Battle of Fort Davidson Facts

Key facts about the Battle of Fort Davidson, fought on September 26-27, 1864.

Portrait of Sterling Price — Eager for a morale-boosting victory early in his expedition into Missouri, Major General Sterling Price attacked Fort Davidson, a lightly defended Union garrison, about eighty miles south of St. Louis, on September 26, 1864. [Wikimedia Commons]

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Date

September 26-27, 1864

Location

Near Pilot Knob, Missouri

Campaign

Price’s Missouri Expedition

Principal Union Commanders

Brigadier General Thomas Ewing

Principal Confederate Commanders

Major General Sterling Price
Major General James F. Fagan
Major General John S. Marmaduke

Union Forces Engaged

Fort Davidson garrison
Two companies of Iowa volunteer soldiers

Confederate Forces Engaged

Fagan’s Division, Army of Missouri
Marmaduke’s Division, Army of Missouri

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

Roughly 1,456

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

Roughly 5,700–8,700

Union Casualties

213 (killed, wounded, and captured or missing)

Confederate Casualties

Estimated 1,100 (killed, wounded, and captured or missing)

Result

Tactical Confederate victory
Strategic Union victory

Significance

Thomas Ewing’s stubborn holdout during the Battle of Fort Davidson secured valuable time for Union officials to strengthen their defenses around St. Louis, forcing Price to abandon plans to capture the city.

Written by Harry Searles