Brass Napoleon Award Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (NPS Tour Stops)

* Anniversary Bump *

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Thanks to @Buckeye Bill 's heads-up on Facebook, I went there today. Although I missed the commemoration I did spend some quality time with Ranger Alan in the research library. He told me about working on some battlefield preservation studies when he was at Fort Scott. I use those studies all the time when I am searching out some of the less well known engagements. I think I may have "schooled" (NO DISRESPECT INTENDED !!)him a little on Vera Cruz (MO) / Clark's Mill as well!

Sterling Price's gold watch was right there next to his computer.....ho hum :D . Hey Bill.... put up that pic for me willya?!

Funny how things work... I actually should have been driving to meet Bill today except for my dad's second broken leg in two months.

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The Battle of Wilson's Creek
August 10, 1861

Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon’s Army of the West was camped at Springfield, Missouri, with Confederate troops under the commands of Brig. Gen. Ben McCulloch approaching. On August 9, both sides formulated plans to attack the other. About 5:00 am on the 10th, Lyon, in two columns commanded by himself and Col. Franz Sigel, attacked the Confederates on Wilson’s Creek about 12 miles southwest of Springfield. Rebel cavalry received the first blow and fell back away from Bloody Hill. Confederate forces soon rushed up and stabilized their positions. The Confederates attacked the Union forces three times that day but failed to break through the Union line. Lyon was killed during the battle and Maj. Samuel D. Sturgis replaced him. Meanwhile, the Confederates had routed Sigel’s column, south of Skegg’s Branch. Following the third Confederate attack, which ended at 11:00 am, the Confederates withdrew. Sturgis realized, however, that his men were exhausted and his ammunition was low, so he ordered a retreat to Springfield. The Confederates were too disorganized and ill-equipped to pursue. This Confederate victory buoyed southern sympathizers in Missouri and served as a springboard for a bold thrust north that carried Price and his Missouri State Guard as far as Lexington. In late October, a rump convention, convened by Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson, met in Neosho and passed an ordinance of secession. Wilson’s Creek, the most significant 1861 battle in Missouri, gave the Confederates control of southwestern Missouri.

* The Battle of Wilson's Creek Civil War Trust Map.

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* The Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Visitor Center.

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* Wilson's Creek.

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* Tour Stop : 1 (Gibson House Site, Mill Site and Oatfield).

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* The Ray Cornfield.

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* Tour Stop : 2 (The Ray House, Springhouse and Orchard).

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* Tour Stop : 3 (East Battlefield Overlook).

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* The Edward's Cabin (Confederate General Sterling Price's HQ).

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* Tour Stop : 4 (Sigel's Second Position).

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* Tour Stop : 5 (Sigel's Final Position - Backoff's Battery)

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* Tour Stop : 6 (Guibor's Battery).

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* Tour Stop : 7 (The Bloody Hill - Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon Death Site).

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* Tour Stop : 8 (Route of Union Advance and Withdrawal).

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* Missouri State Monument (The Battle of Oak Hills - Wilson's Creek).

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* Photos Courtesy of William Bechmann (2011)
We were there in 2011 too. The place where we ate breakfast was full of reenactors. Great pictures, Bill.
 
We were there in 2011 too. The place where we ate breakfast was full of reenactors. Great pictures, Bill.

My son and I were the only visitors on our tour. Then we toured the Pea Ridge National Military Park. Two of the best preserved American Civil War battlefields.

Bill
 
Thanks to @Buckeye Bill 's heads-up on Facebook, I went there today. Although I missed the commemoration I did spend some quality time with Ranger Alan in the research library. He told me about working on some battlefield preservation studies when he was at Fort Scott. I use those studies all the time when I am searching out some of the less well known engagements. I think I may have "schooled" him a little on Vera Cruz (MO) / Clark's Mill as well!

Sterling Price's gold watch was right there next to his computer.....ho hum :D . Hey Bill.... put up that pic for me willya?!

Funny how things work... I actually should have been driving to meet Bill today except for my dad's second broken leg in two months.

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Fantastic!
 
Great pics and comments. I grew up with Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern) in my back yard...but in my 53 years I have not been to Wilson's Creek. .yet!!

Thanks for sharing
 
Great pics and comments. I grew up with Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern) in my back yard...but in my 53 years I have not been to Wilson's Creek. .yet!!

Thanks for sharing

Thank you!!!

Wow and Insane!!!

Go to the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield now!

Bill
 
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http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...-what-happened-week-ozarks-history/380849001/

This is a photo from Wilson's Creek before it became a National Battlefield. Pre - 1960
I had the great pleasure of speaking with Dixie O'Connor about one of the mysteries of the battlefield. As you can see on the family signposts, #2 'the old well' location had been lost to time, and some of us were curious where it was at, since it was where deceased Union soldiers had been dumped after the battle, only to be exhumed later and moved to graves at the Springfield National Cemetery. The O'Connor family owned much of the southern part of Bloody Hill and the valley and had a museum before the park opened. She told us that her father had plowed much of their property for years and would find all sorts of Civil War relics and ..... human bones, which he would pitch into the old well. We were able to find the old well with her instructions, but of course, now that she had advised us that it was once again a potential grave, it was left to be re-hidden to nature. A case in point when one asks why historians treat battlefields with reverence.
 
In my view, that guy right there is a certified hot-head. I don't think there's any doubt that he was courageous. I don't think there's any doubt that he led from the front. My point is that, before the land war started, he was the guy who slammed his hand down on the negotiating table in St. Louis and declared: "This means war!" That left no further room for negotiation on the other side of the table.

Some of you might think this was heroic of Lyon. I think it was reckless, arrogant and self-righteous of him. A few of you will demand sources for my opinion. Here's my source: It's my opinion.

I think Lyon was personally responsible for dragging Missouri into the war earlier than it needed to be dragged in. Yes, our Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson was probably equally hot-headed and equally guilty. But he was not the first to slam down his hand on the table.

I know that Lyon was not kind to my home town of Boonville, MO in any way on the afternoon of June 17, 1861, nor for some days afterwards.

I think he was an arrogant bxxxxxx. He was very full of himself. I'd go so far as to say he saw himself as God's avenging angel. That self concept got him killed at Wilson Creek.

My personal opinion, you understand. I don't expect everyone to agree.
Your opinion is shared by many. Near as I can tell, nothing in the State was named in honor of the man. There was probably a monument put up somewhere in St. Louis.
 
The Sinkhole is a very haunted spot as well as a grave site. Lyon was a very brave man, but he was slightly off. He was a rabid abolitionist and a fanatic. He was a hard fighter as well. He well deserved his reputation, but he also caused Missouri to become a very dangerous and deadly inner Civil War. Many died over his need to save Missouri for the Union. Thanks Bill for the fantastic tour of Wilson's Creek. I haven't been there since my honeymoon with my late wife. A lot of good memories there also.
 
Not sure I read that article the first time through the thread. Didja visit Springfield National Cemetery?

Negative....

Next visit in the spring of 2019.

But I did visit the old General Sweeney Museum (Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Museum).

Bill
 
The Sinkhole is a very haunted spot as well as a grave site. Lyon was a very brave man, but he was slightly off. He was a rabid abolitionist and a fanatic. He was a hard fighter as well. He well deserved his reputation, but he also caused Missouri to become a very dangerous and deadly inner Civil War. Many died over his need to save Missouri for the Union. Thanks Bill for the fantastic tour of Wilson's Creek. I haven't been there since my honeymoon with my late wife. A lot of good memories there also.

Sorry for your loss, my friend...…

Bill
 
thanks Bill, I really liked the Old Sweeney. I always enjoyed it because it was about Missouri. Something rarely seen in Civil War museums. It was dedicated to Missourians, it was all that the owner collected. It was nice to see it get into the hands of the NPS at Wilson's Creek, otherwise it would have been scattered to the winds.
 
thanks Bill, I really liked the Old Sweeney. I always enjoyed it because it was about Missouri. Something rarely seen in Civil War museums. It was dedicated to Missourians, it was all that the owner collected. It was nice to see it get into the hands of the NPS at Wilson's Creek, otherwise it would have been scattered to the winds.

I concur 100%!

I really enjoyed "The Battle of Boonville" section in the museum.

Boonville, Missouri is the home of my little sister and @Patrick H.

Bill
 
The MSoS archives includes a number of personal narratives from participants of various battles fought in Missouri. I found the story of the Oak Hills battle related by a 1st Iowa Private very interesting. Situated on the extreme left of Lyon's front, the 1st Iowa was relatively lightly engaged. I believe they suffered fewer than a couple dozen killed. If memory serves, they advanced in line to initial contact with the MSG formation and halted. They made no effort to outflank the Missourians or to maneuver forward. During the early stages of the battle there was little to stop the Iowans from crossing the creek and attacking the rear of a portion of McCulloch's force, while it was dealing with Sigel at the southern sector of the battlefield. Though the Iowa troops could see enemy forces to their front, they basically hunkered down for the entirety of the battle, returning and receiving intermittent small arms fire. When the order to retreat back to Springfield was received, the Iowa soldiers were confused. They had convinced themselves Union forces had won the battle and didn't understand why they weren't advancing southward in pursuit of the enemy.
 
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