Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainThe October 25, 1864 cavalry battle that shattered Price's Confederate army — 1,000 prisoners and two generals captured in minutes — is preserved across 145 acres with a visitor center and walking trails.
20485 Kansas Hwy 52, Pleasanton, KS 66075
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Small admission fee for the visitor center and museum; check kshs.org for current pricing. Grounds may be accessible during daylight hours.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Mostly flat battlefield terrain with mowed grass trails; visitor center is accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1864 · Largest cavalry battle west of the Mississippi during the Civil War · Confederate Generals Marmaduke and Cabell captured on the field · Ended Sterling Price's Missouri Raid and last major Confederate Trans-Mississippi offensive · National Register of Historic Places; Kansas State Historic Site
Sterling Price's Missouri Raid of autumn 1864 was the Confederacy's final attempt to reclaim Missouri. Price led approximately 12,000 men north from Arkansas, hoping to capture St. Louis and swing the border state to the Confederate cause. By late October, the raid had gone badly — Price had been beaten at Pilot Knob and turned back from St. Louis, and was retreating south with a massive wagon train slowing his movement.
On October 25, Price's rear guard of roughly 8,000 men, commanded by generals John Marmaduke and William Cabell, found themselves stalled at Mine Creek in Linn County, Kansas, while the wagon train crossed. Two Union cavalry brigades — approximately 2,500 men under General Alfred Pleasonton — closed on them and charged before the crossing was complete.
The Confederate line, packed at the creek bank and unable to maneuver, collapsed within minutes. The battle was effectively over in 10 minutes of close fighting. Union forces captured approximately 900-1,000 Confederate soldiers along with both generals Marmaduke and Cabell, who were taken prisoner on the field. It was the largest haul of prisoners taken in any western cavalry engagement of the war.
The defeat at Mine Creek, combined with the simultaneous action at Marais des Cygnes, effectively destroyed Price's command as a fighting force. Confederate forces conducted no further major operations in the Trans-Mississippi theater.
The Kansas Historical Society manages the site today. The 3,000-square-foot visitor center opened in the 1990s and the battlefield is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Mine Creek sits along the Route 69 driving tour through the 1864 Price's Raid corridor.
Sources
No paranormal tradition is formally documented at Mine Creek Battlefield. The site's reputation as a dark-history destination is grounded in the historical record: a cavalry rout that left hundreds of men dead or captured on a Kansas creek bank in under 10 minutes, ending the last substantial Confederate military effort west of the Mississippi.
The battlefield's preservation across 145 acres means the creek crossing, the fields where the Confederate line collapsed, and the ground where Generals Marmaduke and Cabell were taken prisoner are all recognizable in their historical configuration. Visitors have noted the site's particular quietness — no development within line of sight of the main battle area — which gives the location an atmospheric weight consistent with other preserved Civil War sites.
Some Civil War battlefield tourism literature references general accounts of 'soldiers heard at night' or unexplained sounds at Price's Raid sites along the Kansas-Missouri corridor, but no specific, sourced paranormal claims for Mine Creek itself appear in historical society records or documented local tradition.
Walk the preserved 145-acre battlefield along marked trails tracing the positions of Union cavalry, Confederate cavalry, and Price's stalled wagon train at the Mine Creek crossing. Interpretive markers describe the collapse of the Confederate formation and the capture of two generals.
The 3,000-square-foot visitor center houses exhibits on the October 25, 1864 Battle of Mine Creek, Price's Missouri Raid, and the broader Trans-Mississippi Theater. Artifacts from the battle and regional historical society collections are on display.
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