Battle of Hallsville & Mt. Zion Church

The Battle of Hallsville & Mount Zion Church

(BLUE CIRCLE) - Looking at the Map above, starting from the West near the old town of Middleton (Middletown), there was a camp of the Western Sharpshooters, known as Birge's Western Sharpshooters (66th Illinois). This camp was used often in the Winter of 1861 by the troops. A small skirmish happened here in the days before the Mt. Zion Battle.

(RED CIRCLE) - Rev. Elijah E. Chrisman's Residence was located on present day Rt. Z and during this time State Guard troops made themselves at home getting food as they passed by to Mt. Zion.

(RED/BLUE SQUARE W/STAR) - First Contact between the Capt. Howland (US) and Col. Dorsey's (CS) Rear Guard pickets. Shots were fired and there were some prisoners taken including Capt. Howland (US). The US troops started moving West towards Hallsville, Dorsey's men met up with the rest of the rear guard in Rev. Chrisman's Lane (Rt. Z) to get reinforcements.

(RED SQUARE) - Mt. Zion Church and the land surrounding was used by the State Guard as camping grounds. December 27th there would have been almost 900 men flowing into camp from Grandview and local areas. Here they were at the Robinson Cabin and Points farm, as well as the Flynt Farm using any shelter they could, to stay warm.

(RED HEXAGON) - This is Grandview, there was a store here that was opened in the mid 1850s called Sneed's Store, and was then known as Grandview for its Grand View of the Two Mile Prairie. This was a known stop for families traveling West in the early years from St. Charles. Here Col. Caleb Dorsey and others from Pike, Montgomery, and St. Charles County gathered to elect officers in the Missouri State Guard. They traveled SW to Mt. Zion the 27th to camp and recruit locally.

(RED STAR & BLUE STAR) - The Battle of Hallsville - This is the site of the main "Skirmish" between the forces of Capt. Howland (US) and Col. Dorsey (CS) took place near the cabin of Peter Carter, just East of the current OO bridge and Hecht Rd. Here the Federal troops turned and stood against the Guard troops. Being close to dark, many of the shots were too high, and went over the heads of both sides.

The Story

Compiled by James Dixon

The Leaders

Brig. Gen. Benj. Prentiss - Courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Col. John Montgomery Glover - Taken by Mathew Brady - Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Col. Caleb Dorsey - Courtesy of Missouri History Museum

Gen. Prentiss (US) to Sturgeon

On December 24, 1861, Brig. Gen. Benjamin Prentiss disembarked from Palmyra, MO through NE Missouri to Sturgeon, MO where he was to protect the North Missouri Railroad from Bridge Burners and Rebels in the area. Coming into Sturgeon on Dec 26th, Prentiss was informed of a body of men in the vicinity of the village of Hallsville. Information gathered by spies and informants, as well as troop reconnaissance of the area. On Dec. 27, Prentiss sent a company of cavalry to the area around Hallsville to scout and retrieve information to the enemy location and actions.

Col. Dorsey (MSG) in Command

During the winter of 1861, Gen. Sterling Price was sending men into Mid Missouri to recruit for the Missouri State Guard. The Guard was the State military force which was aligned with the Pro Southern government at that time under the control of Gov. Claiborne Fox Jackson. This caused a large flow of men and boys traveling through the brush North of the Missouri River to find a group to cross the river with to head South. In the area of Grandview Store (Doris Blvd / Rt. Z) troops were massing to organize their ranks. Col. Caleb Dorsey was voted by the commands to become their main commander. Officers were voted on and the men were now under the flag of the Missouri State Guard. They made their way East towards the farm lane of Rev. Chrisman (Turner Ln/Rt Z/ Hwy OO Area) to make their way towards Mount Zion Church where they would be headquartered for recruitment.

A Skirmish turns to Battle

Capt. Howland and his company had spread out along the roads East of Hallsville, when they made contact with the rear guard of Col. Dorsey's command near the farm of R. P. Waters (Doris Blvd). This caused great excitement in the ranks and a company of men were sent to follow the routed Federals along the Hallsville Road (Hwy OO). The Federals under Howland turned to fight those in pursuit, in doing so they threw down fence near the cabin of Peter Carter (Located just East of the Hwy OO Bridge and Hecht Rd). The troops were firing for about a half an hour, in the heat of the fight, Capt. Howland and one other were taken prisoner. The troops having lost their commander retreated back to Sturgeon, and the guard troops back to the church.

News gets to Prentiss

When the troops returned to Sturgeon at 9 pm, this caused a stir in the camp as Gen. Prentiss ordered all the men to be ready for marching by 2 AM. The troops were ready to go save their captain.

The March through Hallsville

Prentiss left Sturgeon at 2 am at a full march. He ordered 5 companies of Birge's Westerns Sharpshooters, and 5 troops of cavalry under Col. John Glover towards the scene of battle from the day before. After they marched for 6 hours arriving to the point of the fight East of town, they spotted a group of the rebels who were also viewing the scene from the day before. This made the chase commence. They followed the troops along the road (Hwy OO) and the front and rear guards were trading shots the whole way to the open prairie along the forest and brush East of the Church.

The Search for the Rebel Camp

The Federal forces went past the Rev. Christmans home and through the fields to the West. They were held in reserve near the intersection of the roads (Mt. Zion Church Rd/Rt. Z). Cavalry and Sharpshooters were engaged in fighting in the field North of the road as well as along the road going East towards the church. The Federals in the open were on high ground, but the State troops were in the brush and woods East of the church as well as in the area of the churchyard which holds a high ground as well. Many bullets were going overhead and below targets, causing lower numbers of casualties. The State troops only being armed with small rifles and shotguns, as well as a large number of the forces not being armed, caused them to run out of ammunition after the Federals charged Three times. The third being the ending break they needed, and causing the Guard troops to fall back and retreat with their supply wagons and their lives.

Rush to the Brush

The Federals had taken the Church and Flynt barn, which were being used as State Guard hospitals. They also had been using the Robinson cabin as a Federal hospital. The Federal troops chased the fleeing Guardsmen until they were unable to due to the thickness of the underbrush. The wounded Federals were loaded into wagons pressed into service from locals, and the wounded State troops were left in the care of locals. There were 7 soldiers buried in a mass grave in the cemetery. (Later reburied into single graves). Prentiss allowed for prisoners to be swapped at a later time.

This battle helped claim the Federal control over North Missouri until it would be tried again in 1864 with Price's raid into Missouri.