Kirksville MO013

supportedunresolved McNeil says nothing could be seen of the enemy on arrival, so he sent Lieutenant Cowdrey with 8 men to charge through the town and draw fire; after the fight he did not know whether Porter had crossed the river in mass. He believes Porter, well advised of a detached Union force to the north, was obliged by it to stand at Kirksville.

Reported knowledge and an inference by one interested author; no message chain inspected.

supportedunresolved McNeil reports on August 7 that his men were out of rations and horses worn out; his September report says the men had eaten almost nothing for two days, the horses were used up, the train was left to the rear guard in the rush to the town, and 8,000 rations and horseshoes arrived from Palmyra on the morning of the 8th.

Condition statements from one interested author; no supply return inspected.

supportedunresolved McNeil describes an eight-day pursuit that brought Porter to action, a detached force sent north to keep Porter out of Scotland and Schuyler Counties, and his expectation that the action would break up rebel recruiting in Northern Missouri.

Stated aims and expected effects from one interested author; not evaluated.

supportedpost_outcome The frozen and live results are Union victory. McNeil says the town was taken after two hours and fifty minutes; NPS says after almost three hours. McNeil later heard at Bloomington that McFerran's forces had dispersed the rest of Porter's army; NPS says another Union force finished Porter's command three days later. That later action's own reports were not inspected.

Retain the original result and engagement interval; later movements and campaign contribution are different measures. No new probabilities or individual causal credit.

disputedpost_outcome Frozen and live: 456 total (US 88; CS 368). McNeil's August 7 report gives 5 killed and 25 wounded, and enemy killed and wounded of 150 with 40 prisoners; his September report gives 5 killed and 32 wounded by the surgeon's report, and the enemy's loss as 150 killed, 300 to 400 wounded and 47 prisoners. He says 15 of the captured had been paroled before and that he had them shot.

Original casualty returns were not inspected; preserve totals, categories, cutoffs and differences. No canonical reconciliation or casualty-based opening count; related actions must not be added without resolving population overlap. The frozen US 88 is not found in the inspected passages and may cover a different population or the August 9 action; not established. Prisoners executed after capture are a distinct population from battle losses.

supportedunresolved The frozen rows list Porter (Colonel) for the Confederates and McNeil (Colonel) for the Union; the live page styles McNeil Brigadier General. McNeil deployed on the northern and eastern faces of the town, putting Shaffer in charge of the right wing and Caldwell of the left. The inspected passages give no Confederate report; Porter appears only as the enemy commander.

Command dispositions reported by one commander; no listed commander receives automatic sole credit.

unknownunresolved

No inspected return establishes matched personnel at a common opening boundary. The frozen side-specific numerical strength bounds are blank (missing_numeric_strength). No figure in this pass is adopted as a simultaneous opening force.

disputedunresolved The frozen force field names a combined cavalry and artillery force against the Missouri Brigade; the live field reads 3,500 (US 1,000; CS 2,500), matching the NPS description. McNeil's August 7 report says Porter had 2,500 to 3,000 men in the houses and corn fields and that he had an aggregate of 1,000 with five guns; his September 17 report lists detachments by unit (the aggregate is left blank in print), says that after train guards, horse-holders, artillery supports and reserve he had about 500 men to engage, and that detachments joining the next day brought him to nearly 1,700. He also refers to Porter's 'entire force of 2,000' at Newark and an army of nearly 3,000 that had desolated the country.

An aggregate, an engaged remainder and estimates of the enemy on different days. None is adopted as a matched opening strength.

supportedunresolved McNeil says Kirksville stands on a prairie ridge surrounded by timber and corn fields, open on the northeast from which he approached, ground he found highly favorable for attack; Porter had expelled the townspeople and occupied the houses. NPS says Porter's men hid in homes, stores and the crops of nearby fields.

Ground described by an interested report and a summary; no map verification. Porter's occupation of the town preceded McNeil's arrival on the day of battle; phase unresolved.