THE FIRST BATTLE OF LEXINGTON, MO The Battle of the Hemp Bales

The First Battle of Lexington: "Battle of the Hemp Bales" 

The Union held control of Missouri during the first year of the Civil War.  By the end of June, the pro-secessionist governor, members of his cabinet and legislature had been driven into exile and a pro-Union government controlled the state. The tide turned on Aug 10, 1861.  The Union army was soundly defeated at the bloody Battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield, and with heavy losses, their forces scattered. 

Gen Price

A Southern offensive moved up into the Missouri River valley. In late August, Gen Sterling Price, commander of the State Guard, sent his 7,000 men to the prosperous and strongly pro-South Missouri River town of Lexington, east of Kansas City. On Sep 12, he arrived in Lexington but decided to wait for the remainder of his forces, most of them veterans of Wilson's Creek.  His total force would be 12,000.  

While Price was heading to Lexington, 2,700 troops under the command of Union Colonel James A. Mulligan fortified themselves inside the grounds of the Masonic College in Lexington. Just a few days before, a Union brigade of Irish soldiers from Chicago had joined the small cavalry detachment.  Mulligan had raised the 23rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1861, known as the "Irish Brigade." In Sep 1861, when word was received that Lexington, a vital river town, was the focus of the Missouri State Guard, he led his troops toward Lexington, MO.

On Sep 12, skirmishes broke out between the forces but Price was waiting for the rest of his force to arrive before attacking.   

Sep 17, Price’s ammunition wagons arrived.  The Confederates cut the water supply.  On Sep 18, Price's army mounted an all-out assault on Mulligan's troops, which failed. 

Recruits poured in from the countryside and Price's army had grown to about 12,000.  To the strains of "Dixie", Price's men marched through Lexington and completely encircled the college. For the next 9 hours, the Union troops received a near-continuous bombardment. The entrapped Union had run out of water by then and were suffering greatly from thirst and heat.

Replica of Masonic College built on original site

On Sep 20, the Southerners advanced on the fortification by rolling large bales of hemp in front of them.  The bales had been soaked in the river so they would not catch fire. By early afternoon, the snakelike line of bales had advanced close enough to the Union trenches for a charge.  A brief but bloody hand-to-hand fight took place before being driven back into their entrenchments. Mulligan and most of his officers were wounded; by 2:00 PM, Mulligan had surrendered. Price secured the town with only 25 men killed and 72 wounded. Union losses numbered 39 dead and 120 wounded.

Price was reportedly impressed by Mulligan's demeanor and conduct during and after the battle that he offered him his own horse and buggy, and had him safely escorted to Union lines.

Price captured 5 artillery pieces, 3,000 rifles, and 750 horses. Price also returned some $900,000 that had looted from the local bank; he became a hero throughout the South. 

In response to the defeat at Lexington, the Union commander in Missouri, Gen John Fremont, mounted a massive force to drive Price from Missouri. In the face of this threat, Price had little choice but to retreat back to southwest Missouri. Lexington and the Missouri River Valley once again returned to Union control.

MONUMENT
East side inscription:

"Following victories in Southwestern Missouri, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price and 10,000 men of the Missouri State Guard marched north with the objective of breaking the Federal line along the Missouri River. On Sept. 12, 1861 the Guard engaged and drove a Federal force near Warrensburg into the fortifications at Lexington. The 3,600 man garrison led by Col. James A. Mulligan, was invested that day by the Guard and the Siege of Lexington commenced. Price was joined by 8,000 volunteers from Northern Missouri, and on the 18th stormed the outer defenses and severed the fort's access to water. On the 19th the Guard deployed hemp bales as a breastwork and on the 20th rolled the bales towards the Federal line. Faced with no means of resistance, Mulligan surrendered his command, arms and equipment. The Guard recaptured the State Seal and archives, and returned to the local bank over $900,000 taken by the Federal troops. This was the most complete victory for the South in 1861."

West side inscription:

"This monument is respectfully dedicated to the men of the Missouri State Guard, the legally established militia of the State, who first took up arms in 1861, and, marching and fighting under the blue battle flag of their beloved Missouri, did their whole duty as God gave them light to see that duty, and sacrificed everything but honor, in the defense of their State's sovereignty and the cause of constitutional rights."