The Battle of Lexington - Lexington, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 11.406 W 093° 52.819
15S E 423975 N 4338241
Capsule version sometimes called the Battle of the Hemp Bales.
Waymark Code: WM3C5E
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 03/13/2008
Views: 22
County of Marker: Lafayette.
Location of Marker: 13th St. & Delaware St., parking lot of Battle of Lexington State Historic Site, Lexington.
Marker erected by: Missouri Division Sons of Confederate Veterans
Marker erected: 2000
Marker Text:
THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON
SEPTEMBER 18, 19, 20, 1861.
Following victories in Southwestern Missouri, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price and 10,000 men of the Missouri State Guard marched north with the objective of breaking the Federal line along the Missouri River. On Sept. 12, 1861 the Guard engaged and drove a Federal force near Warrensburg into the fortifications at Lexington. The 3,600 man garrison led by Col. James A. Mulligan, was invested that day by the Guard and the Seige of Lexington commenced. Price was joined by 8,000 volunteers from Northern Missouri, and on the 18th stormed the outer defenses and severed the fort's access to water. On the 19th the Guard deployed hemp bales as a breastwork and on the 20th rolled the bales towards the Federal line. Faced with no means of resistance, Mulligan surrendered his command, arms and equipment. The Guard recaptured the State Seal and archives, and returned to the local bank over $900,000 taken by the Federal troops. This was the most complete victory for the South in 1861.
(Reverse text):
THE MISSOURI STATE GUARD
This monument is respectfully dedicated to the men of the Missouri State Guard. The legally established militia of the state, who first took up arms in 1861, and, marching and fighting under the blue battle flag of their beloved Missouri, did their whole duty as God gave them the light to see that duty, and sacrificed everything but honor, in the defense of their states sovereignty and the cause of constitutional rights.
DEO VINDICE