Battle of Camden Point

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The Battle of Camden Point took place on 13 July 1864 near Camden Point, Missouri, USA.

During the mid-1864 Paw Paw Rebellion in north-western Missouri, detachments of Federal troops crossed the Missouri River and occupied Platte County, Missouri. At this time a Confederate cavalry force approximately 200-300 strong under Colonel J.C. Thornton was organizing around Camden Point. On 13 July, Thornton's men held a picnic in an open pasture near the town. Detachments of the 2nd Colorado Volunteer Cavalry and 15th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry ambushed Thornton's picnicking force, routing it and killing six and wounding approximately 25 Confederates, having suffered one killed and one wounded. Ammunition, weapons, and gunpowder were captured and Camden Point was burned.

The battle flag of the Confederate force was captured as well, and now resides in the possession of the Colorado State Historical Society. In 1871, a memorial to the Confederates killed in the engagement was erected at the Camden Point Cemetery where the Confederate slain are buried and is the oldest Confederate memorial west of the Mississippi River.