Description: |
Col. John McNeil and his troops, numbering about 1,000, had been pursuing Col. Joseph C. Porter
and his Confederate Missouri Brigade of 2,500 men for more than a week. Before noon on August 6, McNeil
attacked Porter in the town of Kirksville, where his men had hidden themselves in homes and stores and among the
crops in the nearby fields. After almost three hours of fighting, the Yankees secured the town, captured numerous
prisoners, and chased the others away. Three days later, another Union force met and finished the work begun at
Kirksville, destroying Porter’s command. Kirksville helped consolidate Union dominance in northeastern Missouri. |