Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon | |
---|---|
Born | Ashford, Connecticut, U.S. | July 14, 1818
Died | August 10, 1861 Battlefield, Missouri, U.S. | (aged 43)
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army (Union Army) |
Years of service | 1841–1861 |
Rank | Brigadier general |
Battles/wars | |
Signature |
Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was a
He had fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida and the Mexican–American War.
In 1850 he co-led the
After being assigned to Kansas, where many residents were divided about slavery and the Union, he developed strong pro-Union views. In February 1861, Lyon was made commander of the Union arsenal in St. Louis in Missouri, another divided state. Suspicious of governor Jackson, who was working with Jefferson Davis on a secret plan for secession, Lyon forced the surrender of the pro-Confederate militia.
Some civilians rioted and Lyon's troops fired into the crowd, which came to be known as the
Early life and education
Nathaniel Lyon was born on July 14, 1818, to Amasa and Kezia Lyon. His father was a sawmill operator who also dabbled in farming,
Lyon officially entered West Point on July 1, 1837,
Military career
Upon graduating from West Point, Lyon was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant and assigned to the 2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment after graduation and served with them in the Seminole Wars and the Mexican–American War. Despite denouncing American involvement in the Mexican War,[13] he was promoted to first lieutenant for "conspicuous bravery in capturing enemy artillery" at the Battle for Mexico City and received a brevet promotion to captain for the battles of Contreras and Churubusco. Although he was eligible for membership, Lyon did not join the Aztec Club of 1847 when it was formed in Mexico City in 1847.
After the Mexican War, Lyon was then posted to the frontier, where forces under his command perpetrated the massacre of
After being reassigned to
American Civil War
St. Louis Arsenal
In March 1861, shortly before the outbreak of the
He attempted to strengthen the defenses, but came into opposition from his superiors, including
Wide Awakes
Lyon himself had been extensively involved in the St. Louis Wide Awakes, a pro-union paramilitary organization that he intended to arm from the arsenal and muster into the ranks of the federal army. Upon obtaining command of the arsenal, Lyon armed the Wide Awake units under guise of night. Lyon had most of the excess weapons in the arsenal secretly moved to Illinois.
Lyon was aware of a clandestine operation whereby the Confederacy had shipped captured artillery from the U.S. arsenal in Baton Rouge to the Missouri State Militia camp in St. Louis. Lyon allegedly disguised himself as a farm woman to spy on the State Guard's camp and then claimed that he had uncovered a plan by Jackson to seize the arsenal for Missouri troops.
Camp Jackson affair
On May 10 Lyon directed the Missouri volunteer regiments and the 2nd U.S. Infantry to the camp, forcing its surrender. Riots broke out in St. Louis as Lyon marched his prisoners through the city to the St. Louis Arsenal. The event provoked the
Two federals and three militia were also killed and others were wounded. The source of the first shot is disputed, some witnesses claiming it was a drunken rioter, others claiming it was unprovoked. Lyon was nonetheless promoted to brigadier general May 17,[18] and given command over the Union troops in Missouri May 31, 1861 as commander of the Department of the West.
Planters House Conference
On June 12, 1861 Lyon (accompanied by Congressman Colonel
After four unproductive hours Lyon eventually halted the meeting, informing Governor Jackson and MG Price that Jackson's demanded limitations on federal authority "means war". Lyon then allowed the two to leave St. Louis for Jefferson City by train, in accordance with the safe conduct.[19]
Pursuit of Jackson
The governor fled first to the capitol at
Lyon was subsequently supported by the reconvened
Battle of Wilson's Creek and death
By July 13, Lyon was encamped at Springfield, Missouri, with about 6,000 Union soldiers. The Missouri State Guard, about 75 miles southwest of Lyon and under the command of Price, met with troops under Brig. Gen. Benjamin McCulloch near the end of July. The combined Confederate forces numbered about 12,000, formed plans to attack Springfield, and marched northeast on July 31.
The armies met at dawn a few miles southwest of Springfield on the morning of August 10 in the Battle of Wilson's Creek. Lyon was wounded twice in the fighting; shot in the head and leg[18] and his horse shot from under him. He returned to Union lines and commandeered a bay horse ridden by Maj. E.L. McElhaney of the Missouri Infantry.[22][23] Lyon, badly outnumbered by Confederate forces, then dramatically led a countercharge of the 2nd Kansas Infantry on Bloody Hill, where he was shot in the heart at about 9:30 am. Although the Union Army was defeated at Wilson's Creek, Lyon's quick action neutralized the effectiveness of pro-Southern forces in Missouri, allowing Union forces to secure the state.[17]
Fate of Lyon's remains
In the confused aftermath of the Union retreat from Wilson's Creek, Lyon's body was mistakenly left behind on the battlefield and discovered by Confederate forces. It was briefly buried on a Union soldier's farm outside Springfield until it could be returned to Lyon's relatives. Eventually the remains were interred at the family plot in Eastford, Connecticut, where an estimated crowd of 15,000 attended the funeral. A cenotaph stands in memory of Lyon in the Springfield National Cemetery, Missouri.[18]
Legacy
On December 24, 1861, the United States Congress passed a resolution of thanks for the "eminent and patriotic services of the late Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon. The country to whose service he devoted his life will guard and preserve his fame as a part of its own glory. That the Thanks of Congress are hereby given to the brave officers who, under the command of the late general Lyon sustained the honor of the flag and achieved victory against overwhelming numbers at the battle of Springfield, Missouri."[18]
The
A monument honoring Nathaniel Lyon was erected on Grand Boulevard in St. Louis in 1927. However, the monument was removed in 1960 when Harriet Frost Fordyce, a St. Louis philanthropist and youngest child of Confederate General Daniel Frost, agreed to donate one million dollars to help expand St. Louis University's campus on the condition that Lyon's statue be removed. The city quickly removed the monument in Lyon Park, a small park near Anheuser-Busch Brewery. SLU later renamed its main campus the “Frost Campus” in honor of the Confederate General Frost.[26]
Dates of rank
- Cadet, United States Military Academy - 1 July 1837
- 2nd Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry - 1 July 1841
- 1st Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry - 16 February 1847
- Brevet Captain - 20 August 1847
- Captain, 2nd Infantry - 11 June 1851
- Brigadier General, Missouri Volunteers - 12 May 1861
- Brigadier General, US Volunteers - 17 May 1861
See also
Notes
- ^ Phillips 1996, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Phillips 1996, p. 9.
- ^ Phillips 1996, pp. 13–15.
- ^ Phillips 1996, pp. 16–17.
- ^ a b Warner 2006, p. 286.
- ^ Phillips 1996, p. 18.
- ^ Phillips 1996, p. 19.
- ^ Phillips 1996, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Phillips 1996, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Phillips 1996, pp. 26, 37.
- ^ Phillips 1996, p. 25.
- ^ Phillips 1996, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Warner, pp. 286–87.
- ^ "Clear Lake Massacre - Lyon attacks the Pomo". www.chrisanddavid.com.
- ISBN 978-0-300-18136-4.
- ^ Warner, p. 286, and Phillips, pp. 105, 120, 127, provide contrary views. Warner states that Lyon was "far from being an abolitionist and was not even in favor of disturbing slavery where he existed."
- ^ a b c d e f g Downhour, pp. 1233–34.
- ^ a b c d e Eicher, p. 357. He was promoted to brigadier general of the Missouri Militia on May 12, 1861, and in the U.S. Army May 17.
- ^ a b Peckham, pp. 244-248.
- ^ Peckham, pp. 257-272
- ^ Peckham, pp. 290-291
- ^ Garrison-Finderup
- ^ Jackson
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 193.
- ^ "Better Times Are Coming (1862)". YouTube.
- ^ "The Contested Memories of General Nathaniel Lyon in St. Louis". The Journal of the Civil War Era. May 28, 2019.
References
- Downhour, James G. "Nathaniel Lyon." In Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. ISBN 0-393-04758-X.
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Garrison-Finderup, Ivadelle Dalton. Roots & Branches of Our Garrison Family Tree. Fresno, CA: Garrison Library, 1997. Library of Congress number 88-101324.
- Jackson, Paul E., Sr. The Family of William Andrew & Catherine Boyd Jackson – Focusing on the Descendants of Hugh T. & Mary A. Gold Jackson: A History of Southwest Missouri St. Louis, MO: 1999. ASIN B0006FDEFM[ISBN missing]
- Peckham, James, General Nathaniel Lyon, and Missouri in 1861: A Monograph of the Great Rebellion, New York, America News Company Publishers, 1866.
- Phillips, Christopher (1996) [1990]. Damned Yankee: The Life of General Nathaniel Lyon (Louisiana Paperback ed.). Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-2103-7.
- Piston, William Garrett, and Richard W. Hatcher III. Wilson's Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8078-5575-8.
- ISBN 0-8071-3149-0.
- Bloody Island Massacre website
Further reading
- Woodward, Ashbel (1862). Life of General Nathaniel Lyon. Hartford : Case, Lockwood & Co.
External links
- Media related to Nathaniel Lyon at Wikimedia Commons
- Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, National Park Service
- Lyon, Nathaniel, Springfield-Greene County Library System