Fort Davidson, near Pilot Knob, Missouri, was the site of a critical battle in Major General Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition of September and October 1864.
After being driven out of Jefferson City and Boonville, the deposed secessionist members of the Missouri state government retreated to the city of Carthage in southwestern Missouri.
As Confederate Major General Sterling Price retreats into Kansas following his loss at the Battle of Westport, two cavalry brigades from the division of Union Major General Alfred Pleasonton overtake the Confederates as they cross the Mine Creek in Kansas.
Also known as Price’s "Missouri Expedition," Price’s Raid begins as General Sterling Price's army enters Missouri on September 19 and travels toward St. Louis.
At the insistence of Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson, General Sterling Price, Nathaniel Lyon, and Frank Blair meet at the Planter's House Hotel in St. Louis to negotiate a peaceful settlement of Missouri's status during the secession crisis.