Battle of Dry Wood Creek

Other Names: Big Dry Wood Creek, Battle of the Mules

Location: Vernon County, Missouri

Campaign: Operations to Control Missouri (1861)

Date: September 2, 1861

Principal Commanders: Col. J.H. Lane [US]; Maj. Gen. Sterling Price and Brig. Gen. James S. Rains [CS]

Forces Engaged: Kansas Cavalry Brigade (600 or 1,200 ?) [US]; column of Missouri State Guard (6,000 or 10,000 ?) [CS]

Casualties and losses: Total 36 (US 11; CS 25)

Result(s): Confederate victory

Brief Description:

Col. J.H. Lane's cavalry, comprising about 600 men, set out from Fort Scott to learn the whereabouts of a rumored Confederate force. They encountered a Confederate force, about 6,000-strong, near Big Dry Wood Creek. The Union cavalry surprised the Confederates, but their numerical superiority soon determined the encounter's outcome. They forced the Union cavalry to retire and captured their mules, and the Confederates continued on towards Lexington. The Confederates were forcing the Federals to abandon southwestern Missouri and to concentrate on holding the Missouri Valley.