April 2, 1865

Brigadier General Cyrus Bussey received reports of civilians being robbed by a group of twenty horse-mounted Confederates near Van Buren (Crawford County) and dispatched all of his available men in pursuit of the enemy. With only eight horses under his command, Sergeant Hiram Jones successfully routed the Rebels, killing two of the enemy and capturing nine horses. They also gathered intelligence showing that the Rebels were from Texas and moving toward Missouri.