28 Dec 61, Mt Zion Church, Mo - Battleground 4: Shiloh
| Rating: | 0 (0) |
| Games Played: | 0 |
| SM: | 2 |
| Turns: | 9 |
| Type: | Custom |
| First Side: | Union |
| Second Side: | CSA |
| Downloads: | 15 |
28 December 1861, Mt Zion Church, Mo [Curt Cabbage]
Brig. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss led a Union force of five companies of the Third Missouri Cavalry [Federal] and two companies of Birge's Western Sharpshooters into Boone County to protect the North Missouri Railroad, disrupt the organization of the secessionist Missouri State Guard, and generally overawe secessionist sentiment in the region. Prentiss's forces left the Northern Missouri headquarters in Palmyra, Missouri, on December 24.
After arriving in Sturgeon on December 26, Prentiss learned about a concentration of State Guard near Hallsville. He sent a company to Hallsville the next day that fought a State Guard detachment under the command of Colonel Caleb Dorsey and, in a 10-minute skirmish about one half mile north of Mount Zion Church, itself situated about 3 miles southeast of Hallsville and 15 miles northeast of Columbia. Prentiss's troops suffered casualties, including men taken prisoner, before retreating back to Sturgeon by 6 p.m.
On December 28 at about 2 a.m., Prentiss set out with his entire force to meet Dorsey's force. While the State Guardsmen numbered around 900, most appear to have been local volunteers, many of whom were not armed with military weapons (although many had personal civilian firearms of various types). A detachment of Prentiss's force routed one company of Guardsmen on the road from Hallsville around 100 yards east of Mount Zion Church and learned that the rest of the force was in the churchyard, situated on a high hill. The main campground was actually in a thicketted hollow immediately east of the church. Prentiss advanced on the State Guard positions, making three charges. At the third, the Confederates exhausted their ammunition, fell back to their wagons, and were overrun. The battle ended around 11 a.m.
Brig. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss led a Union force of five companies of the Third Missouri Cavalry [Federal] and two companies of Birge's Western Sharpshooters into Boone County to protect the North Missouri Railroad, disrupt the organization of the secessionist Missouri State Guard, and generally overawe secessionist sentiment in the region. Prentiss's forces left the Northern Missouri headquarters in Palmyra, Missouri, on December 24.
After arriving in Sturgeon on December 26, Prentiss learned about a concentration of State Guard near Hallsville. He sent a company to Hallsville the next day that fought a State Guard detachment under the command of Colonel Caleb Dorsey and, in a 10-minute skirmish about one half mile north of Mount Zion Church, itself situated about 3 miles southeast of Hallsville and 15 miles northeast of Columbia. Prentiss's troops suffered casualties, including men taken prisoner, before retreating back to Sturgeon by 6 p.m.
On December 28 at about 2 a.m., Prentiss set out with his entire force to meet Dorsey's force. While the State Guardsmen numbered around 900, most appear to have been local volunteers, many of whom were not armed with military weapons (although many had personal civilian firearms of various types). A detachment of Prentiss's force routed one company of Guardsmen on the road from Hallsville around 100 yards east of Mount Zion Church and learned that the rest of the force was in the churchyard, situated on a high hill. The main campground was actually in a thicketted hollow immediately east of the church. Prentiss advanced on the State Guard positions, making three charges. At the third, the Confederates exhausted their ammunition, fell back to their wagons, and were overrun. The battle ended around 11 a.m.
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