, 1861-11-07
The Wilson Creek Battle Ground,
4 VISIT I'd The MEMORIALS LOCALITY WHERE
LYON FELL
AN INTERESTING ACCOUNT.
[FrOm the St. Louis Democrat. Nov sth

Yesterday morning party, composed of tae
members of the press attached to the staff of
General Fremont, rode out to the scene Of our
little arpys. gallant exploits on Wilson's
Greek Originally various Of the members Of
the stall were to be numbered among the par
~, but vague rumors Of guerilla bands 1nrk-
ing among the raVines Of the battle-ground,
ready to pounce upon unsuspecting visitors
to the place, and the advice Of the Msjor Gen
eral himself, to postpone the visit, induced
sundry Colone1s, Majors, members Of Con
gress, etc, to fo1ego the pleasure.
Ihe battle ground OF Wilson'S Greek has
been SO recently and go fully described, that
the public is pretty generally acquainted with
t9S characterIstics Of the ground. Rough and
hilly, covered with stones and denae thfckets,
It certainly is, as one OF cur party observed,
about as diMgreea6le place for q battle as one
could well find in Missouri, let him hunt the
State over. The principal feature Of the 10
callty is large ravine, or to, perhaps, speak
Wilson's Greek, here little Stream % ef twenty %
teet or 60 in width, winds its way. Back Of
the hills which rise in gradual ascent some two
hundred or three hundred feet on either side
OF this stream. is succession of other smaller
and more more gently rolling ascents, each with
valleys are covered with what in timber coun-
tries is known as "Eecond GROWTH trees of oak
ard hickory, and under these, and in the lit
tie openings which occur at intervals, are
dense thickets Of bushes, which at some points
are almost lmpenetrable. The ground is uni
veIsally rocky, tAe teW places where there are
no bills or bushes, being at points where there
is not sufficient soil On the lodges for yegeta-
ton to take root The ss bottom,' of the main
valley {such as there is CT it, through which
the creek runs, is, for the most part densely
covered with th1ckets. The stream running
close to The westerly elevation or hill, towards
which the federal troops were pressing, the
larger. portion Of this bottom was, conse-
quentiy, On the confederate side, ard some Of
the open points, which we're screened from
our fire by the larger trees, served them well
o7ap aS GanE tSa SE POINTS for their troops driven
One of the camps Of the enemy WAS on the
westerly declivity Of this valley, or the side
from which Lyon approached. The road lead
lpg up TO this part Of the country, IS have
above said, is but a mere by-path and it is
evident the rebels, if they dreamed Of an ap-
LEAF Gen. Lyon would come by this route.
The "Cassville road" which ran through the
cam On the other side Of the river, and which
ls the regular mail route, vas guarded bv
p1ckets for several miles towards Springfield,
but 1t would seem that they had not single
picket out in the direction in which the at.
tack was really made. The regular sentiueis
Ct the camp On this side we're the frat to !
sound the. alarm, about daybreak on the 10th, |
when the boom Of Sigel'e cannons came watt
GU aN4OEo cAC A144es fAA&A L4Ou ul3EEEu an Aa-
vance Of the main body. They we're vident-
II taken completely by surprise. A shot |
fired by Dnbols's battery, without orders,
at moving mass On the opposite side OF ]
the valley, was the beginning Of the engage
ment. The first fight was On little hill |
overlooking the valley. The camp Of the enc.
my vas On spur Of the main ridge, and d.
rectly behind the enemy as they made the |
inst stand This point was contested for
abont tWeaty minutes, when the enemy re- |
treated over this bill, and fell back beyond
their e encampmmt on the next. The ground |
LEFT By the enemy was possessed by the fed |
erals who noW came over to the top Of the
main ridge, fully exposed to. the showers of
shot poured into them by the rebel batteries
valley, and engaged their infantry as they i'd
Eanced up its gentle decliyity. It was on this
slope that the sharpest fighting Of the dav
took place; here that the gallant Missouri,
kaneas arp Iowa regiments won unfadiug
1aurele, and performed unparalleled feats of
Valor, to live IS long as time ITSELF
1t is not necessary to recapitulate the vary
ing fortunes Of the day. How, while the vol
unteers were strongly contesting the elope
above, onr gallant regulars, led by the brave
Steele, Plummer, Gilbert and others, were
fighting, as regulars only can fight, in the.
weasied with the unnatural strife, mutually
retiring over the ridge, the other
drawn acroes the brook to the EaYine beyond.
The slope Of the hill bears every indication
Of the tremendous lragedy enacted upon it
by round shot, skeletons q dead horses scat
tered every here and there; and more
horrible than all, an occasional human skull.
o. perhaps il some Of the numerous thick
cts, the unburied remnins Of some poor,
had drsgged himself hither to die, uncon,-
[OrteQ and alone [ am haDDy to sav thera