The Collapse of Price's Raid: The Beginning of the End in Civil War Missouri (SHADES OF BLUE & GRAY) by Mark A. Lause

by Mark A. Lause

As the Civil War was drawing to a close, former Missouri governor Sterling Price led his army on one last desperate campaign to retake his home state for the Confederacy, part of a broader effort to tilt the upcoming 1864 Union elections against Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans. In The Collapse of Price’s The Beginning of the End in Civil War Missouri, Mark A. Lause examines the complex political and social context of what became known as “Price’s Raid,” the final significant Southern operation west of the Mississippi River.The success of the Confederates would be measured by how long they could avoid returning south to spend a hungry winter among the picked-over fields of southwestern Arkansas and northeastern Texas. As Price moved from Pilot Knob to Boonville, the Raid brutalized and alienated the people it supposedly wished to liberate. With Union cavalry pushing out of Jefferson City, the Confederates took Boonville, Glasgow, and Sedalia in their stride, and fostered a wave of attacks across northern Missouri by guerrillas and organizations of new recruits. With the Missouri River to their north and the ravaged farmlands to their south, Price’s men continued west.At Lexington, Confederates began encountering a second Federal army newly raised in Kansas under General Samuel R. Curtis. A running battle from the Little Blue through Independence to the Big Blue marked the first of three days of battle in the area of Kansas City, as the two Federal armies squeezed the Confederate forces between them. Despite a self-congratulatory victory, Union forces failed to capture the very vulnerable army of Price, which escaped down the Kansas line.The follow-up to Price’s Lost The 1864 Invasion of Missouri, Lause’s The Collapse of Price’s Raid is a must-have for any reader interested in the Civil War or in Missouri state history.

Genres: Transmississippi, American Civil War

Hardcover

First published July 15, 2014

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sterling Price was one of the leading generals from across the Mississippi. He had served as governor of Missouri and, later in the Civil War, wanted to lead a campaign to free Missouri from the Federal control of the state. The resulting campaign was a mess--with both sides mismanaging key parts of the maneuvering.

Why did Andrew Jackson Smith, an underappreciated Union general, never get into combat. Appallingly bad strategic thinking by the head of the Missouri district--General William Rosecrans (which could be a genius--as at Tullahoma--or a poor commander--as at Chickamauga). Smith's troops were ordered to repair railroads--surely a poor use of their skills with an invading army under Price moving ahead.

Another shocking feature of this work is the depiction of the thin resources of Union forces. They depended on militias, normally an extremely bad idea. Samuel Curtis, a capable general (think Elkhorn Tavern), had few military resources--but was late to combat, not an altogether flattering portrayal. Then, the former head of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac who had been sacked--John Pleasonton. Not one of his best efforts.

Price was not one of the greatest Confederate generals. What one ended up with was a mediocre campaign by both sides. In the end, though, the Union forces triumphed. The last gasp of the Confederacy at a large scale in Missouri.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the author did make some comments about the abilities and some choices of the Union high command, Mr. Lause again simply told the story of the campaign, mostly without analyzing the battle tactics and strategies used. Also, the book had absolutely no maps at all and there was no separate bibliography of the sources mentioned in the endnotes.