Battle of Wentzville

Posted by Notch

July 19, 2011

The following account of the Battle of Wentzville is based on information compiled by Gerry Matlock, former Wentzville Historical Society President, and from official Federal Government records.

On July 15, 1861, four companies of the 2nd Missouri Infantry and two companies of the 8th Missouri Infantry left St. Louis by train, heading west on the North Missouri Railroad Line to Mexico, Missouri. Their mission was to join forces with Col. Franz Sigel. When the train was about six miles west of St. Charles, the Union troops found that they were entering an unfriendly part of the state as they began to take occasional gunfire.

Upon arriving in Wentzville in the evening, the soldiers ate supper, then proceeded down the railroad line into the dark and rainy night. About three miles west of town, the train was attacked. Soldiers turned out of the train to fight, but their attackers could not be found. After re-boarding the train, they returned to Wentzville where the wounded were treated at the Wentzville Hotel (present site of the West Allen Grill). The main room of the hotel was made into a temporary hospital.

The next morning, the soldiers continued their journey. Again they were attacked. After repulsing there attacks by Missouri Bushwhackers, the train was able to proceed to link up with Sigel in Mexico. The actual number wounded or killed in this engagement is unknown. Some accounts place wounded at 30 and killed at 7. Cannon balls found near the railroad tracks in the area are on display at the Wentzville Historical Society’s museum room at the Green Lantern Center.

A historic marker commemorating this event is located just west of Linn Avenue on Pearce Boulevard in Bicentennial Park.

The 5th Regiment Missouri Cavalry re-enactment group commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Wentzville, a skirmish that took place July 16-17, 1861. The re-enactors fought July 16-17, 2011, on the former Whisk property at 130 Enterprise Drive.

Share and Enjoy: