page_title: Battle of Wilson's Creek
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Wilson's Creek / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: BATTLE OF WILSON'S CREEK.
context_page_description: The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri.
  Missouri was officially a neutral state, but its governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson, supported the South and secretly collaborated with Confederate troops.
  In August, Confederates under Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch and Missouri State Guard troops under Maj. Gen. Sterling Price approached Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon's Army of the West, camped at Springfield. On August 10, Lyon, in two columns commanded by himself and Col. Franz Sigel, attacked the Confederates on Wilson's Creek about 10 miles southwest of Springfield. Confederate cavalry received the first blow and retreated from the high ground. Confederate infantry attacked the Union forces three times during the day but failed to break through. Eventually, Sigel's column was driven back to Springfield, allowing the Confederates to consolidate their forces against Lyon's main column. When Lyon was killed and General Thomas William Sweeny wounded, Major Samuel D. Sturgis assumed command of the Union forces.
context_section_description: At first light on the morning of August 10, the Union began a surprise attack on the opposing forces. Lyon's force overran the enemy camps and took the high ground at the crest of a ridge, which would become known as "Bloody Hill". Early Union hopes for a rout were dashed, however, when the artillery of the Pulaski Arkansas Battery unlimbered and checked the advance, which gave Price's infantry time and cover to organize lines on the south slope of the hill. Lyon organized a line on the southern slope of Bloody Hill, from which he launched an unsuccessful counterattack. Price launched a series of frontal and flank attacks but was also unsuccessful; a shortage of ammunition in the Confederate army was a factor in the Confederate defeats.
  The two Union forces lost contact with each other, with no means of communicating or supporting each other if anything went wrong. Sigel's attack was successful at first; the brigade arrived in the Confederate rear soon after dawn. Artillery fire routed the Confederate cavalry units, which were encamped at Sharp's farm. Sigel began a pursuit, but stopped along Skegg's Branch. During the break, he failed to post skirmishers, leaving his left flank open for an attack. Meanwhile, McCulloch rallied several Confederate units, including the 3rd Louisiana Infantry and the 3rd Division from the Missouri State Guard, to lead a counterattack. Sigel's men mistook the 3rd Louisiana for the 1st Iowa Infantry (which also wore gray uniforms) and withheld their fire until the Confederates were nearly upon them. His flank was consequently devastated by the counterattack, and his brigade was routed, losing four cannons. Sigel and his men fled the field, leaving the force under Lyon, Sweeny, and Sturgis holding out alone.
  With the rout of Sigel's flank, the momentum of the battle shifted in the South's favor. Lyon was wounded twice, and worried that "the day was lost", he attempted to lead a counterattack.  However, Lyon was shot in the heart, and the charge fell apart after his death. Lyon became the first Union general to be killed in the war. General Sweeny was shot in the leg, and Major Sturgis, as the highest ranking Regular Army officer, assumed command of the Union army. Despite still being in a defensible position atop the hill, Union supplies were low and morale was worsening. By 11:00 a.m., the Union forces had already repulsed three separate Confederate charges. Ammunition and men were nearly exhausted, and Sturgis retreated rather than risk a fourth Confederate attack. Henry Clay Wood, in command of a company that helped cover the retreat, later received the Medal of Honor for the heroism he displayed in keeping his company organized and functioning as it left the battlefield.
caption: Battle of Wilson's Creek (August 10, 1861)
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