The 47th Missouri Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

that served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

Service

The 47th Missouri Infantry Regiment was recruited in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and organized in August and September 1864. It was attached to the District of St. Louis until December 1864. On September 19, 1864, a detachment of the regiment along with soldiers from the 3rd Missouri State Militia Cavalry Regiment (Union) under the command of First Lieutenant Erich Pape, captured the town of

Doniphan, Missouri Doniphan is a city in Ripley County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ripley County. History The first settlement at Doniphan was made in the 1840s. The community was named for Alexa ...

, and burned most of it, including the court house, to the ground. This was allegedly done in retaliation for pro-

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

guerrilla activity in Ripley County. The Union horse soldiers then retreated, burning farm houses and barns as they went. Confederate cavalry under Gen. Joseph Shelby caught up with them the next morning at Ponder's Mill, in Butler County and killed four, wounded four and captured six. Shelby's men suffered two dead and five wounded. Elements of the regiment participated in the

Battle of Pilot Knob A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

and in delaying maneuvers before St. Louis during

Price's Missouri Raid Price's Missouri Expedition (August 29 – December 2, 1864), also known as Price's Raid or Price's Missouri Raid, was an unsuccessful Confederate cavalry raid through Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the Am ...

. Other elements guarded important railroad locations and bridgeheads. In December 1864, the regiment was transferred to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. The regiment also performed guard duty at Spring Hill, Columbia, and Pulaski,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

through March 1865. The regiment was mustered out on March 28–30 of that same year. During the course of its service, the regiment lost 10 men killed and mortally wounded, and 83 men by disease, for a total loss of 93.

References

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Sources

Dyer, Frederick H. (c.1908). ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, V.III'', p. 1338 (

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

). Military units and formations established in 1864 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union Army from Missouri 1864 establishments in Missouri