Gallery: Missouri Enters the War
Sterling Price
Sterling Price was born on September 20, 1809 in Prince Edward County, Virginia, but moved to Missouri in 1831. There he began a political career, holding several offices, including state legislator, governor, and U.S. congressman. During the Mexican-American War, he was commissioned a brigadier general and later served as military governor of the New Mexico Territory.
Price initially opposed secession, but the Union capture of Camp Jackson in St. Louis in May 1861 and the subsequent riot and loss of life forced him to reconsider his position. He viewed the seizure of Camp Jackson as a violation of Missouri’s sovereign rights and when offered command of the newly authorized State Guard by Governor Claiborne Jackson, Price accepted.
Creating a base in southwest Missouri, Price recruited and trained more than 5,000 men. In July 1861, he joined forces with General Benjamin McCulloch to drive the Federals from Missouri. On August 10, 1861, their combined forces met the Union forces under the command of General Nathaniel Lyon at Wilson’s Creek, where they forced the outnumbered Federals to retreat, allowing the Southerners to occupy Springfield, Missouri.
Despite their victory, Price and McCulloch constantly quarreled, so their joint success was short lived. McCulloch retreated into Arkansas, while Price continued northward. After a three-day siege, he secured the surrender of the Union garrison at Lexington, Missouri in late September 1861, but was forced to retreat to Springfield that winter.
Price and McCulloch rejoined their forces in March 1862 under the overall command of General Earl Van Dorn, and suffered defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Price then accepted a major general’s commission in the Confederate army in March 1862 and assumed command of the 1st Division, Army of the West. He led troops in various battles, including Iuka and Corinth, Mississippi in 1862, Helena, Arkansas in 1863 and during Steele’s Camden, Arkansas Expedition in 1864.
In August 1864, he was given the opportunity to conduct a major raid into Missouri. After leading his men on a three-month campaign, covering 1,400 miles and fighting three large-scale battles, Price was driven from Missouri, ending the South’s major military operations in Missouri and the Trans-Mississippi Theater.
After the war, Price moved to Mexico where he remained until the fall of the French empire in 1866. Returning to St. Louis, Missouri, he died on September 29, 1867.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield
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