The Battle of Moore's Mill

The Battle of Moore's Mill. . , Combat Operations at Moore's Mill, Pursued by more than 700 mounted troops under Union Col. Odon Guitar about 260 Confederate horsemen under Col. Joseph C. Porter enter the vicinity of Moore's Mill (now Calwood) on Monday morning, July 28, 1862. Dividing his command about two miles north of here, near Old Auxvasse Presbyterian Church. Guitar has sent nearly 2/3 of his force under Lt. Col. William Shaffer across and south down Auxvasse Creek, which runs just east of here. Guitar's force includes elements of his own 9th Missouri State Militia Cavalry, three companies of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry under Maj. Henry C. Caldwell and Capt. George Duffield and a section of the 3rd Indiana Battery of artillery. Porter leaves a clear trail across an oat field to lure Guitar into an ambush nearby. , 11 a.m.-Noon (all times approximate) , Porter's men rendezvous in a sheltered camp in a deep ravine east of the Moore's Mill-Galbreath Mill road (roughly today's St. Rd. JJ) about one mile south of the Fulton-St. Charles road (today's St. Rd. Z). They march 500 yards to the road west and hide in the thick brush for about an hour. Moving far ahead of the Union column, Guitar's advance guard under Duffield (25 men, Col. E 3rd Iowa Cavalry) is ambushed by Porter's men and returns fire. Already riding up with flankers, Guitar orders the advance to dismount. Noon-12:10 p.m. , Porter's troops fire another volley and the Union advance scrambles for cover. Cursing, Guitar orders up the main column to deploy left and right (east and west) of the road; they take cover in the heavy brush. The advance's survivors join them, and Porter adjusts his line to face Guitar's perpendicular to the road., 12:10-12:20 p.m. , The remainder of Guitar's column under Major Caldwell, with the section of the 3rd Indiana Battery, arrives on the field. Guitar's orders a cannon to the front of the line, unlimbered and brought forward by hand because the road is so narrow. Guitar orders the rest of the troops to the east of the road. Capt. Alvin Cobb's men counter, crossing the road to the west and attacking Guitar's right (west) flank., 12:20-12:30 p.m. , The Union troops settle down to fight in earnest. Countering Cobb's westward movement, Guitar orders the second cannon deployed just behind his right flank so it can shell the road on the west side; Guitar also orders his right flank forward, effectively countering Cobb's forward movement., 12:30-12:45 p.m. , Porter orders his men to charge, which they do furiously with a rousing Rebel Yell, driving the Federals from their cannon and to their rear. The Confederates kill four cannoneers and several troops around them, including a bugler. Guitar unsuccessfully tries to steady his men, finally rallying them about 100 yards to the rear, where they stand their ground., 12:45-1 p.m. , His lines now holding, Guitar orders his men to counter charge but Porter's men hold their ground. For the next quarter hour there are constant charges and counter charges, with neither side gaining an advantage., 1:00-1:30 p.m. , Shaffer's absent force finally reaches the battlefield. His troops comprise detachments of Merrill's Horse Battalion (from Cos. A, C, E, F, G, H, I and K), Cos. B and D of the 10th MSM Cavalry and 38 Louisiana (Mo.) Independent Red Rovers cavalrymen. Stripping excess gear, they enter the fight dismounted. Guitar orders one company into reserve, another to reinforce his right flank and the rest of the extreme left flank, now extended past Porter's right. In response, Porter withdraws his line 50-75 yards backward, about 25-50 yards ahead of its original position. , 1:30-3:30 p.m. , Constant pressure and the weight of superior numbers slowly give the Federal troops the advantage their extending left and right flanks begin to enclose Porter's forces. By 2:30 or 3:00 p.m. Porter's men begin conserving their waning ammunition. Recaptured by the Federals, the cannon on their right flank pours devastating rounds of canister into Cobb's men., 3:30-3:45 p.m. , The closing circle of Federals forces Porter to order his men to withdraw, which they do in orderly fashion, retreating to the camp in the ravine. The companies of Captains Sylvester Penny and James W. Porter (the colonel's brother) do not get word, however, and thinking the others are being ordered to another part of the field, they stand their ground awaiting orders., 3:45-4:00 p.m. , Penny's and Porter's companies finally receive orders to withdraw and do so in an orderly way, but the fire from encircling Federals is intense. One of Captain's Penny's men is wounded and as Penny and three other men begin to carry the wounded man, he asks to be left on the field. As his compatriots lower him to the ground and then stand up, a round of canister from the forward cannon kills several, including Penny. The remaining Southern troops leave the field to the Federals who, exhausted, do not pursue., Mark K. Douglas (1953-2008) , Allen L. Conner (1959-2000), Close friends and heritage colleagues, Mark K. Douglas and Allen L. Conner thoroughly investigates the stages of the Battle of Moore's Mill in preparation for reenactments they helped organize near here in 1995 and 1997. The also led the restoration of the family cemetery of the central figure in the October 1861 "Kingdom of Callaway" compromise, Col. Jefferson Franklin Jones, the formative project of the Elijah Gates Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, of which Conner and Douglas were charter members. Each served as president of the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society and was also a gifted "living history" teacher. A regional historian, Douglas was author of Soldiers, Secesh and Civilians: Compiled Records of Callawegians in the War of the Rebellion (2001).