The Battle of Hartville, Missouri, on January 11, 1863, grew out of Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke’s first Missouri raid, launched after Confederates moved north from Arkansas to strike Springfield and draw Union troops out of northern Arkansas. After failing to capture Springfield on January 8, Marmaduke moved east, while Colonel Samuel Merrill marched west from Houston to aid Springfield’s defenders. The two forces met west of Hartville, skirmished, and then raced into town to secure their positions. Union troops, many of them inexperienced and outnumbered by more than two to one, formed a line west of town with cavalry on the flank, infantry in the center, and artillery supporting them. Confederate forces under Marmaduke, including the brigades of Joseph O. Shelby, Emmett MacDonald, and Joseph Porter, attacked repeatedly as artillery dueled around the courthouse and nearby buildings. The fighting lasted about four hours and became a stubborn, bloody contest in which the Union line beat back repeated charges despite mounting pressure and dwindling ammunition. Merrill eventually ordered a retreat toward Lebanon, but Lieutenant Colonel Cornelius W. Dunlap and the 21st Iowa, not receiving the order, held their ground and drove back Porter’s men before rejoining the retreat the next morning. Although the Confederates compelled the Union withdrawal and gained control of Hartville, Marmaduke, concerned about nearby Federal forces and burdened by losses, abandoned the raid and withdrew after dark in a winter storm toward Arkansas. Both sides claimed victory; Union losses were seven dead and sixty-four wounded, while Confederate losses were one hundred thirteen killed, wounded, or missing, including many experienced officers.