The Camden Expedition of 1864

by Michael J Forsyth

  While tobacco figured prominently in Price’s early education, his father intended for Sterling to have an education befitting a gentleman. After completing his primary schooling he passed the entrance exams to Hampden-Sidney College and started school in 1826. The independent-minded Price frequently disregarded the strict codes of the school as well as neglecting his studies. After one year Sterling dropped out of college instead choosing to take a law apprenticeship under a prominent lawyer. During this time Price began to form political opinions that would guide his judgment the rest of his life. The combination of his upbringing and education influenced him to become a Jacksonian Democrat.20

  Virginia’s competitive edge in tobacco waned in the 1820s, as did opportunities to expand plantations. Planters of the early 19th century needed to constantly find new land to maintain fertile holdings to grow tobacco. As the available land in Virginia gave out, many planters began to look further west to prime growing areas of Kentucky and Missouri. Pugh Price knew that he had no chance to elevate his status in the closed Old Dominion society. With this in mind in 1830 he determined to pack up everything and make a westward trek to find a new life in Missouri. Although a young man of 21, Sterling decided to accompany his parents on the arduous journey west. He too sought the chance to better himself and felt that the ample land of Missouri made the best offer.21

  Major General Sterling Price, commander of the Confederate District of Arkansas, defended southwest Arkansas with a hodgepodge of cavalry in hopes of soon reentering his home state, Missouri. Courtesy the United States Army Military History Institute.

  The Price family settled in Chariton County, Missouri, in 1831 after purchasing a large 4,886 acre tract of land. The farm they bought lay along the fertile Missouri River Valley. The locality was perfect for establishing a tobacco plantation capable of producing high quality leaf. The county was just beginning to reap the benefits of a flourishing tobacco economy. As one of its early settlers with a gentleman’s background, Sterling found it easy to achieve the social status his forebears had long sought to attain. The first step to climbing the social ladder came through winning election as captain of the militia company. At over six feet tall and 200 pounds, Price presented an imposing and martial appearance and enjoyed military airs.22

  A rising citizen in the county, Sterling was able to parlay his position into business acquaintances and within a few years won recognition as a leader in the community. His success only whetted his appetite as he turned to politics to solidify his position. As a slaveholder Price fit naturally as an old line Democrat. He believed in limited government, the right to hold slaves, and opposed establishment of a national bank. The society he moved in reflected these core beliefs and his fellow citizens sent him to the state legislature in 1835.23 With every success Price’s self-importance, ambition, and vanity grew and associates in the Civil War would find these traits insufferable. In a mere two years his popularity propelled him to the speaker’s chair of the state house.

  Exemplifying his drive to maintain his status was the role he played in expelling the Mormons from Missouri. The Mormons arrived in Missouri after their expulsion from Illinois and had managed to put their lives back together. They built prospering communities on the Missouri upstream from Chariton County. However, their differing beliefs made many uncomfortable and some Missourians thought them subversive of tradition. As a result, citizens along the river valley began clamoring for the Mormon “threat” to clear out of the region. By 1839 unrest reached its zenith as the governor called out the militia to punish the “menace.”24

  Sterling Price as the leader of the militia enthusiastically answered the call to arms and assembled his unit. Brigaded with other county militia units, the whole marched upstream to quell the “uprising.” In an ugly episode the Missouri militia went on a rampage of murder and plunder as they meted out what they called punishment. The remainder of the Mormon community in Missouri would join the great migration west following the events that destroyed their homes.25 This was Price’s first taste of military service. The success boosted his prestige and helped vault him to election to the U. S. Congress. Price enjoyed the popularity and came to believe in his own questionable abilities as a military commander. The laurels of the Mormon Expedition would pale in comparison to future campaigns in Mexico and the glory it would win him.

  Price entered the House in 1846 and although he was known as a poor orator, he exuded charisma that enabled him to work behind the scenes to get what he wanted with an “unobtrusive but relentless pressure.” This presence made him a highly successful legislator and helped him to make lifelong, beneficial alliances as well as jealous enemies.26 During the Civil War such influence and powers of persuasion allowed him to gain what he wanted with Kirby Smith and created turbulent controversy with Jefferson Davis.

  In 1846 the Texas question took front and center in American foreign policy. Sterling Price was a great supporter of immediate annexation of the fledgling republic and his support of the Polk Administration on the issue won him a controversial commission as colonel of volunteers.27 Always seeking personal advancement, Price viewed the opportunity to command a regiment in combat as a ticket to even higher office in politics. He returned to Missouri in late 1846 to recruit and prepare for a long march to New Mexico.

  Price exhibited an independent streak bordering on insubordination throughout his career as an officer. His commission authorized him to raise a regiment of infantry, yet Price ignored this directive instead opting to raise a mounted unit. His superiors did nothing to prevent his initiative and accordingly Price saw it as vindication of his military judgment.28 His overestimation of his military prowess would cause him significant problems over the course of his military career.

  Upon arrival at Santa Fe for duty in the New Mexico Territory, the 2nd Missouri Volunteers quickly gained a reputation as an undisciplined mob. His commanders—first Stephen Kearney and later Alexander Doniphan—criticized Price’s inattention to discipline. His failure to control his men contributed to unrest in the territory as his men committed daily outrages against the local populous. Unrest soon boiled over into outright rebellion as the Mexicans and Indians rose up against the occupation forces. After the rebels assassinated the territorial governor, the Missourians brutally retaliated. After a sharp battle at the village of Puebla de Taos, Price’s men wreaked havoc in the town. But they did restore order and Price had exercised sound military tactics in deploying his troops.29 His lack of control over his men would carry over to the Civil War and many of his associates would question his competence because of this trait.

  After long garrison duty it appeared that the Mexican War would end with no further action for Price and his men. Late 1847 changed the outlook as rumors of a Mexican thrust on El Paso began to surface in the Mexican province of Chihuahua. Promoted to brigadier general and independent command at Santa Fe, Price sought an opportunity to solidify his military reputation by proposing a campaign into Chihuahua to spoil the expedition before it started. The War Department denied Price’s request. Yet, Price instead decided to disobey in a blatant display of insubordination, giving orders to his men to prepare to march in early 1848. Placing credence in his judgment over that of the War Department, he moved on February 23.30 His disregard of orders would also crop up time and again in his career.

  Lightly provisioned, Price moved with swiftness so that he could cover ground quickly undetected. However, he nearly defeated his own offensive by discounting the reality of needing logistical support in hostile territory. With provisions running low he arrived at the town of Chihuahua, the provincial capital, where 800 Mexicans barricaded themselves. He decided that he must attack the town immediately or run the risk of having to retreat. After arranging his assault force with admirable skill, Price stormed the city taking it with minimal casualties.31 It was nothing short of stupendous and Price’s reputation skyrocketed. In spite of his disregard for orders and failure to see to his own logistics, Price s
ecured the U. S. border with Mexico. Instead of reprimand he received accolades and a promotion to major general of volunteers32 and his confidence in his military ability reached new heights. The habits displayed in Mexico—lax discipline, arrogance, and flouting superiors—would carry over through to the 1860s making him a difficult and unreliable subordinate.

  Price made a triumphal return to Missouri after the Mexican War receiving a hero’s welcome. Having spent several years away from home Price attempted to spend time with his large family and tend to plantation business. But, as a popular figure in the state many sought his opinion on the pending sectional crisis. Lacking the gift of oration and mindful of public opinion, Price hesitated to take a stance until he gathered his thoughts and consulted close friends.33

  At issue was whether or not to admit slavery into new states as the country expanded westward. Missouri stood at the center of the controversy and found itself torn by the competing interests. Democrats leaned toward allowing slavery in the territories while Free-Soil Whigs pushed to prevent extension of the institution. As a slaveholder and Democrat Price naturally opposed prohibition of slavery in the territories. Price attempted to remain neutral because he believed that the whole issue with the passions it spawned could explode into a civil war. As a politician he felt this was the best course to follow in order to maintain his public standing. His moderate stance, seen by some as fence-sitting, became a calming influence in state politics and won him an unexpected election to the governorship in 1852. Inaugurated in 1853, the Price Administration represented the calm before the storm of the 1860s in Missouri. As he was a supporter of the Compromise of 1850 and a fiscal conservative, Missouri experienced a rather tranquil and prosperous four years due to his quietly competent leadership.34 Soon the secession question would thrust itself in full force upon the citizens of Missouri tearing the state apart.

  Price, in spite of his slaveholding background, vehemently opposed secession. He believed that secession would only lead to a destructive war for both Missouri and the country. He aligned himself with Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and that faction of the Democratic Party that advocated sectional compromise. His support of the Union, however, was conditional. Should the North engage in an effort to suppress the South by force of arms, Price would then draw his sword in favor of the South.35

  On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, fired on the 80-odd Federals holed up in the masonry post at Fort Sumter. Three days later President Lincoln issued a call of volunteers from the states remaining in the Union to put down the rebellion. This pushed the states of the Upper South into the rebel camp while the border states vigorously debated seceding as well. Lincoln’s proclamation included a requirement for Missouri to supply a share of the volunteers. Claiborne F. Jackson, newly inaugurated governor of Missouri, responded with a terse note refusing to comply on grounds that it was “illegal, unconstitutional … diabolical.”36 This did not mean Missouri desired secession; on the contrary, most Missourians remained loyal to the Union but believed it morally wrong to subdue the South by use of force. In effect, Missouri sought neutrality, but this would prove elusive as proponents of secession and Unionists prepared for a fight for the state.

  Price officially maintained his loyalty; however, in private he stated that should Lincoln carry out his plan to coerce the South he as “a military man … can’t fight against the South.” While Price guarded his counsel, Governor Jackson began a covert campaign to deliver Missouri to the Confederacy. Simultaneously, Missouri politician Francis P. Blair and Union brigadier general Nathaniel Lyon moved to hold the state in the Federal fold. Blair and Lyon gained the upper hand when they forcibly drove off pro-Southern militia at Camp Jackson outside St. Louis. Infuriated, Price now offered his service to the state. This offer was conditional as he intended only to fight for Missouri and not the Confederacy. Lyon consolidated his gains by moving Federal troops into the heart of the state. Price attempted one final effort to maintain Missouri’s neutrality by meeting with Lyon on June 12, 1861, in St. Louis. The stormy meeting ended when Lyon boldly stated that he would see “every man, woman, and child in the state dead” before he would give up the Federal government’s right to rule.37 This event convinced Price of his course and he immediately declared his support for the Southern cause.

  Price, commander of the State Guard, issued orders to mobilize the militia in readiness to meet the expected Federal move into the heart of the state. While Price scrambled to formulate a scheme for defending the state Lyon vigorously moved into central Missouri. In a matter of days he sent Price’s rabble State Guard reeling into the southwest corner of the state as he occupied the capital at Jefferson City. Price now assembled his men at a place called the Cowskin Prairie.38 Here began an irritating pattern of Price tactlessly calling for the liberation of Missouri with Confederate help.

  Price’s army more closely resembled a mob then a military formation. The State Guard was devoid of organization, equipment, weapons, ordnance, and most disturbing, discipline. Price issued a series of general orders aimed at bringing order out of chaos. Some of these actually specified the number of tents allocated to the troops and authorized officers to procure them by any means possible.39 Meanwhile, General Ben McCulloch, who had brought a Confederate force to the Cowskin Prairie, wondered if he had made a mistake coming when he saw the condition of Price’s army. McCulloch considered going back to Arkansas, but impassioned objections by Price convinced him to remain.40

  Price now began to plea for offensive action in spite of his lack of almost all military necessities reminiscent of his Mexican War campaign in Chihuahua. Lyon was now working his way into southwest Missouri in an effort to sweep the entire state clean of the State Guard. McCulloch once again reluctantly agreed to Price’s entreaties and they began to move forward from the prairie on July 25. Lyon, now himself running short of supplies and suffering a loss of most of his army by expired enlistments, decided to strike Price first. He divided his forces into two striking columns and attempted to crush Price and McCulloch’s combined army at Wilson’s Creek on August 10. In a situation representative of the lax discipline in the State Guard, Price’s cavalry had failed to post pickets and Lyon initially took the Confederates completely by surprise. Only fast thinking and courageous action by both Price and McCulloch saved the day for them. Recovering quickly they formed a line on Oak Hill and by the creek, first blunting Lyon’s attack and then turning the tables. In the melee Lyon was killed and the Federals retreated back toward Springfield and hence to Rolla.41

  The victory at Wilson’s Creek passed the initiative from the Federals to the Rebels in Missouri and Price sought to follow it up with a triumphal sweep of the state. McCulloch once again balked and this time did return to Arkansas leaving Price to his own devices in Missouri. In spite of a continued deficit of resources, Price decided upon a drive to the Missouri River Valley with his objective Lexington. To assist his efforts he sought to rally public opinion by issuing grandiose proclamations to assure the citizens and attract additional levies to his army.42

  In early September Price started his march northward. By September 13 his army was approaching Lexington garrisoned by 3,500 Federal troops under Colonel James Mulligan. The Union post was a formidable fortification encompassing extensive traverses, rifle pits, seven cannon, and obstacles in the form of sharpened stakes. Price, realizing the difficulty of taking the place by storm, invested the works in a siege. The threat of a Federal relief column convinced Price that he did not have time to wait out Mulligan; rather, he would have to storm the place. After an initial failed assault on September 18 his army attempted taking it again a couple of days later using a new tactic. Improvising, Price’s men gathered hemp bales from the Missouri River wharves and placed them in a line for use as a rolling barricade. The Union troops were short of water and ammunition and quickly became demoralized by the sight of the slowly advancing line of hemp bales. When the Confederates moved
to within 125 yards of the fort, Mulligan surrendered.43 Lexington represents the zenith of Price’s military career. It brought him accolades from fellow Missourians and the entire South. It also confirmed his inflated opinion of his abilities and reinforced his disdain for consideration of logistics in military operations.

  Following Lexington Union forces mobilized to expel Price from the state. Price found himself in a slowly closing trap and decided that he must retreat or face destruction. Frustrated, he retreated from Lexington all the way to northwest Arkansas as the Federals launched a winter offensive. Yet, Price still searched for some way to move back into Missouri. He would not have to wait long to make an attempt. The Confederate government recently appointed an aggressive general, Earl Van Dorn, to take charge of all forces west of the Mississippi. The purpose behind appointing Van Dorn was to bring unity of effort to a chaotic situation. Van Dorn made a quick assessment of the status of his command and determined to make a counter-offensive much to the delight of Price. He had to temper his satisfaction as Van Dorn ordered him and McCulloch to unite their forces for the offensive, reestablishing a frustrating partnership for both men.44

  The short-lived effort to recover Missouri culminated at an unknown corner of northwest Arkansas known as Pea Ridge. Van Dorn, much like Price, tended to ignore realities when planning the campaign and entered into the movement without considering logistics or the capabilities of his army. Van Dorn’s plan initially appeared to work as the newly christened Army of the West stole a march on Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis’ Union Army of the Southwest. However, the inability to adequately supply the troops with subsistence and simply asking too much from mortals doomed the offensive. This allowed Curtis to recover from his own miscalculations and enabled him to meet Van Dorn’s larger force at an advantage. After a hard-fought two day battle that saw Price wounded leading his troops with characteristic courage, the Confederates were forced to retreat.45 Price bitterly criticized Van Dorn for his conduct of the campaign and the treatment of the soldiers. He could not dwell on this for long as his Missourians received a request to aid hard pressed Confederate armies east of the Mississippi.