After this battle, Federal forces pursued and defeated additional Confederates in Missouri as they attempted to return to Arkansas, the Indian Territory (Oklahoma), and Texas.

The battlefield was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973,[1][2] and an additional 120 acres (49 ha) were purchased in 1974.

[3] On September 19, 1864, General Sterling Price led a Confederate army of about 12,000 men across the southern border of Missouri, which he hoped to capture for the South.

If "compelled to withdraw from the state," Price was to make his "retreat through Kansas...sweeping that country of its mules, horses, cattle, and military supplies of all kinds".

Confederate losses were heavy, however, and St. Louis had been reinforced; Price chose to turn west, making no attempt to capture the city.

He proceeded along the southern bank of the Missouri River, destroying sections of the railroad and capturing several small towns as he moved toward the Kansas border.

General John S. Marmaduke, one of the Confederate division commanders, was forced to fight a rear-guard action on the north bank of Mine Creek to protect Price's fleeing wagon train.

Colonel Charles W. Blair, 14th Kansas Cavalry, explained: "For a time [during the initial clash] the fire was incessant and terrific.

In less than an hour the battle was over; Confederate soldiers were bolting to the rear "in utter and indescribable confusion," according to General Price.