Battle of Wilson's Creek

Battle of Wilson’s Creek

By Ian Spurgeon, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Washington, D.C.

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek on August 10, 1861, was the first major engagement of the Civil War west of the Mississippi River. It pitted a smaller but aggressive Union army against a numerically superior force of Confederate soldiers and pro-secessionist Missouri State Guard for the future of Missouri. Despite surprising the Confederates that morning, the federals withdrew by mid-day in the face of repeated Southern counterattacks. The Southern victory bolstered Confederate sentiment in Missouri and set the stage for a bold campaign in September by the Missouri State Guard against federal forces further to the north.

Sigel, Franz

By Ian Spurgeon, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Washington, D.C.

Franz Sigel is one of the best known foreign-born Union generals of the Civil War. Sigel drew German immigrants into the Republican fold, largely through a strong antislavery sentiment within their community. He is largely remembered as a poor field commander during the Civil War who could not be dismissed easily due to his popularity within the large, pro-Union German immigrant population.

Battle of Wilson's Creek

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek marked the first major military engagement of the Civil War in the southwest Missouri border region, as well as the first death of a Union general, Nathaniel Lyon.

Battle of Wilson's Creek

Sat, 08/10/1861

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek marks the first major military engagement of the Civil War in the southwest Missouri border region.