The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1901-08-22
WILSON'S CREEK.
Missouri Saved to the Union by
Gen. Lyon.
BY GEN. JOHN A. HALDERMAN.

and the stirring events about me made
deep impression upon my youthful fancy
/ even remember, and l will say tina
at the distance of 40 years it is one of tn
pleasantest membranes Of that day
that as we went up the hill that mornin
to attack the Confederate forces we passe
a wounded Confederate picket, who wa
clearly in great suffering, and with but
few hours of life before him. He was ly
ing in an unnatural and very uncomforta
bic position, but apparently too weak t
get into q better one. l asked one Of on
men, who were walking slowly, to ste
out Of line and make things comfortable
for that poor fellow-to let him die il
peace. Accordingly, breaking ranks, h
took the wounded Confederate, who w6r
jeans, which indicated that he was q ma
tive of the country, and had not long BEEF
in the service, and carried him UP near tn
foot of an old tree, where he placed hin
in as restful a position as possible.
The poor fellow made two bows faint
ly-one to the soldier who had helped hin
and the other to me, as much as to sa!
thank YOU" but he was too weak t,
speak. In the terrible slaughter Of tina
day | never thought of him again, but u
this distance of time 1 remember his pal,
features and despairing look as if he ha(
been a dear acquaintance.
The LIST Kan, as it went into the con
test, used this refrain:
so let the wide world wag as it will,
Wen be gay and happy still"
INFLUENCE OF GEN. LYON.
Our Colonel was named Deitzler, but
Gen. Lyon, under whom we fought, was
| the moving spirit of the day, and a mos
remarkable man he was. In the opinion
of many military critics he would, had hs
lived, have become one of the great Gen
erals of the war. To him and to Frank
Blair is due the fact Missouri was not
carried into secession; they were respon
sible for the capture OF the Confederate
Camp Jackson, which was filled with Mis-
souri, State Guards, all OF whom were
Confederate in feeling and eager for O
| chance to exercise their skill in markham
ship. Lyon simply surrounded the camp
and captured it before they had time tc
make up their minds what to do. His
early and aggressive action was a power
full influence in suppressing the incipient
rebellion in the State, and his services car
never be too highly praised.
Gen. Lyon was Connecticut man, q
West Pointer, who had been stationed al
Fort Leavenworth and at the Jefferson
Barracks, near st. Louis. His earnestness
and zeal for the cause of the Union were
further shown when his will was read; II
was found that he had left all his little
property to the Government of the United
States. He had no family.
BEFORE THE BATTLE OF WILSON'S CREEK.
l always remember an interview with
Gen. Lyon which l had just before the
battle on the night of Aug. 2. He had
sent for me to ask if / wanted an indepen-
dent command, and when / answered
atfirmatiyely he ordered five companies of
my regiment and four of the I'd to report
to me.
When | went to Gen. Lyons headquar-
tiers, which were in the edge of the town
Of Springfield, l saw two or three men
with him, manifestly natives of the conn
try, because of their dress. They stopped
talking when l entered. Lyon indicated
TO them that it was all right to go on in
my presence. They were his spies, and
had succeeded in capturing the muster
rolls of the united forces of Price and
McCulloch, from which it appeared that
they had 22,5OO men. Our force did not
exceed 5000.
l then said to Gen. Lyon, for of course
knew him well, You do not propose
with this handful of men 20 go down there
and attack that united army" and | be-
gan to think my Independent command
would not be so pleasant after all.
Gen. Lyon pulled his chin whiskers, a
habit he had when engaged in thought,
and he was nervous man in his way,
replying that it was absolutely necessary
to make an attack upon the Confederates
in order to save our CoInmissary and
Quartermaster stores in retreat. He COM
planned that the authorities at st. Louis
had not sent him reinforcements, when
Fremont's army, which was in that neigh
borhood, might apparently have done so.
But, ike the brave man Lyon was, hay-
ing decided a battle necessary, even
against overwhelming odds, he made the
preparations for it.
THE FIELD OF BATTLE.
On the night of the 9th Of August, about
midnight, we moved out to near where the
COnfederates under Price and McCuIloch
were in camp, a spot since known as the
battlefield of Wilson's Creek 1t was a
rough, billy region of country, more or
less covered with blackjack, as they called
the small oak bushes.
We reached the place OF engagement
about daylight, capturing some of the
rebel pickets, and, after a little rest,
moved forward to make the attack.
The battle was fought at close range,
oftentimes the contestants being only a
few yards apart. Our men were gen
orally armed with the old Springfield rife,
while the COnfederates had in many in
stances only shotguns. Most of our
wounded were disabled by buckshot or
buck-and-ball. Some of the Confederates
used old double-barreled guns, but all the
soldiers on both sides were alike in the
respect that they were used to handling
firearms. There was not q man there who
was not familiar with guns, pistols and
horseback riding.
Most OF the Confederates were Mis-
sourians and the Unionisus Kansaps and
lowans. There was a good deal of bad
feeling between the States in those days,
and the raw troops from each side were
not ayerse, if the truth be known, to get
ting shot at each other
The battle lasted from about o'clock
In the morning till noon, when we re-
tired, carrying off our wounded and pre-
cedeo by our ambulances.
The Confederates, as we afterwards
learned, were thinking about falling back
before we had decided to do so, and at all
events both sides were pretty well ready
to stop. The reason our men were able
TO make a stand against such overwhelm-
ing numbers was in their superior eouip-
ment; the Confederates We're raw levies,
whereas we had body of Regulars, be-
sides the two Kansas, one Iowa and one
Missouri regiment, which had seen some
training. Our Missourians came from the
neighborhood Of st. Louis, which was a
Union stronghold, just as the rich agricul-
tural Counties OF the State were a Com
federate stronghold.
The six hours of that battle were
among the hottest, for an engagement of
its size, Of any in the war. This has nNen
the opinion of many eminent critics of the
struggle. L was stationed on the left