Fresh off a victory at Wilson's Creek, the Missouri State Guard under command of Major General Sterling "Pap" Price advances toward Fort Scott, in southeastern Kansas. Colonel James H. Lane, in command of a jayhawker brigade of volunteers, confronts Price in the Battle of Dry Wood Creek, 12 miles east of the town. Heavily outnumbered in the two-hour battle, Lane is forced to abandon his mules and withdraw to Fort Scott and then to Kansas City. The Missouri State Guard switches course to attack Union forces at Lexington, Missouri. The skirmish is sometimes called "Battle of the Mules" to commemorate Lane's loss.