When
noon struck on August 10, 1861, the hills and fields around Wilson’s Creek were
covered with the dead, dying, and maimed. The Confederate Army, along with the
allied Missouri State Guard, had won the second major battle of the Civil War.
Earlier that year Missouri had voted to stay in the Union, but only as a
neutral bystander in the emerging conflict. Unconditional Unionists and
Secessionists alike had other plans, trying to seize control of Missouri’s
arsenals. The pro-Confederate governor, Claiborne Jackson reorganized the
militia into the Missouri State Guard and placed it under the command of former
governor, state senator, and Mexican War veteran Sterling Price. The State
Guard was ostensibly meant to protect Missouri’s armed neutrality and after the
start of hostilities to protect the state from Federal intervention without necessarily
joining the Confederacy. As a result many of the men in its ranks favored their
home state over the idea of a Confederate nation and some even switched sides
when they felt that it was better for Missouri to stay in the Union.
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| Sterling Price, command of the State Guard. Before the war he was a prominent politicians who served in both Missouri and the US House of Representatives as well as governor of Missouri from 1853 to 1857. |
The Missouri State Guard consisted on nine divisions, each representing one of nine military districts. These were not proper divisions, being all over the place in size. Most were brigade-sized, save for the Eighth Division which included thousands of Bushwhackers and other participants as well as victims of Bleeding Kansas. Between the lack of Federal funding, inconsistent Confederate support, and fast-moving events, the State Guard was chronically short on supplies, logistics, and time for drill and discipline.
