Battle of Cole Camp (1861)
| Battle of Cole Camp | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States of America
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 Missouri State Guard
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Abel H. W. Cook | Walter S. O'Kane | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Benton County Home Guard (400-600) | O'Kane's Battalion Missouri State Guard (350) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 35 killed 60 wounded 25 captured |
7 killed 25 wounded |
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The Battle of Cole Camp was a skirmish of the American Civil War, occurring on June 19, 1861, in Benton County, Missouri. The rebel victory assured an open line of march for the fleeing governor and Missouri State Guard away from Lyon's force in Boonville.
On June 15, 1861, Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon took control of the Missouri capitol in Jefferson City. Two days later, he routed the portion of the Missouri State Guard then assembling at Boonville with pro-secession Missouri Governor Claiborne F. Jackson. As the portion of the guard accompanying Governor Jackson fled to the southwest of the state, a Unionist Missouri Home Guard regiment was in position to obstruct his retreat.
The majority of the inhabitants of Benton County were of Southern origin and sentiment; however, the German immigrants and their descendants were predominantly pro-Union and anti-slavery. These formed the core of the Benton County Home Guard. Captain Abel H. W. Cook began to form the regiment in early June and called for the volunteers to assemble northeast of Cole Camp on June 11.
A secessionist force was gathering nearby at Warsaw. Captain Walter S. O'Kane organized the Warsaw "Grays" and Captain Thomas W. Murray organized the "Blues." The combined force numbered about 350, with 100 of them mounted. two weeks after Cole Camp, just before the Battle of Carthage, O'Kane was elected lieutenant colonel of the battalion while Murray was elected major.
The secessionists were aided by Benton County's Sheriff, Bartholomew W. Keown. Keown attempted to arrest captains Cook and Mitchell at the Union Home Guard camp, but they refused to comply. The "arrest" apparently was a pretense for gathering intelligence.
The Unionist force occupied two adjoining farms ~600 yards apart belonging to Henry Harms and John Heisterberg. The Home Guards called the location Camp Lyon. Cook had about 400 infantry muskets. While up to 900 men had initially gathered, as many as half were furloughed for lack of weapons or for other reasons.
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