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Battle of Wilson's Creek | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Missouri Border State Crisis —
Battle of Wilson's Creek.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
In 1861, the state of Missouri stood as a politically divided border state. Permitting slavery, it maintained long-standing cultural and economic ties to the Southern United States. These ties had declined in the years leading up to the outbreak of war. The newly-elected Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson did not openly support seceding from the United States. He harbored pro-Confederate sympathies nonetheless. The outgoing governor had appealed to the state to maintain armed neutrality during the conflict. On April 20, a secessionist mob seized the arsenal in Liberty, Missouri. This event increased Union concerns within the state. Unionist activities in the state increased as well.
Camp Jackson Affair Prelude
Under an 1858 state law governing the militia, Jackson called out the Missouri Volunteer Militia for mustering and training. Those companies from the St. Louis area encamped at Lindell's Grove. They created a camp they named Camp Jackson. These militia numbered close to 900 men under the command of Brigadier General Daniel M. Frost. They were mostly pro-secession and pro-Confederate. Jackson had secretly obtained two cannons from the Confederate government. Captain Nathaniel Lyon of the United States Army was aware of these developments. In late April, Lyon had mustered five regiments of Home Guard into Union service. Four of the five regiments were predominantly German. He received further authorization April 30 to raise another five regiments as a reserve. On the morning of May 10, Lyon led his troops in converging columns against Camp Jackson. With Lyon's armed men around the camp, Frost surrendered the militia encampment to Lyon under protest. Crowds expressed anti-German and pro-Confederate sentiments. A drunk fired a shot at the soldiers after an altercation. Three prisoners, two soldiers, and twenty-eight civilians were killed. Roughly seventy-five more civilians were wounded.
Convergence At Springfield
On June 11, Lyon and Francis Preston Blair Jr. met with Jackson and Price at the St. Louis Planter's House Hotel. This meeting served as a last attempt to avoid a resumption of fighting. Jackson offered to disband the state militia under the condition that Federal forces be restricted to the St. Louis metropolitan area. Lyon rejected it. The historians William Garrett Piston and Richard Hatcher believe that Jackson and Price, with their forces unready for battle, were trying to buy time. Colonel Thomas Snead stated in a book published in 1886 that the meeting ended with Lyon saying rather than concede to the State of Missouri for one single instant the right to dictate to my government in any matter however unimportant, I would see you dead and buried. This means war. On August 1, Lyon marched his troops out of Springfield to confront Price and McCulloch's forces. His vanguard routed James S. Rains' Missouri state guard forces on August 2 in the Battle of Dug Springs. Short on supplies, Lyon withdrew to Springfield on August 4 after a council of war. On August 6, McCulloch's force was encamped at Wilson Creek, southwest of the city. Price was informed by civilians on August 8 that Lyon was considering a withdrawal from Springfield.
Bloody Hill Combat Dynamics
The first shots of the battle were fired at around 5:00 am by some of Lyon's artillery. Cawthorn brought up more of his men and formed a line on a ridge which became known as Bloody Hill. An Arkansas unit, the Pulaski Light Battery, commanded by Captain William Woodruff, opened fire on the Union troops on Bloody Hill. James Totten responded with fire from his Union battery. Totten had provided artillery training to Woodruff in peacetime. Lyon spent until 6:30 am strengthening and organizing his position on Bloody Hill. Sigel reported that he first heard the sound of Lyon's battle at about 5:30 am. He had already positioned some of his artillery on a knoll overlooking the Joseph Sharp farm. The artillery fire threw the forces there into chaos. From Bloody Hill, two of Lyon's officers, Sturgis and John Schofield, heard the sounds of Sigel's opening artillery barrage. They erroneously believed that they could hear enemy return fire. Additional artillery fire from Sigel's direction was heard shortly after 7:00 am. Price and his poorly armed men awaited the attack. Their weapons were suitable only for close-range combat.
Union Retreat And Aftermath
Shortly before 9:00 am, the lull that had formed in the Bloody Hill sector ended with another southern assault. Lyon's force numbered about 3,500 men and ten cannons at this point. His horse had been killed, and the general had been wounded in the head and right leg. He led a counterattack by the 2nd Kansas and was killed. This made him the war's first battle death for a Union general. Command of the Union forces on Bloody Hill fell to Sturgis. As the primary Southern assault failed, a disjointed cavalry assault was against the Union flank. It was made by Colonel Elkanah Greer with his South Kansas-Texas Cavalry and Colonel DeRosey Carroll and his 1st Arkansas Cavalry unsuccessfully. The third Southern assault against Bloody Hill began at around 10:30 am. It lasted about 45 minutes and also failed. With ammunition running low, Sturgis decided to withdraw at around 11:30. The Union troops retreating from Bloody Hill encountered some of Sigel's retreating men during the retreat. They learned of the fate of that portion of the Union column. Sturgis's men returned to Springfield at about 5:00 pm.
Legacy And Battlefield Preservation
The casualties were about equal on both sides. Around 1,317 Union soldiers were either killed, wounded, or captured. An estimated 1,222 Confederate, Missourian, or Arkansan soldiers suffered similar fates. Nearly a quarter of Lyon's force had become casualties. For the Southerners, McCulloch's Confederate troops and Price's Missouri State Guard suffered much heavier losses than Pearce's Arkansas state troops. After falling back to Springfield, Sturgis handed command of the Union army over to Sigel. At a council of war that evening, it was agreed that the army had to fall back to Rolla. However, Sigel failed to get his brigade ready at that time. The Union forces reached Rolla on August 19. By early 1862, Price withdrew from southwestern Missouri in the face of an advance led by Union Major General Samuel Ryan Curtis. In the 1890s, five Union soldiers who had fought in the battle were awarded the Medal of Honor. They included Lorenzo Immell, John Schofield, Henry Clay Wood, William M. Wherry, and Nicholas Bouquet. The site of the battle has been protected as Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.
The first shots of the battle were fired at around 5:00 am on the 10th of August 1861. Union forces under Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon engaged Confederate and Missouri State Guard troops near Springfield.
Who commanded the Union forces during the Battle of Wilson's Creek?
Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon led the Union army until his death on Bloody Hill shortly before 9:00 am. Command subsequently passed to Colonel James Sturgis and later Major Franz Sigel after the Union retreat.
What were the casualty numbers for the Battle of Wilson's Creek?
Around 1,317 Union soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured while an estimated 1,222 Confederate, Missourian, or Arkansan soldiers suffered similar fates. Nearly a quarter of Lyon's force became casualties during the engagement.
Where was the main fighting located during the Battle of Wilson's Creek?
The primary combat occurred on a ridge known as Bloody Hill southwest of Springfield in Missouri. Union artillery and infantry positions were established there while Southern forces attacked from surrounding areas.
Why did Nathaniel Lyon die during the Battle of Wilson's Creek?
Lyon died when he led a counterattack by the 2nd Kansas regiment shortly before 9:00 am after his horse was killed and he was wounded in the head and right leg. He became the war's first battle death for a Union general.