Notable Events:

• Battle of Boonville (June 17, 1861)

In modern times, the small town of Boonville, Missouri, has attracted little attention, but early in the war it was the site of the retreating secessionist elements of the Missouri state government, led by deposed Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson. Federal forces under command of General Nathaniel Lyon pursued Jackson and the Missouri State Guard and met them in battle at Boonville. The secessionists lost the battle and retreated to the southwest corner of the state. Like the exiled secessionist leaders, Boonville soon faded back into obscurity.