Qualla: Second Battle of Independence

Second Battle of Independence: Introduction

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Hal Jespersen. Verification of details can be found in Kyle Sinisi's The Last Hurrah: Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition of 1864, CC BY 4.0. A Unionist civilian pulled a chain off the road. Confederates had strung it across the street to block the Union cavalry's advance through Independence, but someone on their side quietly removed it. That small act of defiance captures the nature of the fighting in Independence, Missouri, on October 22, 1864 -- a battle waged not across open fields but through city streets, past houses and churches and the Temple Lot sacred to the Latter Day Saints. The Second Battle of Independence was part of Sterling Price's increasingly desperate raid through Missouri, and it ended with something almost unheard of in the Civil War: combat that continued well past dark, with the 3rd Iowa Cavalry pressing the Confederate retreat by moonlight until nearly 10:30 PM.

Image: Hal Jespersen. Verification of details can be found in Kyle Sinisi's The Last Hurrah: Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition of 1864 | CC BY 4.0

Second Battle of Independence: Caught Between Two Armies

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit ecjmartin1, Public domain. By October 22, Price's Army of Missouri was in serious trouble. The day before, his forces had pushed Union defenders back from the Little Blue River and occupied Independence. But Price was now caught between two Union forces: Major General Samuel R. Curtis's Army of the Border ...

Image: ecjmartin1 | Public domain

Second Battle of Independence: Pleasonton's Cavalry Strikes

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit ecjmartin1, Public domain. Contact came at 5:00 AM at the Little Blue River, where Confederate pickets from Slemons's brigade tried to slow the Union advance. The 13th Missouri Cavalry and 17th Illinois Cavalry of McNeil's brigade forced them back but were delayed by a burned bridge. By 10:00 AM an artille...

Image: ecjmartin1 | Public domain

Second Battle of Independence: Street Fighting at the Temple Lot

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0. Around 2:00 PM, McNeil resumed the advance with the 17th Illinois and 13th Missouri Cavalries as his main line and the 5th Missouri State Militia Cavalry as skirmishers. Pleasonton committed Sanborn's brigade, with the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry leading the attack. The Arkansans advanc...

Image: Chris Light | CC BY-SA 4.0

Second Battle of Independence: Fighting After Dark

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit ecjmartin1, Public domain. Both McNeil's and Sanborn's brigades were too exhausted and disorganized to pursue immediately. Clark's brigade held Independence until about 5:00 PM, then began falling back once Price's supply train was safely crossing the Big Blue. Pleasonton brought up fresh brigades under Br...

Image: ecjmartin1 | Public domain

Second Battle of Independence: Prelude to Westport

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit ecjmartin1, Public domain. Pleasonton claimed 400 prisoners and reported finding 40 Confederate dead on the field. Price acknowledged losing 300 to 400 men. Union losses were heaviest in McNeil's brigade but exact figures are unknown. During the post-battle cleanup, Union soldiers took over a local bank an...

Image: ecjmartin1 | Public domain