★ Lyon, Nathaniel

Nathaniel Lyon​

Born: July 14, 1818

Birthplace: Ashford, Connecticut

Father: Amasa Lyon 1771 – 1843

(Buried: Phoenixville Cemetery, Eastford, Connecticut)​

Mother: Kezia Knowlton 1781 – 1852

(Buried: Phoenixville Cemetery, Eastford, Connecticut)​

Education:

1841: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (11th​ in class)​

Occupation before War:

1841 – 1847: 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 2nd​ Infantry Regiment​

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1841 – 1842: Served in the Seminole War in Florida

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1842 – 1846: Garrison Duty at Sackett's Harbor, New York​

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1846: Garrison Duty at Fort Columbus, New York​

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1847 – 1851: 1st​ Lt. United States Army, 2nd​ Infantry Regiment​

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1847: Served in the Siege of Vera Cruz, Mexico​

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1847: Served in the Battle of Cerro Gordo, Mexico​

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1847: Served in the Battle of Contreras, Mexico​

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1847: Brevetted Captain for Gallantry in two Mexican War Battles​

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1847: Wounded at the Belen Gate during capture of Mexico City​

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1848: Garrison Duty at Fort Hamilton, New York​

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1848 – 1849: Served on a Voyage to California​

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1849 – 1850: Frontier Duty in California​

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1850: Served on Expedition to Clear Lake and Russian River​

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1850 – 1851: Quartermaster Duty in San Diego, California​

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1851 – 1861: Captain, United States Army, 2nd​ Infantry Regiment​

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1854 – 1855: Frontier Duty at Fort Riley, Kansas​

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1855: Frontier Duty at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas​

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1855: Served in the Sioux Expedition​

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1859 – 1860: Frontier Duty at Fort Riley, Kansas​

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1860 – 1861: Frontier Duty at Silver Lake, Kansas​

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1861: Frontier Duty at Fort Scott, Kansas​

Civil War Career:

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1861: Brigadier General of Union Army Volunteers​

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1861: Commander of St. Louis, Missouri Arsenal Defenses​

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1861: Broke up an assembly of Secessionists at Camp Jackson​

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1861: Kicked in the stomach by an Aide's Horse​

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1861: In Engaged in Capture of State Archives at Jefferson City, Missouri​

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1861: Union Army Commander at Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri​

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1861: Mortally Wounded three times Battle of Wilson's Creek​

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1861: His first wound was to the outer part of his right calf​

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1861: His second wound grazed the right side of his head​

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1861: He was killed by a chest wound, made by a squirrel rifle​

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1861: Attempts to embalm the body were not successful​

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1861: His body was placed in an icehouse at Springfield, Missouri​

Died: August 10, 1861

Place of Death: Battlefield, Missouri

Cause of Death: Killed in battle

Age at time of Death: 43 years old

Original Burial Place: Cornfield on Farm, Springfield, Missouri

Burial Place: Phoenixville Cemetery, Eastford, Connecticut

 

[Pollaco]

I don't know if you could call it a private army but Lyons did arm the organization known as the Wide Awakes.Lyons smuggled in arms and secretly trained the St. Louis Wide Awake chapter into becoming a paramilitary unit.Lyon then used his political connections like Francis P. Blair to have himself named as the head of the St. Louis arsenal.His Wide Awakes were then mustered into the U.S. Army.

 

[breckod]

Didn't Lyons start drilling his own private army to use against the state government and this two months before the war started (February 1861)?...and didn't Lincoln's supporters send money and equipment for this private army?

I don't believe Lyon got to Missouri until March.

I don't know if you could call it a private army but Lyons did arm the organization known as the Wide Awakes.Lyons smuggled in arms and secretly trained the St. Louis Wide Awake chapter into becoming a paramilitary unit.Lyon then used his political connections like Francis P. Blair to have himself named as the head of the St. Louis arsenal.His Wide Awakes were then mustered into the U.S. Army.

I wouldn't call it Lyon's private army since Lyon didn't organize them (though he did drill them) and they were there before him. A private army, sure, though only until they were mustered into federal service. Did Lyon smuggle in arms though? I would presume he just armed them from the arsenal that Blair got him put in charge of.

 

[Booner]

I don't believe Lyon got to Missouri until March.

I wouldn't call it Lyon's private army since Lyon didn't organize them (though he did drill them) and they were there before him. A private army, sure, though only until they were mustered into federal service. Did Lyon smuggle in arms though? I would presume he just armed them from the arsenal that Blair got him put in charge of.

It was Francis Blair that formed and equipped a force of several thousand strong Home Guard, drawn from the Wide Awakes, and German immigrants that belonged to the German gymnastic "Turnverein" movement in St. Louis.
When Lyon finally arrived in St. Louis, Blair had Lyon help train these men.