Battle of Fort Davidson

The Battle of Fort Davidson, also known as the Battle of Pilot Knob, was a battle of Price's Raid fought on September 27, 1864, near Pilot Knob, Missouri. Confederate troops under the command of Major General Sterling Price had entered Missouri in September 1864 with hopes of challenging Union control of the state. On September 24, Price learned that Union troops held Pilot Knob. Two days later, he sent part of his command north to disrupt and then moved towards Pilot Knob with the rest of his army. The Confederate divisions of Major General James F. Fagan and Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke drove Union troops under Brigadier General Thomas Ewing Jr. and Major James Wilson from the lower Arcadia Valley into Fort Davidson on September 26 and on the morning of September 27.

On the afternoon of the 27th, Price aligned troops around Fort Davidson in order to attack it from multiple sides. While intended to occur together, the attacks occurred separately and were repulsed in the same fashion. Brigadier General William L. Cabell's Confederate brigade made three separate attacks against the fort, and succeeded in crossing the fort's moat on the final attempt, but were unable to enter the fort. That night, Ewing decided to abandon the fort. His men blew up the fort's magazine and slipped past Confederate troops guarding the escape routes undetected. Some of Price's men temporarily pursued Ewing beginning the next day, but eventually broke off the pursuit to rejoin Price's main body. With his troops dispirited by the unsuccessful attacks at Fort Davidson, Price decided against attacking St. Louis. The Confederate army then moved westwards, before being beaten at the Battle of Westport on October 23. Price's men then withdrew to Texas, having been defeated several more times during the retreat and pursued much of the way. The site of Fort Davidson is preserved as a Missouri State Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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