American Civil War in Missouri

Cooper County, Missouri

Cooper County, MissouriDate of Organization: December 17, 1820

County Population in 1850: 9,859
County Slave Population in 1850: 3,091

County Population in 1860: 13,556
County Slave Population in 1860: 3,800

County Population in 1870: 20,692

Cooper County Institutions

Cooper County Historical Society

Newspaper Collections

Boonville Weekly Observer




Manuscript Collections

  • The Pauline H. Stratton Diary (C0842)
  • Lizzie Thompson Letter, 1864 (C2208)
  • O’Bryan, Jordan, Letter, 1854 (C3286)
  • Nancy Chapman Jones, Letters
  • William Morgan Diary

    • Actions, Skirmishes, and Battles

    June 17, 1861 – Engagement at Boonville involving Missouri’s 1st and 2nd Infantries alongside United States’ Battery “F”, 1st Artillery, United States’ 2nd Infantry (Company B), and 2 companies of U.S. Army recruits.
    September 13, 1861 – Action at Boonville involving Missouri’s Home Guard.
    December 18, 1861 – Action at Blackwater Creek involving Indiana’s 8th, 18th, 22nd, and 24th Infantries, Iowa’s 1st Cavalry and 8th Infantry, Kansas’ 1st Infantry, Missouri’s 1st, 2nd, and 7th Cavalries and Battery “F” of the 1st through 4th Missouri Cavalries (Companies B, C, & D).
    December 18, 1861 – Skirmish at Blackwater involving Iowa’s 1st Cavalry.
    April 16, 1862 – Skirmish near Blackwater involving a detachment of Iowa’s 1st Cavalry.
    August 19, 1862 – Skirmish at Clear Creek involving Illinois’ 2nd Cavalry.
    October 10, 1863 – Affair at La Mine Bridge involving a detachment of Missouri’s 7th State Militia Cavalry.
    October 11 & 12, 1863 – Skirmishes at Boonville involving Missouri’s 1st, 4th (Companies A, B, E, & F), and 7th State Militia Cavalries alongside Missouri’s 5th (Companies D & E) and 9th Enrolled Militia.
    October 12, 1863 – Skirmish at Merrill’s Crossing involving Missouri’s 1st, 4th (Companies A, B, E, & F) and 7th State Militia Cavalries alongside Missouri’s 5th (Companies D & E) and 9th Enrolled Militia and Missouri’s 1st State Militia Battery Light Artillery.
    October 13, 1863 – Affair at Blackwater involving Missouri’s 1st, 4th (Companies A, B, E, & F), and 7th State Militia Cavalries alongside Missouri’s 5th (Companies D & E) and 9th Enrolled Militia.
    July 27, 1864 – Skirmish on the Blackwater River involving Missouri’s 7th State Militia Cavalry (Company G).
    September 10, 1864 – Skirmish at Pisgah involving a detachment of Missouri’s 4th State Militia Cavalry.
    October 9, 1864 – Skirmish at Boonville involving Missouri’s 15th Cavalry alongside Missouri’s 7th State Militia Cavalry.
    October 11 & 12, 1864 – Skirmishes at Boonville involving Missouri’s 7th State Militia Cavalry.
    May 3, 1865 – Skirmish near Boonville involving a detachment of Missouri’s 7th State Militia Cavalry alongside a detachment of Wisconsin’s 50th Infantry.