APRIL 26, 1863:
The Battle
of Cape Girardeau, Missouri:
As part of his overall Mississippi River Campaign,
U.S. General U.S. Grant built four forts around the town of Cape Girardeau,
Missouri in the southeastern part of the State.
The battle began when Brigadier
General John S. Marmaduke C.S.A. entered the area with 5,000 men and attempted
to take the town. Union forces (around 4,000) engaged in reciprocally
ineffective cavalry charges with the Confederates, who withdrew once the forts
began a concentrated bombardment.
Although total casualties numbered less than
20 total, the battle is considered pivotal, since Confederate forces in the
southeast withdrew from Missouri into Arkansas, turning over effective control
of the State’s river frontier to the Union.
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