The next meeting of the Nashville (TN) Civil War Roundtable will be on Monday, May 18th, 2009, in the visitor’s center of Ft. Negley Park, a unit of Metro Parks, Nashville, TN. This is located off I-65 just south of downtown between 4th Avenue South and 8th Avenue South on Edgehill Avenue/Chestnut Avenue. Take Exit 81, Wedgewood Avenue, off I-65 and follow the signs to the Science Museum. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM and is always open to the public. Members please bring a friend or two – new recruits are always welcomed.
OUR SPEAKER AND TOPIC:
“A MEAN FOWT FIGHT – THE BATTLE OF WILSON’S CREEK”
The critical state of Missouri was a slave state but, like Kentucky, had powerful ties to the Union as well as a history of political compromise in the attempt to keep the Union from splitting apart. A case can be made that the Civil War started in western Missouri and Kansas in the 1850’s as pro and anti-slavery factions squared off. Crucial in holding the state in the Union in 1861 was St. Louis and its large German population. The city, with its large industrial base and US arsenal full of weapons, became a target for pro-Southern forces as the war began.
Forces loyal to Gov. Claiborne Jackson, who was pro-Southern, were captured by local militia under US Army Captain Nathaniel Lyon and politician Frank Blair at Camp Jackson as they formed and trained for state service. This was the catalyst that set the state aflame and brought the rise of the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard under Sterling Price as well as the large number of Union regiments from the state. A campaign of maneuver and battle was waged as Lyon chased Southern forces westward culminating in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek on August 10th, 1861.
Combining his forces with those of Franz Sigel, Lyon, now a Brigadier General and outnumbered two to one (the Confederates having been reinforced from Arkansas and Louisiana under Ben McCulloch), attacked and was initially successful before superior numbers were brought to bear. Lyon was killed and the Union troops driven back in defeat. With the casualties numbering over 2400 combined (out of 16,000 engaged), this battle was a forerunner of things to come.
Jeff Patrick is a Park Ranger at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield where he has been since 1992. He holds two history degrees from Purdue University and is the author of several books including a new tome on Wilson’s Creek due soon. He has written a number of articles on the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War 1 for Indiana Military History Journal, the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Civil War Regiments, Kansas History and the Journal of Mississippi History. He has also had articles published in Blue & Gray magazine, North & South magazine as well as others.
Please join us for a program on the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, the critical battle for Missouri.
Greg Biggs