Cape Girardeau
Civil War Missouri

American Civil War
April 26, 1863

Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke sought to strike Brigadier General John McNeil, with his combined force of about 2,000 men, at Bloomfield, Missouri. McNeil retreated and Marmaduke followed.

Marmaduke received notification, on April 25, that McNeil was near Cape Girardeau. He sent troops to destroy or capture McNeil's force, but then he learned that the Federals had placed themselves in the fortifications. Marmaduke ordered one of his brigades to make a demonstration to ascertain the Federals' strength.

Colonel John S. Shelby's brigade made the demonstration which escalated into an attack. Those Union forces not already in fortifications retreated into them. Realizing the Federals' strength, Marmaduke withdrew his division to Jackson. After finding the force he had been chasing, Marmaduke was repulsed.

Meant to relieve pressure on other Confederate troops and to disrupt Union operations, Marmaduke's expedition did little to fulfill either objective.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: Cape Girardeau City

Campaign: Marmaduke's Second Expedition into Missouri (1863)

Date(s): April 26, 1863

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General John McNeil [US]; Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke [CS]

Forces Engaged: Garrison plus some reinforcements [US]; cavalry division [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 337 total (US 12; CS 325)


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Civil War Missouri History Book Club Additional Reading Titles

The Devil Knows How to Ride: The True Story of William Clarke Quantrill and His Confederate Raiders
William Clarke Quantrill was quite possibly the most dangerous man to fight in the Civil War. The leader of an almost psychopathic band of guerrilla warriors, Quantrill participated as a Confederate in a deadly border war between Southern sympathizers in Missouri and the Unionist Jayhawks of Kansas. He was largely responsible for the 1863 massacre of nearly 200 unresisting men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as dozens of other brutal acts that today would be called terrorism. Among the notorious men who rode with him were Frank and Jesse James, whose postwar crime careers are briefly reviewed.

The Civil War in Missouri, Day by Day, 1861 to 1865
Follow as events transpire across Missouri within those four long years. From raids and pursuit of the outlaws to the hunting down of Southern sympathizers and the Federal scouting parties across the state. Something for everyone in this book. This book is deemed by many readers as a Missouri classic.

Civil War on the Missouri-Kansas Border
This aspect of the Civil War is often misunderstood in that the majority of what we know has been passed down to us from the "victors" point of view. In fact, these were very, very hard times and a good case can be made that there were indeed no real winners in this not so isolated, but under reported, part of the war. Horrible, barbaric actions were consummated by both sides of this conflict. If we attempt to place ourselves at that time and place in history, we can well see where both sides had their grievances, and both sides were able to justify their atrocities.
 
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Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.