The Battle of Athens, Missouri

Prior to the battle of Wilson’s Creek, Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon pursued the secessionist Missouri State Guard to the state’s southwest corner, but his movement’s also left many stranded secessionists behind Union lines as an unintended consequence. The small battle at Athens in extreme northeast Missouri on August 5, 1861, reveals a typical Missouri scenario early in the war. Believed to be a pro-Southern hotbed, Athens was seized in July 1861 by pro-Union Home Guard Colonel David Moore and 500 men. Moore captured many horses and his men bivouacked in the town buildings. In hopes of liberating town on the Des Moines River a pro-southern Missouri State Guard force of more than 2,000 men and a motley 3 gun collection, including a reinforced hollow log, under Colonel Martin Green approached
Although outnumbered, Moore’s men were better armed and fought off the attack, captured 450 horses with full tack, hundreds of arms, and a wagon load of long knives. The defeat demoralized the State Guard's efforts in Northeast Missouri. They lost the initiative and were obliged to avoid capture by their pursuers rather than move on their own. Although the Battle of Athens secured northeast Missouri for the Union, it gave a taste of things to come: as Lyon’s quick move southwest left many yet-unorganized but armed secessionists behind over much of the state.
Long known as the “farthest north” battle of the Civil War, Athens was the closest that actual combat came to the state of Iowa.