Our position in that region good enemy very much superior in force, eighteen thousand between Birds Point and New Madrid, under Pillow and Jeff. Thompson strong in Cavalry and Artillery. We are reinforcing & entrenching Ironton, Cape Girardeau, & Birds Point. Night of my arrival at Birds Point enemy burnt bridges of Fulton & Cairo railroad. We are not losing a moment but distressed by rawness of troops and want of arms shall I give details of relative forces by telegraph.

This letter is in reference to Missouri. John C. Fremont was a Major General serving as commander of the Union Army’s Department of the West and described in his letter two specific places with 18,000 Confederate soldiers between them. According to Google Maps, the distance between Birds Point and New Madrid is about 36.5 miles walking. It borders the Mississippi river and has two notable places in between. The first place, on the Kentucky side of the river, is Columbus.  On November 7, 1861 Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant had his first combat test by sailing from Cairo, Illinois downriver to attack the Confederate fortress at Columbus, Kentucky. The next morning he discovered the Confederate troops had crossed the river to Belmont, Missouri. He crossed to the other side and over ran the Confederate camp destroying it. The scattered Confederate forces quickly reorganized and counter-attacked from Columbus with heavy artillery fire across the river. Grant retreated to Paducah, Kentucky. When the Confederates learned of Grant’s departure, they ordered 2,700 men under General Gideon J. Pillow to Belmont.

Why is this important you may ask?

If you go into Google Maps and search for Belmont, Missouri you will get a point sitting in the middle of a field across the river from Columbus, Kentucky. In fact, you zoom out farther and all you get is MORE fields with hardly any houses around at all. This location, with a high potential for thousands of relics both Union and Confederate, is sitting there concealed under corn stalks just waiting for the right people to come along, request permission from the landowner, and find some treasure!

A map in the David Rumsey Collection has a section showing the Belmont battlefield area across the river from Columbus, KY and how it was potentially laid out. Again, I remind you – it is all farm fields now! If somebody is able to go out there or knows more about this area, I’d love to hear about it!