Hiram Bledsoe's Missouri Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Missouri State Guard and the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The battery was formed when the Missouri State Guard was formed as a pro-secession state militia unit in response to the Camp Jackson affair. As part of the Missouri State Guard, the unit was engaged in the Engagement near Carthage and the Battle of Wilson's Creek during mid-1861, before fighting at the Battle of Dry Wood Creek and the Siege of Lexington later that year when Major General Sterling Price led the Guard northward towards the Missouri River. After the Missouri State Guard retreated into Arkansas in early 1862, Bledsoe's Battery served during the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge in March. The battery, as part of the Army of the West, transferred across the Mississippi River into Tennessee in April, where it left the Guard to enter Confederate service on April 21.
The battery served in Mississippi during much of the rest of 1862, serving as part of the Confederate rear guard after the Battle of Iuka in September and seeing action at the Second Battle of Corinth. In early 1863, the unit became part of Brigadier General John Gregg's brigade, and was briefly stationed at Port Hudson, Louisiana. After Major General Ulysses S. Grant landed Union troops in Mississippi in April, Gregg's brigade transferred to Jackson, Mississippi to aid Confederate forces attempting to stop Grant. As part of Gregg's brigade, Bledsoe's Battery served at the Battles of Raymond and Jackson in May. In September, the battery was part of the Confederate Army of Tennessee when it repulsed Major General William Rosecrans' offensive into Georgia at the Battle of Chickamauga.
After Chickamauga, the battery next saw action at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in November, where it had its cannons captured during a Union charge. Beginning in May 1864, Bledsoe's Battery resisted Major General William T. Sherman's drive south during the Atlanta campaign, seeing action at the battles of Resaca and Kennesaw Mountain. After Atlanta fell to Union forces in September, the battery moved north with General John Bell Hood. Under Hood, the battery fought at the Battle of Nashville in December. Nashville was a Confederate defeat, and Bledsoe's Battery was part of Hood's rear guard after the fighting. While the rest of Hood's army transferred to North Carolina after Nashville, Bledsoe's Battery remained in Georgia, where it surrendered on May 1, 1865, ending the unit's combat career.
Background and formation At the outset of the American Civil War in 1861, the state of Missouri did not secede, despite being a slave state. The state's governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson, supported secession, and mobilized the pro-secession state militia. In response, Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon of the Union Army attacked the militia camp on May 10, which was outside of St. Louis, dispersing it in the Camp Jackson affair. On May 12, Jackson formed the Missouri State Guard as another pro-secession militia unit, and selected Major General Sterling Price to head the organization. As part of the development of the Missouri State Guard, Hiram Bledsoe began recruiting an artillery battery for state service in May. The unit's first action was a small skirmish in Jackson County on June 13; it officially joined the Guard on June 16. Originally, the battery was assigned two cannons: a 6-pounder smoothbore and a 9-pounder smoothbore that was a relic of the Mexican-American War; the latter piece was given the name "Old Sacramento". After another artillery unit was consolidated with Bledsoe's Battery, the unit gained a third cannon, a second 6-pounder smoothbore. This piece was given the name "Black Bitch".
Service history 1861
The battery was one of the first Missouri State Guard units to occupy a key ridge at the Engagement near Carthage on July 5. As part of Richard Weightman's brigade, Bledsoe's Battery was positioned between two infantry regiments commanded by Colonel John R. Graves and Lieutenant Colonel William O'Kane; the battery's three cannons were manned by 46 men. The fight began when Guibor's Missouri Battery fired at the Union line, drawing return fire. Bledsoe's Battery then joined in the artillery duel. During the firefight, the men of the battery simply aimed at where the enemy was the thickest. After ammunition began to run low, Bledsoe's and Guibor's batteries were forced to fire rocks, bits of scrap iron, and fragments of chains instead of actual projectiles. Around 1:00 pm, Bledsoe's Battery moved forward to prepare for a Confederate attack; it was then exposed to heavy Union return fire. As the Union force retreated later in the fight, the battery advanced across a ford to provide artillery support for the Confederate pursuit. It followed the Confederate infantry as far as the vicinity of Carthage itself. After the victory at Carthage, the Missouri State Guard was joined by a Confederate States Army force commanded by Brigadier General Ben McCulloch. The combined Missouri and Confederate force camped southeast of Springfield along the banks of Wilsons' Creek.
On August 10, Lyon attacked the encampment. As part of the Battle of Wilson's Creek, a Union column commanded by Colonel Franz Sigel attacked the Confederate position from the rear. Some of Sigel's skirmishers mistook McCulloch's Confederates as part of the main Union force, giving McCulloch time to prepare the 3rd Louisiana Infantry Regiment for battle. Separately, Bledsoe's Battery and two Missouri State Guard infantry regiments commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H. Rosser and O'Kane formed a line to McCulloch's right to counter the threat posed by Sigel. Reid's Arkansas Battery arrived to support McCulloch, opening fire on Sigel's line, although the position of the 3rd Louisiana Infantry presented a threat of accidental friendly fire. Independently, Bledsoe's Battery also began firing at Sigel with its three cannons, drawing the return fire of Backof's Missouri Battery. After the artillery duel, the 3rd Louisiana Infantry and the Missouri State Guard infantry attacked Sigel's position, driving the Union column from the field. After Sigel's retreat, Confederate and Missouri State Guard forces were able to concentrate against Lyon's main attacking column. Lyon formed a defensive line on an elevation named Bloody Hill, repulsing multiple attacks. However, Lyon was killed during the fighting, and the Union troops retreated to Rolla in defeat. Bledsoe's Battery's Wilson's Creek casualties are unknown.
After Wilson's Creek, Price moved the Missouri State Guard northward. A fourth cannon, a 6-pounder smoothbore captured from Sigel at Wilson's Creek, was added to Bledsoe's Battery's complement. On September 2, the Missouri State Guard encountered Union troops commanded by Brigadier General James H. Lane near Dry Wood Creek. The ensuing Battle of Dry Wood Creek lasted an hour before Lane retreated from the field. Bledsoe's Battery participated in the fighting. Price advanced as far as the Missouri River town of Lexington, which was defended by a Union garrison. When the Siege of Lexington began on September 12, Bledsoe's Battery, along with Guibor's Battery, provided artillery support as the Union soldiers were driven back from an outer position. At this point, Bledsoe was temporarily out of action with a wound from Dry Wood Creek, and the battery was commanded by Captain Emmett MacDonald. That afternoon, the two batteries bombarded the Union fortifications from a range of . By September 18, the city was under siege in earnest, and Bledsoe's Battery, along with Guibor's Battery and Clark's Missouri Battery, kept the Union position under artillery fire. Bledsoe returned to the unit; he ordered the battery to fire hot shot at the Masonic College building, which suffered heavy damage. The Union garrison surrendered later that day. Price abandoned Lexington for southwestern Missouri in October, when Union reinforcements began to concentrate against his command.
1862
In February 1862, Price was forced out of Springfield by pressure for Union Major General Samuel R. Curtis. On March 2, Price combined his forces with those of McCulloch and Major General Earl Van Dorn to form the Army of the West. With Van Dorn in command, the Confederates moved towards Pea Ridge, Arkansas, where Curtis was encamped. During the ensuing Battle of Pea Ridge, Bledsoe's Battery, which was still part of the Missouri State Guard, was commanded by Lieutenant Charles W. Higgins. On the first day of the battle, March 7, Bledsoe's Battery was engaged in an artillery duel with the 1st Iowa Battery. Several other Confederate and Missouri State Guard batteries were engaged in the action: Guibor's Battery, Clark's Battery, Wade's Missouri Battery, and the 3rd Missouri Light Battery. The Iowa battery ran low on ammunition, had a cannon disabled, and was forced to retreat. Later that day, as Price's infantry prepared to assault a Union position near the Elkhorn Tavern, Bledsoe's and Clark's batteries and the 3rd Missouri Light Battery shelled the Union position in an attempt to soften resistance. The barrage had a demoralizing effect on the Union troops, and Price's infantry was eventually able to capture the position. The next day, a Union counterattack broke the Confederate line, and Bledsoe's Battery was part of the last stage of the Confederate defense. The battery resorted to firing fragments of metal such as pieces of chains and metal tools during the last moments of the defense. As the Army of the West fled in retreat, Bledsoe's Battery was one of the last Confederate or Missouri State Guard units to leave the field. Four men of Bledsoe's Battery were wounded at Pea Ridge.
After the defeat at Pea Ridge, the battery accompanied the Army of the West when it was transferred across the Mississippi River into Tennessee. On April 21, while at Memphis, Bledsoe's Battery left the Missouri State Guard to join the Confederate States Army; another Missouri State Guard unit transferring to Confederate service was consolidated into Bledsoe's Battery at that time. By May 5, the battery had relocated to Corinth, Mississippi, where a muster was held; 53 men were members of the battery on that date. The Army of the West, under the command of Price, began preparing for an offensive movement and occupied Iuka, Mississippi in September. Van Dorn was in the area with another force, and Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant moved against Price in an attempt to destroy the Army of the West before it could be joined by Van Dorn. Grant's plan consisted of a two-pronged attack: Major General E. O. C. Ord was to attack Price from the northwest, and Major General William S. Rosecrans was to attack from the south. However, Price attacked Rosecrans on September 19, bringing on the Battle of Iuka. An acoustic shadow prevented Ord from hearing the sounds of the battle, and Price was able to escape from the trap. The next day, Bledsoe's Battery, which was not engaged at Iuka, was part of Price's rear guard as the Army of the West left the Iuka area.