Missouri in the Civil War

United States   U.S. Civil War    Missouri    Missouri Military    Missouri in the Civil War



Introduction
Missouri was a border state and sent many men to the armies on both sides. Nearly 110,000 men fought for the Union, while about 40,000 served the Confederacy. They fought both in Missouri and in other states. Many battles and skirmishes were fought within Missouri itself.

Missouri Military Units
Most units were numbered, however, some were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and unassigned companies.

The information in the lists of Missouri Military Units comes from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors web site. That web site can also be searched by the name of a soldier.

Missouri Union Units by Number or by Name Union Units 1st-4th 5th-19th 20th-63rd A to G H to M N to Z

Missouri Union Units by Type of Unit Union Units Infantry Cavalry Artillery Home Guard Militia Other

Missouri Confederate Units by Number or by Name Confederate Units 1st-2nd <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">3rd-6th <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">7th-53rd <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">A-G <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">H-O <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">P-Z

Missouri Confederate Units by Type of Unit <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 85px; color: black; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">Confederate Units <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">Infantry <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">Cavalry <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">Artillery <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">State Guard <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(208,208,208); text-align: center">Other

Other Sources
The following source information is from Bob Ferguson's web site, Finding Confederates in Missouri.

History Books

 * Jay Monaghan, Civil War on the Western Border, 1854-1865 (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1955). This highly readable book provides a clear and entertaining account of the Kansas-Missouri strife, before and during the war. Politics, social life, as well as battle actions are thoroughly covered. This may be your best introduction to big picture of the war in Missouri.


 * Albert Castel, General Sterling Price and the Civil War in the West (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1968). An interesting account of Price who is the most important military leader in Missouri Civil War.


 * Michael Fellman,Inside War, The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989). This book must be read by anyone searching for Missouri Confederates, but it is sometimes a difficult book. The author (a professor in Canada) has obviously completed a thorough research into this most difficult area. I, however, found that he also brings an attitude to the book. For Fellman, brutalities committed by Union forces are understandable; equal brutalize committed by pro-Southern bushwackers are always to be condemned. The continual repetition of these points become quite tiresome. However, the reader is given a very vivid description the almost unbelievable horror that innocent folks (as well as the combatants) had to endure during and after the war.


 * Carolyn M. Bartels, The Civil War in Missouri, Day by Day, 1861-1865 (Shawnee Mission, KS: Two Trails Publishing, 1992). This book consists of a chronologically ordered sequence of events in Missouri. The sources are many but not documented, however it does have a useful index.

Books to Get Your Search Started

 * Carolyn M. Bartels, comp., The Forgotten Men, Missouri State Guard (Shawnee Mission, KS: Two Trails Publishing, 1995). These are the soldiers and officers of the Missouri State Guard (or Home Guards) organized by Sterling Price. Her sources are National Archive records, and sources are referenced. The body of the text is organized as an alphabetical list of soldiers' surnames and a separate index lists other names found in the text. There is also a casualty list index by name and place. With over 7000 individuals, there is a very good chance that anyone will find at least one Confederate ancestor.


 * Carolyn M. Bartels, Missouri Amnesty (self published but available from Two Trails Publishing, undated). Upon the close of the Civil War, suspected pro-Southerners were required to sign an oath of allegiance to obtain a Presidential pardon. Some signed the oath, and some, including one of my ancestors and his son-in-law, refused to sign the oath and were denied the right to vote. Many were forced from their land; my ancestors living in a pro-Southern community did not suffer this disgrace. Bartels again uses National Archive records and she includes many copies of original documents.


 * Joanne C. Eakin and Donald R. Hale, Branded as Rebels (self published but available from Two Trails Publishing, 1993). The subtitle is "A list of Bushwackers, Guerrillas, Partisan Rangers, Confederates and Southern Sympathizers from Missouri during the War Years." I highly recommend it as a source of your more mysterious Confederate ancestors. Most entries are references to sources which range from National Archives records to contemporary newspaper articles. It is interspersed with photographs and inserts on historical events.