Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri

The Battle of Lexington

The Battle of Lexington After the victory at Wilson's Creek more men joined General Price's State Guard. He decided to follow up his victory by marching north and trying to win back the towns along the Missouri River. He thought if he was successful he would try to recapture Jefferson City, so he could put Jackson back in control of the state government. The first important river town Price wanted to capture was Lexington. This town was defended by Colonel James A. Mulligan's Twenty,third Illinois Infantry, a small force of about twenty,five hundred men known as the Irish Brigade. Mul, ligan knew he was going to be attacked and tried to get the Union army command in St. Louis to send help. The help did not get there in time. Price attacked Mulligan's men and finally forced them to surrender, but not until the Irish Bri, gade had held Price's army off for more than a week. This battle is sometimes called the "Battle of the Hemp Bales" because Price's men used bales of hemp as shields when they made the final attack on Mulligan's troops. Hemp was a plant used to make rope at the time of the Civil War. Quantrill probably fought in the Battle of Lexington, but he was getting tired of taking orders. After the battle he left Price to form his own group of irregular soldiers, or guerrillas, that was to become famous along the Kansas,Missouri border. Soon Frank James, Cole Younger, and others joined Quantrill. 27 28 Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri The "Battle of the Hemp Bales" in Lexington was fought in September 1861. (State Historical Society of Missouri) Jesse James would also join the guerrillas before the war was over. Although the Battle of Lexington was another victory for Price, he was not able to follow up on his success. The main body of Union troops in Missouri was marching toward Lexington to attack him, and he was running low on supplies. He needed to go south again to reorganize and get more supplies. He also wanted to have his State Guard troops become part of the regular Confederate army. General Price's troops marched to Neosho in southwestern Missouri, where Governor Jackson called a meeting of the members of the Missouri State Legislature still loyal to him. They voted to take Missouri out of the Union and join the Confederate government. Now General Price and his State Guard troops were a regular part of the Confederate army, and they were in control of southern Missouri. The Battle of Lexington 29 Back in the state capitol at Jefferson City, however, the part of the state legislature that remained loyal to the Union voted against Jackson. They said they no longer considered him to be the governor of the state. They appointed a new temporary governor named Hamilton Gamble. From this time on there were two Missouri governments-one that was part of the Confederacy and one that was part of the Union. Jackson first went to Arkansas with his family and twenty slaves. The True Democrat of Little Rock, Arkansas, published an interview with him on July 25, 1861. In it he said, "You see before you a fugitive from my own state, pursued by Federal bayonets. With two hundred men we fought the Hessians as long as we could." He later settled his family in Texas and worked to set up camps for Missourians who wanted to go south to join the Confederates. After Jackson's death in Arkansas in December 1862, Lieutenant Governor Thomas C. Reynolds took over the Missouri government in exile. He set up headquarters first in Arkansas and then in Marshall, Texas. This Missouri gov~ erninent was recognized by the Confederacy. ...