Second Battle of Independence, 1864, Facts, Details, Significance, Civil War

Key facts about the Second Battle of Independence, which was fought on October 22, 1864, during the Civil War.

Portrait of Alfred Pleasonton — On the morning of October 22, 1864, Major General Alfred Pleasonton’s (pictured here) Union provisional cavalry force engaged the rearguard of Confederate General Sterling Price’s Army of Missouri along the Little Blue River east of Independence. [Wikimedia Commons]

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Date

October 22, 1864

Location

Independence, Missouri

Campaign

Price’s Missouri Expedition

Principal Union Commanders

Major General Alfred Pleasonton

Principal Confederate Commanders

Major General Sterling Price
Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby
Major General James F. Fagan
Major General John S. Marmaduke

Union Forces Engaged

Pleasonton’s Provisional Cavalry Division

Confederate Forces Engaged

Army of Missouri

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

Roughly 7,000

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

Roughly 7,000

Union Casualties

Unreported

Confederate Casualties

Roughly 400 (killed, wounded, and captured or missing)

Result

Union victory

Significance

Pleasonton’s victory dashed Price’s hopes of defeating Curtis’ Army of the Border before being caught in the Union vise.
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Written by Harry Searles