Civil War Mural Series - Cuba, MO
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 03.689 W 091° 24.371
15S E 639820 N 4213835
A series of five murals depicting Civil War action in the vicinity in the fall of 1864.
Waymark Code: WME0Z
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 06/01/2006
Published By:
TVN
Views: 120
"In 1864, an estimated 12,000 troops under Major General Sterling Price
invaded southeast Missouri. On September 27th they surrounded Fort
Davidson, a small earthwork at Pilot Knob. The Union garrison numbered
1262 troops and about 150 civilians, under the command of Brigadier General
Thomas J. Ewing.
Price's soldiers attacked in three waves, the final desperate
assault reaching the dry moat surrounding the fort. They were repelled by
a combination of fierce fire and hand-thrown Ketcham grenades, leaving behind
over 1000 dead and wounded. Union casualties numbered 12 dead, 65 wounded and
129 missing.
Shortly after midnight, after muffling the horse's hooves and
cannon wheels with cloth, the entire Union command marched out of the fort and
directly through the Confederate lines. To their amazement, they were not
challenged and not a shot was fired, the southerners apparently mistaking them
for their own troops. A few hours later a Union demolition team blew up
the powder magazine inside the fort. The massive blast rained debris all
around the galloping team, but left them untouched. Price's troops
attacked at daylight, only to find the fort abandoned.
For the next two days, General Ewing led his small command on a
grueling retreat north across the Ozarks, covering 66 miles in 39 hours.
Rebel cavalry under Generals Marmaduke and Shelby attached hotly from the rear,
but could not flank them due to the rugged terrain. At the crossing of
rain-swollen Huzzah Creek, Private John Wynn said, "When I crossed the water was
so deep that I bowed my head and drank water without stopping, while the bullets
were striking the water like large drops of rain."
Ewing's intent was to reach the railroad at Leasburg and take
his group by train to safety in St. Louis. But the confederates rapidly
sent detachments east and west of Leasburg to destroy track. In Cuba they
burned the depot and several boxcars, as well as Sweetin's and Upshaw's stores.
Price's troops, chronically short of supplies, raided nearby farms looking for
food, weapons and clothing.
The exhausted Federals arrived at Leasburg near dusk on the 29th
and took shelter in a railroad cut, stacking cordwood and ties for protection. A
continual fire was exchanged through the night and following day. On the
morning of October 1st, a lookout spotted a column of cavalry. As they
drew near, the stars and stripes appeared - reinforcements from the Union
garrison at Rolla. The Rebels gave up and moved on. General Ewing's
command celebrated the end of their ordeal." ~ quoted text from signs