The Battle

of

Wilson’s Creek

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek

August 10^th, 1861: On this day, 17,400 soldiers would clash in a battle that would mark the beginning of the fight over Missouri during the Civil War. General Nathaniel Lyon led his Union troops into strife, only to be gunned down, and to have Maj. Samuel Sturgis take over. Sturgis’s futile attempts led him to retreat to Gen. Sterling Price and Gen. Ben McCulloch of the Confederacy. This early Southern victory of which little is known, triggered four years of devastation throughout Missouri, but it is very significant to the people of the state at the time, torn between family and fidelity.

The Conflict in Missouri

Missouri was one of four slave states that had remained within the Union when the other slave-held states had seceded. Therefore, the state’s citizens were divided in number of Southern sympathizers and loyal Unionists. The purpose of the fighting in Missouri was to see who would control the state: the U.S. government or the state government.

The Man that Was Gen. Lyon

Nathaniel Lyon was born July 14^th, 1819 in Ashton, Connecticut. His early boyhood years were spent laboring on the family farm, where he helped his family to bring in annual crops. In the 1840’s, Lyon set up a real estate sideline in San Diego. By the time of his death, he owned thousands of acres of land in six states and Mexico. In 1848, he made a $500 dollar investment for a house that he rarely stayed in. Instead he rented the house out to other army officers, who would come to him when they were stationed in California. Lyon enjoyed San Diego quite thoroughly and figured to retire in the city. However, his opinions of the residents in the town were fickle. He could never look or feel the same about a person every time they approached each other. This incapability led him to die without a spouse. He was never able to find a woman of his liking and therefore was never married.

Lyon always had a militaristic talent. He began his training at West Point on July 1^st, 1837. On July 22^nd, 1841, Lyon graduated from the military school, placing 11^th out of 52 students in his class. He immediately established a military career upon his commencement. In the closing days of the Seminole War, he was assigned to Co. I, 2^nd U.S. Infantry at Fort Russell in Florida. By the time he arrived, the Indians had nearly given up, and so he was relocated to Madison Barracks on Lake Ontario in New York.

Lyon also participated in the war against Mexico. In 1846, his unit combined with the 2^nd Infantry. The following year, on April 16^th, he was promoted to 1^st Lieutenant, and placed in charge of Co. D, 2^nd Infantry. Several months later, on September 14^th, he led his troops into Mexico City. From all around at the tops of buildings, his troops were fired upon. Lyon then moved his forces to New Orleans. There, during his brave attempts, a musket wounded him. He was later rewarded with valor with the rank of brevet captain.

Capt. Lyon was then chosen as head Union general in Missouri. At the time, a Pro-Southern governor, who placed troops at the St. Louis arsenal, led the state. The arsenal contained 60,000 muskets, 90,000 pounds of powder, 1.5 million ball cartridges, 40 field pieces, and machinery needed to make weapons. Many Unionists feared that pro-Confederates could be supplied by the arsenal, take over, and Missouri would secede from the Union. For this reason, Lyon was put in charge: to help keep Missouri in the Union. He took his men to the arsenal and arrested the troops. They surrendered and the arsenal went into the hands of Lyon. Not long after, riots broke out in the streets of St. Louis, and Lyon’s men were forced to fire. Afterwards, on April 25^th, the arms captured were sent to Illinois. Only a couple weeks later, on May 10^th, Lyon, along with a German man Franz Sigel, led an invasion of a Pro-Southern camp, Camp Jackson of St. Louis. Sigel was colonel of the 3^rd Missouri Infantry, and would also play a crucial role in the upcoming battle of Wilson’s Creek. At Camp Jackson, the rebels surrendered. Those that were captured were paraded through the streets of the city. Then from the crowd a rock was thrown, and Lyon again ordered his men to fire. During the brief skirmish 28 civilians were killed.

General Nathaniel Lyon was a brave and daring soldier. If not for his untimely death at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Lyon may very well have led Missouri to an astounding number of Union victories during the Civil War.

Maj. Samuel D. Sturgis

Sturgis was born June 11^th, 1822, in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the military school of West Point in 1846. During the Mexican War, he served on frontier duty. He also led troops from Ft. Smith to Ft. Leavenworth in Arkansas in 1861 during the Civil War. He became a major in the 1^st U.S. Cavalry, and at Wilson’s Creek, he poorly took over the Union forces when Lyon was killed. After this battle, Sturgis was made Brig. Gen. of Volunteers.

Gen. Sterling “Old Pap” Price

Sterling Price, genuinely known by his soldiers as “Old Pap,” was born September 14^th, 1809 in Prince Edward County, Virginia. His early education was obtained in his hometown. He then attended Hampden-Sidney College and graduated, later to become a deputy in a clerk’s office back in Prince Edward County. When he was 21 he moved to Chariton County. There, he received the position of brigadier-general in the state militia.

As a democrat, Price served in the general assembly of Missouri in 1836. Later on in 1840 and ’42, he was elected as a representative. Each time, he was nominated Speaker of the House. In 1844, Price served in Congress, until he went to serve in the Mexican War. During this war, Price held an independent command in New Mexico and Chihuahua. He boldly faced premium armies, and won at Cancada and Lambonda. At Taos, he fought with 300 soldiers, and was able to snare 1500 prisoners. For this, President Polk promoted him to brigadier-general of his forces. Soon after, Price seized General Trias’s army, which was twice as big as his was at Santa Cruz de Rosales. This battle was the last of the war; the treaty was signed recently before.

After the war with Mexico, General Price was elected governor of Missouri. When Lincoln was chosen as president, Missouri held a convention with Price in charge of it. At the time, he was a Union man with no thoughts of secession. When Lincoln planned to use force, the Missouri State Guard came into being, with Price as major general. He tried desperately to maintain the peace in Missouri. But when Lyon took command of Camp Jackson, and killed the unarmed, Price and other men thought the action uncalled for. At this point, Price switched sides and joined the Confederacy, and with the Guard, set to fight.

Following his switch, Governor Jackson chose Price as commander of the Confederate forces in Missouri. His first decisive battle was of that at Wilson’s Creek, where he successfully led troops along side General Ben McCulloch.

General McCulloch

In Rutherford County, Texas, Benjamin McCulloch was born on November 11^th, 1811. His father was Alexander McCulloch, who had been a major in Brig. Gen. John Coffee’s army during Andrew Jackson’s crusade against the Creek Indians. Ben McCulloch’s family succeeded in North Carolina, but lost money during the Revolution and his father was unable to save his inheritance. Education had not been an option for the two youngest sons in the family, and Ben had been one of them. His family moved around a lot also. In North Carolina, they lived near Sam Houston, who became a close friend. In Tennessee they resided near David Crockett, who became a very influential person in McCulloch’s life.

In 1835, Ben agreed to follow Crockett into Texas. He arrived late with his older brother Henry, so instead, Ben went alone with Crockett towards San Antonio. McCulloch fell ill with the measles and was unable to reach the Alamo in time for the fight. Soon after, he joined Houston’s army retreating into eastern Texas. At the Battle of San Jacinto, he led one of the Twin Sisters, and was appointed first lieutenant by Houston. He shortly left this army to survey Gonzales and Seguin in Texas. There, he joined the Texas Rangers. He became a first lieutenant under John Coffee Hays, then known as the Indian fighter.

In 1839, McCulloch served in the House of Representatives. His campaign was hurt by a duel with Reuben Ross, in which Ross had wounded McCulloch’s right arm. From then on, McCulloch’s arm was distorted. His sweet revenge came in a later duel when he managed to kill Ross. After his brief time in politics, McCulloch decided to return to surveying, and a military career.

Most of his military service was done in Texas. Before Mexico and the U.S. were actually at war, McCulloch fought at the Battle of Plum Creek in August of 1840. He also scouted enemy positions when Mexico planned to take San Antonio. While doing so, he was involved with a brief skirmish with Rafael Vasquez’s raiders below the Rio Grande. When Mexico finally did take San Antonio, McCulloch went on another scouting venture, and he stayed with the heart of the Texas army when they planned to seize Mexico. Luckily, he and his older brother Henry left the unsuccessful Somervell expedition only moments before the other Texans were apprehended. Experiencing a little more politics, McCulloch served in Texas’s First Legislature when the state was annexed.

During the actual war with Mexico, McCulloch raised the Texas Rangers to be in Col. Jack Hays’s First Regiment. He reported to the U.S. army and became Zachary Taylor’s chief of scouts, due to his previous scouting endeavors. For his journeys throughout northern Mexico, McCulloch won a notable reputation. Later on, he led an infantry at the Battle of Monterry, and before Buena Vista, McCulloch was able to save Taylor’s army from destruction. For this contribution, he was appointed major of U.S. volunteers.

In 1849, after the war had finished, McCulloch went in search of gold in California along with many others during the nation’s Gold Rush. He failed to make money, but was hired as sheriff of Sacramento. Following this, Senator Sam Houston and Thomas Jefferson Rusk tried to help him gain command of a U.S. cavalry. Because McCulloch lacked a formal education, it was a hard task to do. The soon-to-be –president, Franklin Pierce, promised McCulloch commands, but Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, who would later go on to become the leader of the Confederacy, gave the position to someone else. McCulloch then became a U.S. marshal for eastern Texas.

Ben McCulloch became a peace commissioner in 1858 to help Brigham Young and the Mormon Church. He’s credited with preventing the fighting between the U.S. government and the Latter Day Saints in Utah.

At the approach of the Civil War, when Texas seceded, McCulloch was made colonel. He was instructed to demand surrender of all federal posts in the Military District of Texas. In mid-February of 1861, Gen. Twiggs handed over all U.S. property in San Antonio to McCulloch at the Alamo, with no shots being fired.

When war was finally declared, Jefferson Davis made McCulloch a brigadier-general. He was 2^nd-ranked in the Confederate army, and was the first one appointed from a non-military community. Ben was assigned to Indian Territory, where he first met up with Price. Despite his inability to cooperate with Gen. Price, McCulloch was able to make allies with the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, and other Indian tribes.

When the two generals were officially joined in working together, they had trouble agreeing on battle strategies and techniques, and could not collaborate. However, Price’s pride did not interfere with the military necessity. Price said, “Now sir, I have commanded in more battles than you ever saw, Gen. McCulloch. I have three times as many troops as you. I have higher rank than you are, and I am twenty years your senior in age. I waive all these things, Gen. McCulloch, and if you will march into Missouri I will obey your orders, and give you the whole command and all the glory to be won there.” This understanding between the two men helped them in winning the Battle of Wilson’s Creek.

Twain Stances

The fighting in St. Louis at the arsenal and Camp Jackson, and the deaths that were caused, angered the Missouri legislature. Lyon had been the center of the operations. Governor Jackson chose Price as head of the Confederate forces in turn. A temporary truce was held between Federal Gen. W. A. Harney and Price, but it was not obeyed. Lyon, head of the Union forces, took Jackson out of his capital, installing a pro-Union government. This angered Southerners immensely.

Once General Lyon had driven Jackson from the capital, he wanted to reach Arkansas. General Sterling Price set out with General McCulloch to prevent Lyon from doing so. Lyon headed towards the state, and once he was 50 miles from the border, he recognized that he was 120 miles away from his railroad base. Being so far away would cause problems when supplies ran out, for they would be hard to restore. Lyon later heard that the rebels would be approaching within a couple months, and he did not want to retreat so quickly. In July of 1861, Lyon drilled his troops and bought what supplies he could. He also urged St. Louis for backup, because soon on August 1^st, he was informed that the enemy was moving up with more men. Lyon took men down the Fayetteville Road to turn them back. He met with Price’s advance guard at Dug Springs on August 2^nd. The following day, there was a brief skirmish at McCulloch’s farm, where McCulloch had withdrawn. Afraid of being pulled farther way from where supplies could be bought, Lyon took his men and was able to reach Springfield again on August 5^th.

Things went wrong with the Union armies, from the beginning. Some soldiers were due for release between August 9^th through the 18^th. So, many claimed release right before the battle. Sigel made a desperate futile attempt to keep his soldiers. Still, two-thirds of the men left without warning. The shortage of men effected the number of soldiers able to fight. The total numbers of those with the Confederacy were overwhelming compared to those of Lyon’s army and would prove crucial in the battle.

Pre-Battle Strategy

On August 8^th and 9^th, both the Union and Confederate sides drafted plans of attack.

General Lyon first decided to attack on the 9^th, but delayed the encounter for one more day. He and his troops were camped at Springfield, Missouri. Lyon planned to leave behind 1000 men to guard supplies, and take along 5,400 to fight in the battle. He decided those 1200 men under Col. Franz Sigel (the man who aided him at Camp Jackson), would go around wide to attack the south, parallel to the Confederate right, and attack there. While Sigel did this, the main troops under the general would strike from the north.

Union forces marched on the evening of the 9^th, moving west. They then turned south and met with Sturgis’s command. The army set up camp around 1:00am near enemy pickets. Sigel and his 1200 men marched down Fayetteville Road, and ran around the left. At dawn, they were within a mile of the rebels.

McCulloch led the Confederate forces alongside Price. General Price would hold the west side of the stream. He and four groups of Missouri men would hold the south point of Wilson’s Creek where Lyon had planned to attack. A fifth Missouri group would be farther upstream. Covering the east banks would be a Louisiana and an Arkansas regiment. Farther down south, Pearce would keep troops on the Fayetteville Road, the farthest position taken by the army. Confederate units would attack up Oak Hill (also known as Bloody Hill), and converge with the Union soldiers.

Bloody Hill, The Battle of Wilson’s Creek (Oak Hill)

On August 10^th, 1961, with the Union outnumbered two to one on the field, the battle began by Bonnie Wilson Creek in Missouri, about twelve miles southwest of Springfield.

At 4:00am, the first fire was shot, when General Lyon and Col. Sigel attacked. The northern columns moved out, and Lyon took his men up the west side of the creek and attacked Confederate Rain’s pickets. The rebels were able to escape and warn the rest of the army. Capt. Plummer’s Missouri Home Guard went east, supported by the 1^st U.S. Infantry, after seeing the Confederate soldiers advancing. They were separated from the main army by a deep ravine in a swampy area of the creek. Plummer crossed over into a cornfield and came upon a large Confederate Louisiana force. After about an hour of fighting, along with the backup help of the 1^st Iowa and 2^nd Kansas, they were able to push the Southerners back. However, the rebels planned an insurgency, and killed 80 opposing soldiers.

Later on, the only action was on the far right where Price’s Missouri men fought the 1^st Missouri and tried to turn tem. The 2^nd Kansas came to support the Unionists, and was able to turn back Price.

Meanwhile, at 5:30am, Col. Sigel took his men near Tyrel’s Creek with a cannon set up on the east side, and fired onto Confederate cavalry units. He crossed the creek into lower camp where Southerners had left before. He went forward with his infantry, and was confronted with a small hindrance in which he was easily able to overcome. He moved forward to Sharp’s House. At this time, men from Arkansas and Texas went north to help Price against Lyon. This left Sigel faced with McCulloch, who along with other Missouri men and part of the Louisiana regiment had just fought Plummer. They were successful in driving back Sigel’s force. Sigel had mistaken the gray rebels for the 1^st Iowa, assuming that Reid’s fire from the east was that of an ally. Sigel figured Lyon had already been there, and for this mistake, was taken back.

Around 6:30am, the Confederates lined under Price were ready to fight. The Union was armed with 16 guns, the Confederates with 15. Price headed up Oak Hill, and after an hour, was driven down to Wilson’s Creek. Here, he planned a counterattack on the enemy forces. The cavalry was sent, but failed when Federal troops gunned them down. Soon after, Lyon was able to turn back two more Confederate attacks upon the hill. By 11:00 that morning, Sigel was torn out of the fight, and Lyon’s men faced twice as many Southerners, making it nearly impossible.

Lyon was quite unfortunate during the battle. He didn’t ride his horse, and instead instructed the troops on foot. A passing Minnie Ball killed his horse, and Lyon was shot in the leg. Lyon was later hit again when a bullet skimmed his head. Not ready to give up, Lyon was helped to the back of the line, and planned for a second run in which he decided to lead the 2^nd Kansas himself. Shortly after the start of the attack, Lyon was shot off his horse, and fell into the arms of Lehmann, a close friend in the army. “Lehmann, I am killed...” said Lyon, as life ran out on him. Nathaniel Lyon died that morning at 10:30am, on August 10^th, 1861. He was the first general to die performing service to his country during the Civil War.

The battle was not stopped because of this unpropitious happening. Instead, Maj. Samuel D. Sturgis took over the Federal regiments, because other officers that were higher in rank were incapacitated. At 11:00am, the Confederacy launched a third attack on Oak Hill. The 1^st Iowa, fighting with the Union, refused Schofield’s orders to charge. Instead they stayed put and continued to fight. Their plan worked, and the rebels headed down the hill for the fourth time that day.

At this point, around 11:30am, Maj. Sturgis ordered a retreat to Springfield. He lacked confidence in his troops’ ability. They were tired, almost out of ammo, and other supplies were running low with no back up to aid them. When he reached Springfield, he saw that Sigel had come there only thirty minutes before. Sturgis handed over the command to Sigel and on August 11^th, the Union forces retired.

The Aftermath

To summarize it all, the Union had been largely outnumbered. After Lyon’s death, Sturgis was incapable of taking over, and his order of retreat lost the battle for the Union. The Confederate forces gained a victory in Missouri. However, it was not a “miraculous” victory, since they were too exhausted to follow up on the Union withdrawal.

The Union estimated a loss of 1,317 deaths on their side. The Confederate numbers came to be about 1,222 deaths, leaving a total of 2,539 casualties during the Battle of Wilson’s Creek.

Civil War author, Jay Monaghan, wrote about this battle. “Had the fortunes of battle spared Lyon, Wilson’s Creek might have been the most brilliant victory of the Civil War. General Sherman blamed the next four years of strife and pillage in Missouri on Lyon’s death,” wrote Monaghan. By this he meant that if Lyon had not died, the Union may have won the battle, and the four years of fighting over Missouri that followed, may not have been so bad.

What it meant to Missouri

This battle was the most prominent battle fought in Missouri in the year of 1861. This was the start of the war in the state, and because the Confederates did not pursue the Union farther, they were destined to meet later in many skirmishes. Control over the state was the main point of battles fought in Missouri, since it was so evenly divided. In late October, Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson held a meeting in Neosho. An ordinance of secession was passed, for due to the battle, the Confederates then had control over Southwestern Missouri. This battle also set the stage for the Battle of Pea Ridge, at where Price would also fight alongside McCulloch, and against Sigel.

The Fighting Continues

Continuous attempts were made by both the Union and Confederacy to gain control over Missouri. Because Price and McCulloch could never agree on battle plans, Jefferson Davis appointed General Earl Van Dorn as head of both their armies on January 10^th, 1862. Soon after, the venture for Missouri continued.

In March of 1862, under General Van Dorn, Price led Confederates with the help of McCulloch at the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern (Pea Ridge). Sigel, since promoted to Brig. General, led the Union forces under Major General Samuel Curtis. Because McCulloch and McIntosh were killed during the battle, Confederate actions were delayed. It is said that Sigel crushed the Confederate lines by leading the artillery. Some say Price really won, but General Van Dorn became distracted by his generals’ deaths, and overestimated the Union’s force. Because of this, he retreated.

After this battle, Sigel and Price were made major generals. For Missouri, the retreat of the Confederate forces meant that the Union would have control over the state for the next two years.

Late in 1864, Price tried to regain Missouri one last time. Close to Kansas City, he attacked Maj. General Samuel Curtis’s much larger army at the Battle of Westport, and was forced to retreat. This battle became important for Price’s Missouri campaign. Now, with the Confederate army was always in retreat, the Union remained in control of Missouri throughout the end of the war.

* * *

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek left its mark in Missouri during the Civil War time period. Being the first major battle fought in the state, it is what stimulated the continuous struggle for control. Had Lyon lived to see its outcome, the battle could have very well prevented the destruction it caused later on. Yet Lyon was unfortunately gunned down, and Price and McCulloch taking the advantage, were successful in relieving Sturgis’s confidence, and were able to force the Union retreat. This battle, this combat for power, opened the eyes of many within the state that were torn between sides, and showed them that Missouri would be spared no effects of the nation’s bloodiest war.