In December 1861, Price authorized recruiting and raiding activities in the central portion of the state, with the North Missouri Railroad being a major target.

An attempt by Jackson and his pro-secession followers to move against the St. Louis Arsenal was thwarted on May 10 by Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon of the Union Army.

In response, Jackson formed the Missouri State Guard as a pro-secession militia unit and appointed Sterling Price to lead it.

[4] In December, Price sent recruiters into the central portions of Missouri, in the hope that men would volunteer to serve in his command.

[6][7] While scouting near Silver Creek in January 1862, Union major, W. M. G. Torrence, of the 1st Iowa Cavalry Regiment, learned of the presence of a Missouri State Guard camp in the area.

[8][10] Coupled with another defeat, at the Battle of Mount Zion Church, the previous December, the setback led to a reduction of pro-Confederate activities in the central Missouri region.

Torrence estimated that between 80 and 100 Missouri State Guard soldiers were killed or wounded, and reported the capture of a further 28; the National Park Service and the modern history Frances H. Kennedy place Poindexter's loss at a total of 80.

[11] The site of the battle is privately owned and is not commemorated on-site, although a museum in nearby Huntsville provides interpretation of the action.

[6] A 2011 study by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission determined that 1,329.25 acres (537.93 ha) of the battlefield are likely eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.