Civil War Ancestors and the Battle of Mine Creek
How often do the paths of our ancestors come close to crossing without their ever knowing it? As I have researched my Civil War ancestors, I have discovered men serving in units from Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Kansas. Recently, I started wondering whether any of those men—or their siblings—were involved in the Battle of Mine Creek , fought in eastern Kansas on October 25, 1864. It turns out that my family had several connections to the events surrounding that battle. The Battle of Mine Creek The Battle of Mine Creek was part of Confederate Major General Sterling Price's 1864 campaign through Missouri and into Kansas. By late October, Price's army was retreating south following its defeat at Westport. On October 25, Union cavalry caught part of Price's army near Mine Creek in Linn County, Kansas. The Confederate troops were hindered as they attempted to cross the creek with their wagons. Union cavalry under Colonel John F. Philips and Lieutenant Co...