Second Battle of Lexington Facts

October 19, 1864

Key facts about the Second Battle of Lexington, fought on October 19, 1864,

Portrait of Sterling Price

On October 19, 1864, elements of Confederate General Sterling Price’s (pictured here) Army of Missouri defeated Major General James G. Blunt’s division of the Union Army of the Border near Lexington, Missouri. [Wikimedia Commons]

Date

  • October 19, 1864

Location

  • Lexington, Missouri

Campaign

Principal Union Commanders

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

Confederate Forces Engaged

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

  • Roughly 2,000

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

  • Roughly 12,000

Union Casualties

  • Roughly 40 (killed, wounded, and captured or missing)

Confederate Casualties

  • “Very light” (killed, wounded, and captured or missing)

Result

  • Confederate victory

Significance

  • Although the engagement was a Confederate victory because the Federals retreated, General Blunt gathered intelligence regarding the weaponry and size of Price’s force that would prove invaluable as the campaign continued.