Shortly before nightfall, Cooper's Confederates made an all-out attack against the Union line; this led Salomon to withdraw from the field.

Blunt's full division began advancing towards Newtonia in early October, leading Cooper to abandon Missouri.

With the population of the industrializing North coming to exceed that of the South, the balance of power began to shift, and many southerners decided that secession was the only way to preserve slavery, especially after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860.

Lincoln's candidacy was regionally successful, as much of his support was from the northern states, while he received no electoral votes from the Deep South.

[2] In Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, the important military installation of Fort Sumter was still held by a Union Army garrison.

[5] Shortly after Fort Sumter was attacked, Lincoln requested that the states remaining in the Union provide 75,000 volunteers for the war effort.

[8] Price then moved north with the Missouri State Guard in a campaign that culminated in the capture of Lexington in September.

[9] In February 1862, Union Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis advanced against Price's position, causing the Confederates to abandon Missouri and enter Arkansas.

Under the command of Van Dorn, the Confederates attacked Curtis at the Battle of Pea Ridge on March 7 and 8 but were repulsed.

At one point Quantrill's guerrillas combined with a regular Confederate force commanded by Colonel John T. Hughes.

[16] While Hindman was successful in forging an army in an underdeveloped region, his methods were unpopular with prominent Arkansas civilians and he was replaced by Major General Theophilus H.

[17] Hindman retained a field command under Holmes and pushed a 6,000-man force into northwestern Arkansas and the southwestern portion of Missouri.

Hawpe determined that Newtonia, which was a communications hub, would be a good encampment and had his troops begin operating a grist mill to produce flour.

[24][26] On September 28, Hawpe was informed by local residents that Union troops were advancing towards Granby, which was about 7 miles (11 km) away, but Confederate scouts found no evidence of this movement.

[39] The force headed for Newtonia consisted of 150 men from the 9th Kansas Cavalry, in four companies,[30][40] commanded by Colonel Edward Lynde of the same unit, and including the regiment's two mountain howitzers.

[30][34][39] Lynde's men drove Confederate skirmishers back towards Newtonia, and determined that a strong enemy force occupied the town.

[41] The two reinforcing regiments remained in Newtonia overnight, but were sent back to the main Confederate camp early the next morning.

Salomon noted the sounds of combat coming from the Newtonia area, and sent two companies of the 9th Wisconsin Infantry to support Lynde.

[34][43] An attempt to cut off the Confederate skirmish line by the men of the 6th Kansas Cavalry failed, and Jacobi's force lost the element of surprise.

The Confederates, represented by the 31st Texas Cavalry, the 1st Cherokee Battalion, and Bledsoe's artillery, took up defensive positions near Mathew H. Ritchey's farm.

Some of the men of the 9th Wisconsin Infantry moved to the cover of the houses on the edge of Newtonia; they began sniping at the cannoneers of Bledsoe's battery.

[46][47] The men of the 31st Texas Cavalry had been taking shelter behind a stone wall, but left its cover to assault the Union line.

[40] Bledsoe withdrew the pieces some distance, although the guns' silent presence did discourage a small Union cavalry force from advancing against the new Confederate artillery position.

[54] Additional Union forces would begin moving towards Newtonia later, although Salomon's supply train was left behind in Sarcoxie.

[55] The two regiments encountered the Confederates pursuing Lynde's column, and the pursuit ended in the face of these fresh Union troops.

He then proceeded to form a defensive line with nine available cannons, as well as the 6th Kansas Cavalry, the 3rd Indian Home Guard, and a portion of the 9th Wisconsin Infantry.

[59] An attempt by the Confederates to use the Ritchey barn as a fortification proved futile once the Union guns found the range of the structure.

[67] A brigade of Unionist Missouri state militia forces commanded by Colonel George Hall arrived on the field as Salomon was ordering his retreat.

Hall was ordered to cover the Union withdrawal, and the militia formed a line between Salomon's retreating force and the pursuing Confederates.

[82] The Mathew H. Ritchey House is notable for having served as a headquarters building for both sides during the two battles of Newtonia[83] and was used as a field hospital after the fighting.