When the American Revolution Was Fought in Missouri

Yes, you did indeed read that title right. A singular battle was fought in the great state of Missouri during the Revolutionary War. The Battle of Saint Louis. But first, some context as to why and how. First of all, this was not between the combatants that you would think of. As the Battle of Saint Louis was fought between the Spanish garrison in Saint Louis, with some French and American aid, against “The British”. I put the British in quotations because there were no British soldiers at the battle. Instead, it was British fur traders who led several Native tribes in an assault on a large stone “fortress” guarded by Spanish militia and French volunteers. If I’ve lost you already, just hold on to your hat; it gets stranger from here because across the now-called Mississippi River was an American Fort that the British were also planning on taking. Yes, the British tried to take two forts using similar tactics of throwing Native Americans into the fight without using any of their troops in the name of the crown and country.

The Spanish entered the American Revolution on the side of the plucky American Patriots in 1779, as the Spanish and British had been at odds since England broke away from the Catholic Church during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the 1st in the late 1500s. The Spanish saw the tiny rebellion in British North America as a perfect way to undermine their long-time rivals. The British had not only the Yankees in the colonies, but now two rivals were assisting them. However, instead of giving up and rolling over, the Brits decided if they couldn’t get a decisive victory in the east, why not try to do so in Spanish and French territory in the west? And so, the military governor of Fort Michilimackinac Patrick Sinclair came up with an idea to strike the Spaniards where it would hurt. The mighty Mississippi divided the Spanish claims in North America in half. To split the Spanish holding in half, however, he would have to not only raise an army but also take a key trade hub. The town of San Luis is today known as Saint Louis. Sinclair sent word to all tribes in the area and fur traders of the riches they would receive for helping take San Luis and the American-held Fort Cahokia in present-day Illinois. Many tribes would step up to get rich and take revenge on those who took their land. As for the fur traders, there were not as many takers for that. One who did would lead the assault on San Luis. Emanuel Hesse would lead the two dozen fur traders and 1500 Native warriors in the battle against the tiny town.

The Spanish caught wind of the impending attack from a friendly fur trader whose name has been lost to time, unfortunately. The man tasked with defending the small town was Lieutenant Governor Fernando de Leyba. Who was a Captain in the Spanish army and oversaw Upper Louisiana. At his command for the defense of the town were the 29 regular Spanish troops garrisoned in town and another 168 militiamen from the surrounding area. He had no defense towers, fort, or trenches, and very little time to prepare. He was able to build a singular tower armed with five cannons that were dubbed Fort Carlos. He also was able to create earthwork trenches for the defense. The small Spanish force was bolstered by 62 additional French militiamen from the nearby French Colonial Valles Mines. The American commander John Montgomery, who was stationed at Fort Cahokia, visited Leyba and propose a united force to face the British. Time to get that together, however, had run out as the British made landfall 14 miles north of San Luis.

On the afternoon of May 25th, 1780, Hesse sent several scouts ahead of the main British force to see what the Spaniards had for them. After a delay in their advance due to workers in the fields, the Scouts could only get closer when the rest of the army arrived. Around 1:00 PM, a warning shot was fired by Fort Carlos toward the British, and the battle began. For the next several hours, the Native forces would try to draw the defenders out into the open. This was to no avail as Leyba told his men to not leave their defensive positions. The British force having no success turned north and left taking whatever they could with them. Across the river, the Americans repulsed a similar British attack and beat the Brits back up the river. Although his memory has weakened as time has gone on, Fernando de Leyba would go down as the defender of Saint Louis losing around 55 people in total, most of whom were non-combatants. The British lost only 4 in the battle; however, it should be noted that as many as 300 Native warriors ran once the battle began. The British would never step foot in the State of Missouri again

And that is the story of the Battle of Saint Louis where the Spanish, French, and some Americans fought British fur traders and their native allies in the lone battle to take place west of the Mississippi River during the American Revolution. For more content follow me on Twitter @BrockGorton99