Historical 1864 - Battle of Plattsburg Missouri.
                                                                                                                                                                                         Written by James Crofutt (Jan. 2010)
1864 Battle of Plattsburg Missouri

The 1864 fight at Plattsburg Missouri was not in any sense a great battle and in comparison with many subsequent engagements, it may have been deemed insignificant. It was however a bona fide Civil War battle, among the few actual fights between Union and Confederate soldiers upon the soil of Northwest Missouri.

We have been unable to find in the various published histories of Clinton County any real account of this engagement, and this fact among others has led to the preparation of this paper.  The fact that at this battle the blood of Missouri boys was shed is of itself enough to make it our duty to preserve from oblivion the story of struggle and victory.  But this is not all. The engagement viewed in the light of the moral effect and of the more substantial results achieved was by no means unimportant or insignificant. Whereas we do not have the room here to publish the entire story, we will however make an attempt to briefly cover the basic history of the original 1864 battle of Plattsburg Missouri.

What we do know is that the Plattsburg fight was fought on the morning of July 21st, 1864. It was fought just outside of town, between elements of the 89th Enrolled Missouri Militia and provisional Confederate forces under the command of Major John Thrailkill.

This Confederate force was a part of the recruiting efforts of Lieutenant Colonel John C. Calhoun “Coon” Thornton who had arrived in northwest Missouri earlier in 1863 for the purpose of recruiting a Confederate force. The goal was to rally a sizable number of recruits and then to join up with Confederate General Sterling Price when he would arrive in the area at the head of his army.

By the early summer of 1864 the increase in rebel activity in Northwest Missouri increased and on June 1st a skirmish occurred at Arnoldsville (a small town in southeastern Buchanan County) between Thornton’s men and local Enrolled Missouri Militia from St. Joseph. Thornton’s then moved south to Platte County and hit New Market, routing that garrison and capturing a considerable store of Horses, guns, and money.  ​On June 11th, Captain Benjamin F. Poe of the 89th Enrolled Missouri Militia from Plattsburg clashed at Ridgeley against Thornton’s men and was able to repulse them with several killed and wounded.





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​​​By July 20, Colonel Thornton had moved north into Caldwell County and attacked and plundered the pro-union town of Kingston Missouri and fighting a small skirmish at Mirabile.  By this time, federal authorities were quickly mobilizing what few active units were in the area and also activating those units of the Enrolled Missouri Militia that were known to be reliable. The chase was on and Thornton had to divide his force into smaller elements to avoid capture and in order to continue to operate.

Earlier in June, a part of 2 companies of the 89th Enrolled Missouri Militia had been activated and assigned to duty in Plattsburg and Ridgley. The Enrolled Missouri Militia or EMM for short, was the Civil War version of the Army National Guard. These men were enlisted into units, but allowed to stay home and tend to their farms. In the event of emergency or other needed duties, they could be called to duty and then would serve as soldiers in the field. By 1864, the majority of EMM troops were issued standard blue uniforms and muskets when called up.

By early July, the Company of the 89th EMM at Ridgley had been ordered to Plattsburg and the garrison now consisted of Company B (50 men) under the command of Captain Benjamin Poe and Company E (50 men) under the command of Captain John W. Turney. The entire garrison was under the command of Captain Poe.

They were receiving reports almost daily on the movements of Thornton and Thrailkill and on the evening of July 20, 1864 Captain Poe received word that a part of Thornton’s men was most likely heading towards Plattsburg and that the garrison should stay alert.
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McCulloch writes that Captain Turney replied “A friend to the Union” and leveled his pistol to fire. The Confederate rear guard immediately fired several volleys and McCulloch states that Captain Turney fell at the 2nd fire.

​Lieutenant McCulloch goes on to state that the patrol of the 89th EMM returned several volleys into the Rebel rear guard, and after a short and spirited fight the Rebs broke and fled in the wildest confusion.

​McCulloch (who at this point was now in command of the Patrol) stated that after routing the Rebel rear guard, they immediately returned to the body of Captain Turney and there wounded and made their way back to Plattsburg. They found Captain Poe and the rest of the 89th EMM with a company of Citizen home guards held up in the courthouse prepared to defend the town.

​But Thrailkill did not see fit to attack, as he had received word that a pursuing force of Missouri State Militia Cavalry from Cameron were pressing his rear and only a short distance away.

Thrailkill called off the attack and thus history officially records the battle of Plattsburg as a Union victory. Captain Poe and Captain Turney’s vigorous resistance repulsed Thrailkill, compelling him to withdraw his force in the direction of Haynesville.


​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Union Casualties were light, with only Captain Turney being killed and 1 man being mortally wounded and dying several days after the fight. 3 other men were slightly wounded making for a total of 2 killed and 3 wounded. Confederate Casualties have never been able to be determined because it was reported that they carried off their dead and wounded. However, subsequent reports from the pursuing MSM Cavalry and prisoners who were captured in the pursuit seem to point towards a Confederate loss of almost the same. At least 1 killed and 2 or 3 wounded.

The above is an ongoing research project by James Crofutt of St. Joseph MO. - It is hoped that in time further information will be revealed which will provide a more complete story on the original 1864 Battle of Plattsburg.
In early July, Colonel Thornton rode into Parkville and then Platte City. Both of these towns had garrisons occupied by elements of the 82nd Enrolled Missouri Militia, whose ranks were known to be filled with ex Confederate soldiers and southern sympathizers. They were commonly known to many as the Paw Paw militia. In Platte City, the Paw Paw’s formed up and cheered as Thornton rode into town. They stacked arms, took off their blue coats and opened up a secret stash of gray Confederate Jackets, put them on and eagerly joined Thornton. It was here that Major John Thrailkill arrived with an additional force of Confederate recruits further swelling Thornton’s command.

A few days later, Thornton and Thrailkill moved north to Camden Point where he had a store of gunpowder and supplies. They made camp in an open pasture just north of Town.

​​Camden Point was a well-known for its southern sympathies and the citizens hosted a picnic for Thornton and his recruits. During this picnic however Thornton was attacked by Union Cavalry and Militia forces in a surprise attack. After a short fight he was soundly defeated and his forces put to the route.

​For the next several weeks, federals chased Thornton and his rebels who had managed to escape from Camden Point, killing them on the spot where ever they could catch them. Both sides lost men during numerous skirmishes. However the majority of Thornton’s Recruits survived and was able to regroup.

​​On July 17, 1864 Thornton and Thrailkill attacked and defeated a detachment of the 2nd Colorado Cavalry near Fredericksburg near Excelsior Springs on the Clay-Ray County line. However he quickly had to withdraw from the area as a result of the pursuing federal forces.
That next morning, Captain Poe ordered a patrol and Captain John W. Turney, with a detachment of 26 men, headed out at 9 a.m. to reconnoiter and locate the Rebels.

The 89th EMM was a mounted Infantry organization, and according to a letter written by Lieutenant George W. McCulloch, they rode out of town mounted on horses, heading on the road southeast.

​According to Captain Poe, about 10 a.m. that morning the rebels appeared in force about 600 yards east of the town, and about 400 men strong under the command of Major John Thrailkill. He sent a messenger under a flag of truce and the following written communication, demanding the surrender of the town:
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​COMMANDING OFFICER AT PLATTSBURG: JULY 21, 1864.
I hereby demand an immediate surrender of the town. We are not bushwhackers, but Confederate soldiers. Your men will be treated as prisoners of War.

John Thrailkill Major,
Commanding Confederate forces.
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The message was received by Captain Benjamin Poe and he immediately sent the following reply to Major Thrailkill.

Maj. John Thrailkill: July 21, 1864
Sir: We are not here for the purpose of surrendering, but to defend the flag of our Country. –

B.F. Poe, Captain,
Commanding Post.
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Thrailkill did not appreciate the response and immediately ordered his men to dismount and began to deploy them for battle.
He also began to write another message to Captain Poe when after a few moments he heard firing commence and immediately threw away the paper and mounted his horse.

What was happening at this moment is best described by a letter written by Lieutenant George W, McCulloch who was a part of Captain Turneys Patrol. This letter was written in early August 1864 to the St. Joseph Newspaper, correcting a lot of errors in its original story about the battle.

According to Lieutenant McCulloch, the original patrol headed out and very quickly encountered fleeing citizens who reported that Thrailkill, with about 300 men, were advancing on Plattsburg from the east, north of the road that the patrol was currently on. McCulloch stated that Captain Turney immediately fell back to the outskirts of Plattsburg, dismounted his men and detailing a sufficient force to take the horses back to town, then formed the rest of the men as Infantry skirmishers, and entered the brush through which they had been told that Thrailkill was advancing.

McCulloch states that they were 18 men, Captain Turney and himself. They advanced through the brush without meeting anyone (Thrailkill having passed down the road, and the patrol entering the road in his rear). According to McCulloch, after making inquiries of a lady, who house that Thrailkill had passed, they again took to the woods, going in the direction where they were said to be.

​Captain Turneys Patrol very soon advanced on Thrailkill’s Rear Guard and was challenged by “Who Goes there”. Captain Turney stepped forward and answered “A friend”. The Rebel answered “A friend to who?”