County of site: Wayne County
Location of site: Cemetery Rd., (Wayne County Rsd. 312B), S. of MO 34, pass house up hill to site, Patterson
Marker on site erected by: The Wayne County Historical Society
Date marker erected: Date Marker Erected: November 1, 2003
Marker text:
FORT BENTON
Patterson, Missouri
A natural hill used as an outpost during the Civil War by the Union Army to defend against Confederate invasion from the south.
Named for General William Plummer Benton, who was commissioned to fortify the fort in November, 1862.
Purchased by the Wayne County Historical Society and supporters in January, 1999.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Places, October 2002.
Dedicated November 1, 2003 in memory of those who gave their lives here, for what they believed. May this nation never forget the lessons learned from this conflict.
"Back in 2001 Lou Wehmer and myself were speakers at the Battle of Pilot Knob reenactment. Afterwards a gentleman, Petit Croy I think, acted as our guide to a few Civil War historical sites, including Fort Benton above Patterson, the Cowan Cemetery and the Mingo Swamp Massacre site (swamp long since drained away).
"He also took us up the route of the 3rd MSM's retreat from Patterson. It was well-chosen by the 3rd's commanding officer, and it was easy to see how a few hundred Federals were able to save themselves from annihilation in the face of Marmaduke's 5000 man force.
"It was pretty much a running fight, almost epic in nature in reading a variety of first person accounts from both sides, with Company E and Company I taking up the rear guard for the 3rd MSM. Those two companies were pretty much wiped out. They slowed the Confederate advance enough, however, to allow the rest of the regiment time regroup and set up a defense at Stony Battery along Big Creek. It was a strong enough position that the Confederates chose not to attempt to over run it.
"Anyway, the plan for retreat goes to illustrate that the men at that forward outpost recognized the tenuous nature of their position. They didn't even try to man the fort above Patterson (Fort Benton), apparently feeling Stony Battery was more defensible. I suppose it also had to do with the fact that had they manned the fort, they certainly would have been surrounded with no avenue for escape. At Stony Battery they still had an out, and could even be directly reinforced by Federal troops coming down from Pilot Knob. If they had manned Fort Benton, Federal reinforcements would have had to have fought through 5000 Confederates to get to them.
"By the way, this fight is the only one I have ever been able to identify wherein an entire Missouri State Militia regiment fought as a single unit. Of course MSM companies and even battalions fought scores of actions, but never did the MSM fight as a full regiment, to my knowledge, except at Patterson and Stony Battery on April 20, 1863.
"In my in-depth research of this particular action I have come across a first-person Confederate account where the Rebs were trying to move up the hill to capture Fort Benton (not knowing it wasn't manned), and were hindered by a large amount of telegraph wiring that was criss-crossed along the ground that was designed to entangle and slow down anyone trying to charge up the hill. Interesting tactic that you don't hear much about elsewhere.
"In retreating from Patterson, the 3rd MSM put a torch to most of the town of Patterson. I have come across a first person account by a veteran of the 3rd MSM acknowledging the action. It was done because of the large amount of supplies that were there--they couldn't be removed in the hasty retreat, so they were destroyed. The quickest and most efficient way of destroying those supplies was to burn the buildings they were in.
"There has been a great deal of mystery surrounding just who it was that burned Patterson during this raid. Marmaduke and a number of other Confederates were actually sued after the war for the burning of Patterson. Anyway, the Confederates didn't burn Patterson, the Federals did--no reason for the Union veteran to lie about it, and his explanation regarding why makes good tactical sense." ~ The Missouri Civil War Message Board