LYON, NATHANIEL. 



435 



1 in tliis service was promoted to a full 

 captaincy in 1851. From California Gen. Lyon 

 was ordered to Kansas, during the height 6f 

 the political troubles there, and used his influ- 

 ence to maintain order and calm the strife of 

 partisans. Some of his articles written for the 

 press at this period, bear evidence of great 

 vigor of intellect, and earnest devotion to his 

 country's good. Early in 1861 Capt. Lyon was 

 placed in command of the United States ar- 

 senal at St. Louis ; after the fall of Fort Sumter 

 the possession of Missouri seemed to depend 

 upon his energy and coolness. The police 

 commissioners of St. Louis assumed to them- 

 selves the power of opposing the Government, 

 and demanded that Capt. Lyon should confine 

 his jurisdiction to the arsenal grounds ; this 

 he refused. Not long before, the Governor of 

 Missouri had authorized the formation of camps 

 in various parts of the State. Taken jn con- 

 nection with the action of the commissioners, 

 Capt. Lyon considered the concentration of 

 these forces as an act of open hostility to the 

 Government, and suddenly surrounded one of 

 the camps, known as Camp Jackson, with a 

 large force of the State " Home Guards " under 

 Cols. Blair and Siegel, and, planting his guns 

 on the heights, demanded of Gen. Frost, the 

 commander of Camp Jackson, an immediate 

 surrender; satisfied that he was unable to re- 

 sist so large a force, Gen. Frost yielded up his 

 whole command as prisoners of war. (See ST. 

 Louis.) A few days later Gen. Harney arrived 

 at St. Louis and assumed the command, and 

 Capt. Lyon was appointed general of the first 

 brigade of Missouri Volunteers. He broke up a 

 Confederate force at Potosi, and caused several 

 important seizures of war material destined for 

 Camp Jackson. Upon the removal of Gen. 

 Harney, Gen. Lyon was placed in command of 

 the department. Gov. Jackson and Gen. Price 

 sought an interview with him, in which they 

 insisted that no United States troops shonld 

 march through or quarter in Missouri, although 

 they had already allowed Confederate troops to 

 do so. Lyon's reply was that the troops of the 

 United States should march peaceably every- 

 where through the United States, offering in- 

 sult to none, but would oppose every attack 

 and crush every effort to molest them. Upon 

 this Gov. Jackson withdrew from St. Louis and 

 prepared for war. Gen. Lyon then took the 

 field, but previously issued a proclamation to 

 the citizens of Missouri, in which, after rehears- 

 ing the various acts of Gov. Jackson, he con- 

 cludes : " If, in suppressing these treasonable 

 projects, carrying out the policy of the Govern- 

 ment, and maintaining its dignity, hostilities 

 should unfortunately occur, and unhappy con- 

 sequences should follow, I would hope that all 

 aggravation of those events may be avoided, and 

 that they may be diverted from the innocent 

 and may fall oa the heads of those by whom 

 they have been provoked. In the discharge 

 of these plain but onerous duties, I shall look 

 for the countenance and active cooperation of 



all good citizens, and I shall expect them to 

 discountenance all illegal combinations or or- 

 ganizations, and support and uphold, by every 

 lawful means, the Federal Government, upon 

 the maintenance of which depend their liber- 

 ties and the perfect enjoyment of all their 

 rights." 



Learning that Gov. Jackson and Gen. Price 

 had commenced hostilities, Gen. Lyon moved 

 towards Jefferson City with a small force, and 

 upon his approach Gov. Jackson abandoned his 

 position and retreated to Booneville, where a 

 battle was fought on the 17th of June, which 

 resulted in a complete victory, all the tents, 

 ammunition and supplies falling into Gen. 

 Lyon's hands. Upon entering Booneville, he 

 issued a proclamation, in which, after a state- 

 ment of the facts in relation to the battle, he 

 said : " I hereby give notice to the people of 

 this State that I shall scrupulously avoid all in- 

 terference with the business, rights, and prop- 

 erty of every description recognized by the 

 laws of the State, and belonging to law-abiding 

 citizens. But it is equally my duty to maintain 

 the paramount authority of the United States 

 with such force as I have at my command, 

 which will be retained only so long as opposi- 

 tion makes it necessary, and" that it is my wish, 

 and shall be my purpose, to visit any unavoid- 

 able rigor arising in this issue upon those only 

 who provoke it." 



He soon after moved forward to Springfield, 

 an important town of Southwestern Missouri, 

 driving the Confederates before him, and de- 

 feating them at Dug Spring, about 15 miles 

 from that town. Subsequent to the battle of 

 Dug Spring, the Confederates received heavy 

 reinforcements, and Gen. Lyon, after making 

 several appeals to the Government for more 

 troops, and receiving no response, called a 

 council of war, to determine upon the question 

 of evacuating Springfield. Fearing any retro- 

 grade movement would be fatal to the cause, it 

 was decided to attack Gens. McCulloch and 

 Price in their camp at Wilson's Creek, though 

 with scarcely any hope of success, as the Union 

 force was but a little over five thousand, while 

 the Confederate force was nearly twenty-five 

 thousand. The battle was a desperate one, and 

 Gen. Lyon, after being twice wounded, was 

 killed, while making a gallant charge at the 

 head of the First Iowa Regiment, which had 

 lost its colonel. His body was subsequently 

 conveyed to Connecticut, the home of his par- 

 ents, and upon its way was received every- 

 where with marked respect. Military honors 

 were paid to it at Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Phila- 

 delphia, Jersey City, and New York. The fu- 

 neral oration was delivered by Galusha A. 

 Gro\v, Speaker of the United States House of 

 Representatives. In Congress, Senator Pome- 

 roy delivered an eloquent tribute to his memo- 

 ry, and the following resolutions passed both 

 Houses : 



Jlesohed, by the Senate and House of Representa- 

 tives of the "United States of America in Congress 



