Wilson's Creek

• Wilson's Creek

  

  Known as the Bull Run of the West, the Battle of Wilson's Creek was named for this stream. Union and Confederate soldiers alike passed over the creek with relative ease during the battle.

  Rob Shenk

• Sokalski's Section

  

  Two guns of Captain James Totten's battery under Lieutenant George Sokalski fired the opening shots of the battle of Wilson's Creek.

  Rob Shenk

• Gibson's Oatfield

  

  In the opening phases of the battle, Gen. Lyon dispatched Capt. Joseph Plummer and a battalion of Regulars to cross Wilson's Creek. They advanced through this oatfield only to be driven back by Confederate artillery.

  Chris Heisey

• Edward's Cabin

  

  Confederate general Sterling Price made his headquarters in this cabin near Wilson's Creek

  Rob Shenk

• Backoff's Battery

  

  Once the Union attack began, General Franz Sigel ordered Franz Backoff's Missouri Light Artillery to begin shelling the Confederate position from the rear. The confused Southerners, however, soon regrouped and drove Sigel's men back across Wilson's Creek

  Rob Shenk

• Artillery Atop Bloody Hill

  

  Lyon's Federals quickly went on the defensive in the face of the Confederate counterattack, making their stand on what is now known as Bloody Hill. When the smoke cleared, more than 1,700 Union and Confederate troops had become casualties on this part of the field.

  Rob Shenk

• Arkansas Troops

  

  Enlargement of a group portrait of Company H, 3rd Arkansas State Troops, who fought on Bloody Hill

  Wilson's Creek National Battlefield

• Wilson's Creek: Confederate Ford

  

  Confederates of Benjamin McCullough's Western Army crossed Wilson's Creek at this point on their way to Bloody Hill

  Chris Heisey

• A Fallen Leader

  

  Commander of the Union Army of the West, Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon was killed while rallying his troops. In the years following the battle, veterans stacked rocks on the spot where their leader fell.

  Library of Congress/Wilson's Creek National Battlefield

• Lyon Marker

  

  This modest tablet marking the spot of Nathaniel Lyon's death, is the only monument on the Wilson's Creek battlefield

  Chris Heisey

• The Death of Nathaniel Lyon

  

  Period sketch depicting the death of General Lyon

  Library of Congress

• Ray House

  

  Located on the eastern bank of Wilson's Creek, the Ray house was used as a Confederate field hospital during the battle. Union general Nathaniel Lyon was also brought here at the end of the fighting

  Rob Shenk

• Ray House: Lyon's Deathbed

  

  After being shot through the chest Nathaniel Lyon was brought to the Ray house and laid in this bed, where he subsequently died. Lyon was the first Union general killed in combat during the Civil War.

  Rob Shenk

• Ray Springhouse

  

  This outbuilding on the Ray farm, which was the family's only source of water, is one of only two surviving wartime structures on the Wilson's Creek battlefield

  Chris Heisey

• Missouri State Guard Monument

  

  Monument to the Missouri State Guard outside the Wilson's Creek Civil War Museum (formerly the General Sweeney Museum).

  Rob Shenk

• Confederate Cherokee Braves

  

  The flag of the Confederate Cherokee Braves - located at the Wilson's Creek Civil War Museum (formerly the General Sweeny Museum)

  Rob Shenk

• Historic Map of Wilson's Creek

  

  A detailed view of a map of the Battle of Wilson's Creek - located at the Wilson's Creek Civil War Museum (formerly the General Sweeny Museum)

  Rob Shenk