A Thousand Words a Battle: Wilson’s Creek
Battle of Wilson’s Creek
August 10, 1861
Just east of the Wilson (also known as Wilson’s) Creek, Colonel Franz Sigel’s wing of the Army of the West waited nervously for sounds of gunfire. The army’s commanding general, Nathaniel Lyon, had ordered them to strike the rear of the enemy just as Lyon’s wing surged at their front from the north. Their enemy, the pro-Confederate Western Army, was encamped along the creek, a mere twelve miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri.
Just after daybreak, the guns of Lyon’s wing opened up and Sigel ordered his men across the creek and its tributary. After bombarding some of the Southern encampments, they continued to advance through a stubble-field and cornfield to the top of a bluff.
But what had initially been an astounding victory by the army’s southern wing turned into disaster. More than fifty years later, Otto Lademann of the Third Missouri Infantry eloquently recounted the actions of Sigel’s men that day.
Reaching the bluff on Skeggs’ Branch, in front of the Sharp house, on the great Springfield road (the line of retreat for the enemy), we were formed by Col. Sigel in the following manner:
The 3rd Missouri infantry in column of companies, left in front (Capt. Meuman, Co. H. leading) the last company being my company, B. About ten yards behind us were the six pieces of artillery, not unlimbered or in any manner prepared for action. but mounted the same as on the march. In this space Col. Sigel and his staff were the most of the time. I cannot give you the exact time, which is always of the highest importance in narrating military events, but it was about 9 o’clock a.m. Behind the artillery, and on the big road, were three or four hundred rebel prisoners who had been caught straggling about the camp, quite surprised to find U. S. troops so near them. In the rear of the prisoners were the 5th Missouri Infantry. What had become of our cavalry I don’t know. I did not see them. The ground we occupied was very wooded and you could scarcely see ahead. Here we fooled away our precious time, for only activity and rapid movement could make up for the scarcity of our numbers. The enemy soon found out our position with Bledsoe’s Missouri battery firing north of Skeggs’ Branch, and our left flank, and Reed’s battery, east of Wilson’s Creek, almost direct on our right flank, both firing, and against this latter battery Col. Sigel ordered Lieut. Schaefer with two guns about one hundred yards to our right. I was within two feet when Sigel gave the order and soon these two guns opened and when Schaefer returned to report that the order had been executed, Sigel pounced upon him in a rage, “Who is firing there on my right?” Lieut. Schaefer got angry and said, “Why, Colonel Sigel, ten minutes ago you ordered me to take two guns over there and open fire on Reed’s battery. Colonel Sigel with a rattled look in his face said, ‘Did I? Did I? Well, bring them back here, I want them here.” I as a young acting lieutenant thought it was very strange of a commanding officer to dispose of one-third of his artillery and in ten minutes forget all about it.
Scarcely had the two guns returned to their place when a battalion in line crawled up the bluff of Skeggs’ Branch on our left flank. Only our left flank files could see them – they were in gray uniform; some one shouted. “Don’t shoot! They are the 1st Iowa, sent by General Lyon,” but in place of being the 1st Iowa Infantry, they were the 3rd Louisiana Infantry, and when within fifteen paces of us, fired a volley. This did not hurt our infantry much because they were too far down the bluff, but it hurt our artillery horses and principally the drivers. One poor wheel driver got eight bullets in him and lived about an hour. The artillery horses rushed into our infantry column, and we instantly were a big crowd of men, horses, guns and caissons all mixed together, all running to the south, followed by the 3rd Louisiana, who captured here six guns and five caissons. Our rebel prisoners ran back to their friends, and the 5th Missouri was not touched at all. They sensibly turned to the north with quite a portion of the 3rd Missouri, where they soon reached General Lyon’s troops returning from the battlefield to Little York Prairie, while several hundred men, myself included, followed Colonel Sigel, who foolishly turned to the left. After marching about with his guides we at noon arrived at the mouth of Tyrrell’s Creek, where we had started at daybreak. The battle had ceased at about 10 o’clock when Gen. Lyon was killed, and Major Sturgis of the regular service took command as the ranking officer. This column of over 4,000 men, capable for duty, and 1,200 wounded, returned to Springfield unmolested by the enemy.[1]
Wilson’s Creek would be the culminating battle of a long summer campaign for control of Missouri in the first year of the war.
— Kristen Trout
[1] Lademann, Otto. “The Battle of Wilson’s Creek, August 10, 1861.” Speech. Wisconsin Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. December 3, 1913.
Sigel was at most fit to be a battery commander. Along with Fremont, he was the Confederacy’s secret weapon in blue.
I just finished reading the excellent book “Wilson’s Creek” by Piston and Hatcher in preparation for a vacation with my wife to Missouri whose main purpose was for her to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder home in Mansfield. On Wednesday morning we visited the Wilder home in Mansfield then drove to Wilson’s Creek in the afternoon. My wife is not a Civil War buff, but she was agreeable to the visit. The battlefield is well preserved but is heavily wooded, which makes it difficult to get your bearings. There was a nice hiking path on Bloody Hill which was the place that I was most interested in seeing. Siegel by the way was totally incompetent.
As an added bonus, we spent Friday night in Brandon after two nights in Springfield and drove to the Pea Ridge battlefield Saturday afternoon. The ranger did a 2 1/2 hour car caravan tour and I was the only one on it; what a treat. I had read “Pea Ridge” by Shea and Hess right before so was fairly knowledgeable about the battle. Unfortunately we weren’t able to visit Prairie Grove battlefield.
You can easily visit all 3 battlefields in 2-3 days. What a treat it was for a Marylander to get to visit 2 of them.
My award-winning novel series, “Asunder, A Novel of the Civil War,” begins at the battle of Wilson Creek. It’s been hailed for its accuracy in telling how the battle was fought and the angst of the soldiers and families involved. Like Shelbey Foote said, “If you want people to love history, give them a story.”