LEXINGTON, a city of Missouri, U.S.A., 43m. E. of Kansas City, on the south bank of the Missouri river; the county seat of Lafayette county. It is on Federal highway 24 and is served by the Missouri Pacific railroad. The population was 4,695 in 4,595 in 193o. Lexington is in a rich agricultural region and there are many coal mines in the vicinity, employing over Loco men. Hand-made handkerchiefs are made here for shops in the principal cities of the country. Lexington was founded in 1819, laid out in 1832, and chartered as a city in 1845. It succeeded Sibley as the eastern terminus of the Santa Fe trade, and was in turn displaced by Independence. At the opening of the Civil War it was the most important town on the Missouri river between Saint Louis and Saint Joseph, and commanded the approach by water to Ft. Leavenworth.
After the Confederate success at Wilson's Creek (Aug. so, 1860, Gen. Sterling Price advanced northward, and with about 15,000 men arrived in the vicinity of Lexington on Sept. 12. Here he found a Federal force of about 2,800 men under Col. James A. Mulligan throwing up intrenchments on Masonic College hill, an eminence adjoining Lexington on the north-east. An attack was
made on the same day and the Federals were driven within their defences, but at night Gen. Price withdrew to the Fair-grounds not far away and remained there five days waiting for his wagon train and for reinforcements. On the i8th the assault was re newed, and on the zoth the Confederates, advancing behind mov able breastworks of water-soaked bales of hemp, forced the be sieged, now long without water, to surrender. The losses were : Confederate, 25 killed and 75 wounded; Federal, 39 killed and 120 wounded. At the end of September Gen. Price withdrew in face of Fremont's approach with 40,000 men, leaving a guard of only a few hundred in the town, and on the 16th of the next month a party of 220 Federal scouts under Maj. Frank J. White surprised this guard, released about 15 prisoners and captured 6o or more Confederates. Another Federal raid on the town was made in December of the same year by Gen. John Pope's cavalry. Again, during Gen. Price's last raid into Missouri in 1864, there was some fighting on Oct. 19 about 4m. S. of the town.