Blackburn Park in Pacific, Mo., soon will install a marker to commemorate a Civil War battle that occurred along the bluffs that are now next to old Route 66, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
I’d never heard of this battle, and the details show why:
Civil War historians say the battle of Oct. 1, 1864, lasted about 30 minutes near the border between Franklin and St. Louis counties.
It left seven Union soldiers wounded, two severely, but no Confederate casualties.
Compared to the carnage at other battles during the Civil War, this skirmish was fairly inconsequential. Still, anything that makes the bluffs stand out is a good thing. They’re a prominent scenic part of Route 66 in Missouri, as these photos show.
The marker should be installed within the next two weeks.
If it’s the place I’m thinking of (and I believe it is), Rittenhaus mentions a marker being there in his book. I’m glad to see that they’re finally getting around to replacing it. 🙂
And so it is in the Rittenhouse book. I quote on Page 22:
Thanks for pointing that out, Eric. I’d forgotten that.