The Battle of Wilson’s Creek, fought on August 10, 1861, just outside Springfield, Missouri, was the first major battle of the Civil War fought in the west. Missouri was of vital importance to both the Union and Confederacy because of its location along the Mississippi River. It had both strong pro-Union and pro-Southern elements and advocates. The Governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson, was pro-secessionist and maneuvered to call for a convention to decide the state’s fate. Ninety-nine delegates were elected and decided against secession much to Jackson’s chagrin.

St. Louis was the site of an important Federal Arsenal and unarmed pro-Union (The Wide Awakes) and pro-Southern (Minute Men) home guard units. Francis Blair, the brother of Lincoln’s Postmaster General, asked the Federal government to send troops to help protect the Arsenal. Eighty soldiers arrived by steamer from Fort Riley in Kansas Territory commanded by Captain Nathaniel Lyon, an ardent anti-secessionist from Connecticut. A decision that pleased Blair who had concerns about the loyalties of General William Harney, the Commander of the Department of the West.

After Sumter fell Lincoln requested volunteers from all states including four regiments from Missouri. When Governor Jackson refused, Captain Lyon asked Illinois governor Richard Yates on April 16th to requisition arms for his state’s volunteers. Ten days later Lyon shipped 21,000 rifles to Alton, Illinois to protect them from seizure. Blair offered Lincoln the services of his home guard unit (the Wide Awakes), which he accepted, and 700 men were mustered into the Union Army by Lyon on April 22nd armed with muskets from the Arsenal. The governor was organizing a pro-Southern militia in Lindell Grove on the west side of St. Louis at Camp Jackson. When Lyon learned that cannons (two 12-lb howitzers and two 32-lb guns) taken from a Federal arsenal in Louisiana had been smuggled into the camp, he scouted Camp Jackson on May 9th disguised as a woman wearing a heavy veil! The next day he surrounded the camp with five regiments of U.S. volunteers, five regiments of home guards, four companies of U.S. regulars (a total of more than 6000 men), and a volunteer artillery battery and demanded their surrender.

About 700 surrendered and were marched under guard to the Arsenal. Along the way a mob gathered and a shot was fired at the Unionists who returned fire and killed as many as 28 people. Three enlisted men and three volunteers were also killed. The event became known as the “Camp Jackson Affair”. The following day while the Federal Reserve Corps were marching home they were accosted by an angry crowd and two of their members were killed along with six civilians (the St. Louis Riot). The same day General Harney arrived back in St. Louis and agreed with the Governor that the military would take no further action. Blair then used his political influence to have Lyon promoted to Brigadier General and Harney removed. On May 31st Lyon was promoted to Brigadier General and placed in temporary command of Missouri.

On June 11th Governor Jackson organized a meeting at the Planters’ House Hotel in St. Louis between Lyon, Blair, himself and his head of the state militia Major General Sterling Price; also present were Jackson’s private secretary, Thomas Snead, and Lyon’s aide, Major Horace Conant. Jackson proposed that Missouri would remain neutral and he would disband the state militia if Lyon would stop enlisting soldiers in Missouri and making troop movements, as well as disband the home guard units. Lyon refused stating, “Better, sir, far better, that the blood of every man, woman, and child within the limits of the State should flow, than she should defy the federal government. This means war. In an hour one of my officers will call for you and conduct you out of my lines.”

With no chance of compromise Jackson returned to Jefferson City, the state capitol, burning a railroad bridge along the way. He immediately issued a call for 50,000 volunteers for the state militia. Lyon loaded two steamships with regulars and volunteers and headed up the Missouri River to the capitol. With only 150 men answering Jackson’s call he took the Great Seal of the State of Missouri and left for Boonville (see map below) about 50 miles upriver.

General Lyon occupied Jefferson City on the 15th and moved by boat toward Boonville. He and his 1700 men landed about 8 miles from the city on June 17th. At 8:00 AM the battle began. After 30 minutes the 1500 state militia broke and ran. They were commanded by Governor Jackson, the only sitting governor to lead troops in battle! Jackson and his men retreated south to Lamar where he was joined by militia from Lexington under General James S. Rains. All of the pro-secession forces in the state were headed southwest to rendezvous with General Ben McCulloch, commander of Confederate troops in Arkansas and Indian Territory. McCulloch had 2700 men under his command along with 2200 Arkansas militia, under Brigadier General Nicholas Pearce. Union forces under Franz Sigel would attempt to cut them off.

St. Louis had a large community of German immigrants (96,000 of St. Louis county’s 190,000 people were foreign born). Franz Sigel, who was teaching in a German institute in St. Louis, raised a regiment of volunteers and was appointed its Colonel. Sigel, under the command of Thomas W. Sweeney, left St. Louis on June 13th by rail and arrived the next day at Rolla. He marched his brigade of 1100 men to Springfield and then Neosho. He left a small force (137 men) there and on July 5th met Jackson’s forces, 6000 men, north at Carthage where he was soundly defeated and retreated back to Springfield. The men left at Neosho would be captured by McCulloch’s Confederates. Since Missouri had not seceded from the Union, this was the first military operation conducted by Confederates on United States soil.

Lyon would join Sweeney and Sigel in Springfield on July 13th with his 2350 men. Along the route from Boonville, he had been joined by 2200 U.S. regulars and Kansas volunteers commanded by Major Samuel Sturgis. Combined Lyon had a little over 5000 men. He organized them into four brigades under Major Samuel Sturgis, Colonel Sigel, Lieutenant Colonel George Andrews, and the largest brigade under Colonel George Deitzler.

But Lyon had a problem, a third of his soldiers were on 90-day enlistments that would expire in mid-August and he needed to either be reinforced, attack or withdraw before then. That same month Unionists formed a provisional state government with Hamilton Gamble as governor and Major General John C. Frémont as commander of the Department of the West in St. Louis. Fremont assumed command on July 25th.

Sigel could not prevent the Missouri and Arkansas Confederate forces from joining. Since his commission was from Richmond, Benjamin McCulloch would command these diverse units of more than 12,000 men of the Missouri State Guard (more than 7000 men- only 5000 armed), Arkansas state troops (2234 men) and Confederate soldiers (2700 men). By July 29th they were all in Cassville 50 miles southwest of Springfield. This campaign was the South’s first invasion of the North.

McCulloch and Lyon would meet in the first major battle of the war in the west in less than two weeks along the Telegraph Road about 10 miles south of Springfield at Wilson’s Creek.

Sources

The Civil War in Missouri 1861-1865 published by the Civil War Centennial Commission of Missouri.

The “Damnedest Yankee” Saves Missouri for the Union. Richard W. Hatcher III Blue and Gray Magazine Fall 1996.

Campaign for Wilson’s Creek: The Fight for Missouri Begins CivilWar. Campaigns and Commanders by Jeffery L. Patrick.

A Mighty Mean-Fowt Fight by Al Hemingway. America’s Civil War November 1993.