Second Battle of Lexington

The Second Battle of Lexington was a minor battle fought during Price's Missouri Expedition as part of the American Civil War. Hoping to draw Union Army forces away from more important theaters of combat and potentially affect the outcome of the 1864 United States presidential election, Sterling Price, a major general in the Confederate States Army, led an offensive into the state of Missouri on September 19, 1864. After a botched attack at the Battle of Pilot Knob, the strength of the Union defenses at Jefferson City led Price to abandon the main goals of his campaign.

In response to the Confederate incursion, the Union Army of the Border under Major General Samuel R. Curtis was formed by withdrawing troops from duty guarding isolated settlements along the western frontier and calling up the Kansas militia. The call-up of the militia became a political issue in Kansas, which restricted Curtis's use of the militiamen. Price's army was moving west along the Missouri River, and was caught between Curtis's Army of the Border and Union Department of the Missouri cavalry pursuing from the east. Major General James G. Blunt took a portion of Curtis's army east to the town of Lexington, Missouri, on October 18. Blunt was hoping for reinforcement from Curtis, but this was not feasible due to most of the Kansas militia's refusal to move that far into Missouri.

On October 19, Price's army, led by Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby's command, attacked Blunt at Lexington. Initial contact was made at around 11:00 am, but it took several hours for the Confederates to develop their attack. Blunt's outnumbered command was gradually pushed back as Price deployed more of his army. Confederate rifled artillery played a major role in the outcome of the battle, outranging the Union mountain howitzers. The Confederates attempted to cut the Union path of retreat with a cavalry brigade, but this was unsuccessful. Protected by a rear guard, Blunt's troops fell back behind the Little Blue River. Blunt fought another delaying action at the Battle of Little Blue River on October 21, and after the Battle of Byram's Ford and the Second Battle of Independence on October 22, Price was defeated at the Battle of Westport. Several other battles followed during Price's withdrawal, including a defeat at the Battle of Mine Creek on October 25. The campaign wrecked Price's army as an effective fighting force and the Confederates did not make another offensive campaign in the Trans-Mississippi theater before the surrender of the department on June 2, 1865.