Sterling Price

Sterling Price 1809-67, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Prince Edward co., Va. After moving to Missouri, he practiced law and entered politics. He served in Congress (1844-46), resigning to lead a Missouri regiment in the Mexican War . Made military governor of New Mexico, he put down a rising of Native Americans and Mexicans. Price was governor of Missouri (1853-57) and president of the state convention of Mar., 1861, which opposed secession. However, his displeasure at the activities of the extreme Unionists led him to accept the command of the Missouri secessionist militia in May, 1861. At Wilson's Creek (Aug., 1861) he and Ben McCulloch defeated the Union forces. Price then took Lexington but was soon obliged to retreat into Arkansas. After the Union victory at Pea Ridge (Mar., 1862), Price accepted a regular Confederate commission. His campaign around Iuka and Corinth , Miss. (Oct., 1862), was unsuccessful. He opposed Gen. Frederick Steele in Arkansas (1863-64). Price's raid through Missouri (Sept.-Oct., 1864), after initial successes, was finally turned back at Westport and was the last Confederate threat in the Far West.

Bibliography: See studies by A. E. Castel (1968) and R. E. Shalhoyse (1971).

Price, Sterling (1809–67) Confederate army officer, born in Virginia. Price moved as a young man to Missouri, where he prospered as a tobacco planter and merchant. He entered politics and held several statewide positions, including Speaker of the General Assembly (1840–44). In 1844 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, a position he promptly resigned to serve in the Mexican War (1846–48). Returning to Missouri, he served two terms as governor (1853–57). Although he initially opposed secession, he eventually sided with the Confederacy and received a commission in the Confederate army. After participating in a number of military engagements across the South, Price was put in charge of the invasion of Union-occupied Missouri (1864), an invasion that was a military debacle. After the war, he led a failed attempt to establish a camp for Confederate refugees in Mexico.