General Sterling Price and the Civil War in the West by Albert E. Castel

1 Thus, Price was transferred back to the Trans-Mississippi. Still, Price remained popular in Missouri and Confederate leaders believed he could attract more volunteers there than anyone else.

Price quarreled with many commanders and even Confederate President Jefferson Davis. These feelings were not shared by his superiors. Known to his troops as “Old Pap,” Price was loved by his soldiers. Missourians fought throughout the Western Theater for the next two years while Price dreamed of leading a campaign that would wrest Missouri from Union control.

After Pea Ridge, Earl Van Dorn moved his Confederate army, including thousands of Missourians, east of the Mississippi River. Despite victories at Wilson’s Creek and Lexington, Price abandoned Springfield and retreated into northwest Arkansas as General Samuel Curtis’ Army of the Southwest moved through the state in February 1862. After the Camp Jackson Massacre in May 1861, he assumed command of the Missouri State Guard. Louis however, turned him against the Union cause. A moderate on secession, Price served as president of the convention that voted not to secede. He led Missouri volunteers in the Mexican War and later served a term as governor. Though a native of Virginia, Price was fiercely devoted to his adopted state. The battle ensured Missouri would remain under Union control indefinitely, a bitter disappointment for Missourians like Price.

Image courtesy of the Civil War Museum at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield.įew people took the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas on March 7-8, 1862, harder than Sterling Price.

General Sterling Price and the Civil War in the West by Albert E. Castel