Lexington Battlefield - Lexington, Missouri - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

LEXINGTON BATTLEFIELD, an 50-acre area purchased by the county in 1928. The Battle of Lexington was fought in September 1861, between General Sterling Price s Confederate troops and Colonel James A. Mulligan s Union forces. Prior to the battle, Lexington, like other Missouri River ports, was held by Union troops to prevent the northern and southern branches of the Con federates from joining. To break this chain of posts, General Price, after the battle of Wilson s Creek, August 10, 1861, moved toward Lexington. The Union soldiers were engaged in throwing up earthworks (still visible) when they learned that the Confederates were upon them. Placing his troops on three sides of the Union entrenchment, Price demanded surrender. Colonel Mulligan refused. Intensive firing began on the morning of September 18, and continued without pause for 52 hours. On the morning of September 20, the Confederates constructed a movable breastwork of hemp bales soaked in water to withstand heated shot, and under this cover advanced to within 50 yards of the Union line. Colonel Mulligan s report of his soldiers "dying from thirst frenziedly wrestling for water in which the bleeding stumps of mangled limbs had been washed and drinking it with a horrid avidity" gives a glimpse of the nature of the battle. By nightfall the situation was hopeless; a white flag was raised, and the Battle of Lexington ended in Confederate victory. General Price took approximately 3,000 prisoners, stores of supplies, and ammunition. - Missouri: A Guide to the "Show Me" State, Tour 2, pgs 374-375.

The battle field is now the Battle of Lexington State Historic Site managed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.  The location of earthwork entrenchments are still visible around the battlefield.  There are walking paths around the battlefield and several historical markers are located around the battlefield to explain the events which place during the Civil War.