militia, were placed under the command of Charles W. Blair, Colonel of Volunteers; Fishbeck was infuriated that his command had been subordinated to a volunteer officer. Because Kansas law stated that militia should be kept under the command of militia officers, Fishbeck disregarded Blunt's order. Blunt had Fishbeck arrested and held until released by order of MG Samuel Curtis. Upon his release, Fishbeck resumed command of the Kansas Militia regiments, with orders to obey directives that came from MG Blunt. This rather cumbersome arrangement had BG Fishbeck in direct command of the militia units attached to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, and Col Charles Blair in overall command of the brigade. Howard N. Monnett describes the arrangement as a "brigade within a brigade". Blair and Fishbeck led the militia into action at Westport (accompanied onto the field by MG George W. Dietzler), and then in the subsequent pursuit of Price until MG Curtis ordered the militia to return home.^[1]

Abbreviations used

Military rank

• MG = Major General
• BG = Brigadier General
• Col = Colonel
• Ltc = Lieutenant Colonel
• Maj = Major
• Cpt = Captain
• Lt = 1st Lieutenant
• 2Lt = 2nd Lieutenant

Army of the Border

MG Samuel Ryan Curtis
Escort:

• 2nd Kansas Cavalry (battalion): Maj Henry Hopkins
• Company G, 11th Kansas Cavalry: Cpt C. L. Gove
• Company H, 15th Kansas Cavalry
• Mountain howitzer battery: Lt Edward Gill

Division	Brigade	Regiments and Others
First Provisional Cavalry Division      MG James G. Blunt Escort: Company E, 14th Kansas Cavalry: 2Lt William B. Clark	1st Brigade    Col Charles R. Jennison	15th Kansas Cavalry: Ltc George H. Hoyt 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry (5 companies): Lt James B. Pond Foster's Battalion, Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia: Cpt George S. Grover Mountain howitzer battery (5 12-pdr): 2Lt Henry L. Barker
	2nd Brigade    Col Thomas Moonlight	11th Kansas Militia Infantry: Col A. J. Mitchell Companies L & M, 5th Kansas Cavalry 11th Kansas Cavalry (9 companies): Ltc Preston B. Plumb Companies A & D, 16th Kansas Cavalry Mountain howitzer battery (4 12-pdr) [manned by Company E, 11th Kansas Cavalry]
	3rd Brigade [Kansas State Militia Division]    Col Charles W. Blair    BG William H. M. Fishbeck	6th Kansas Militia Infantry: Col James Montgomery Eves' Battalion Kansas Militia Cavalry: Ltc George Eves 2nd Kansas Light Artillery, Right Section: Lt Daniel C. Knowles 9th Wisconsin Battery: Cpt James H. Dodge
	4th Brigade    Col James Hobart Ford	2nd Colorado Cavalry: Maj J. H. Pritchard 16th Kansas Cavalry (detachment) McLain's Independent Colorado Battery (6 guns): Cpt W. D. McLain

Division	Brigade	Regiments and Others
Second Division      MG Alfred Pleasonton Escort: Company A, 11th Kansas Cavalry: Cpt Henry E. Palmer	1st Brigade    Col John Finis Philips	1st Missouri State Militia: Ltc Bazel F. Lazear 4th Missouri State Militia: Maj George W. Kelly 7th Missouri State Militia: Ltc Thomas Theodore Crittenden
	2nd Brigade    BG John McNeil	17th Illinois Cavalry: Col John Lourie Beveridge 7th Kansas Cavalry: Maj Francis M. Malone 2nd Missouri Cavalry: Cpt George M. Houston 13th Missouri Cavalry: Col Edwin C. Catherwood 3rd Missouri State Militia: Ltc Henry M. Matthews 5th Missouri State Militia: Ltc Joseph A. Eppstein 9th Missouri State Militia: Ltc Daniel M. Draper Battery B, 2nd Missouri Light Artillery Mountain howitzer battery (4 12-pdr)
	3rd Brigade    BG John Benjamin Sanborn	2nd Arkansas Cavalry: Col John Elisha Phelps 6th Missouri State Militia: Maj William Plumb 8th Missouri State Militia: Col Joseph J. Gravely 6th Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia: Col John F. McMahan 7th Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia: Maj W. B. Mitchell Battery H, 2nd Missouri Light Artillery: Cpt William C. F. Montgomery Battery L, 2nd Missouri Light Artillery: Cpt Charles H. Thurber
	4th Brigade    Ltc Frederick William Benteen	7th Indiana Cavalry: Maj S. W. Simonson 3rd Iowa Cavalry: Maj Benjamin S. Jones 4th Iowa Cavalry: Maj Abial R. Pierce 4th Missouri Cavalry (detachment): Cpt Charles D. Knispel [command combined with the 7th Indiana Cavalry] 10th Missouri Cavalry: Maj William H. Lusk

Notes

1. ^ Monnett p.44-45

References

• Buresh, Lumir F. October 25 and the Battle of Mine Creek (Kansas City, MO: The Lowell Press), 1977. ISBN 0-9135-0440-8
• Monnett, Howard N. Action Before Westport: 1864 (Niwot, CO: University Press of Colorado), 1995. [revised edition]

American Civil War portal

External links

• Artist Rendition of Battle
• Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site