On Monday, September 19, 1864 Confederate troops under Sterling Price invaded Missouri in the last significant Confederate operation in the Trans-Mississippi theatre of war. Price hoped to capture St. Louis with its vast stores of military supplies; if Union defenses at St. Louis proved too strong, Price intended to then strike at Jefferson City, the state capital. Attacking first at Doniphan, Missouri Confederate Generals Stand Watie and Richard Gano successfully looted a Union wagon train at Cabin Creek, seizing 202 wagons, 5 ambulances, 40 horses, and 1253 mules, valued at one and one-half million dollars. Despite this success, Price’s one month long raid through both Missouri and Kansas ultimately would fail, contributing along with the fall of Atlanta, Georgia and Mobile, Alabama to the November re-election of Abraham Lincoln.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.