Introduction

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Missouri found herself caught in the middle of the conflict. While Missouri had entered the Union as a Slave state, many people in the state were not in favor of the institution. In addition, many Missourians felt that slavery was not an issue that was important enough to fight a war over as most did not own many slaves. The elected government of Missouri sided with President Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy. But this goverment was soon overthrown and a Union provisional government was installed. Therefore, both the Union and Confederacy claimed Missouri. Being a border state, many battles were fought on Missouri soil. Of the over 10,000 battles of the Civil War, approximately 1,100 of those were fought in Missouri. One of the first battles of the war was fought at Wilson's Creek near Springfield, Missouri. In this battle, General Lyons of the Union was killed. He was the first General to be killed in the Civil War. With the Confederate victory at Wilson's Creek, Missouri was engrained into this war that would split the nation and families for years to come.