The Battle of Wilson's Creek
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The state of Missouri stood on the border between the North and the South in the Civil War. It was strategically important because of its location on the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio Rivers, and also because many of the major trails to the western territories began there ("The Conservation" 11). Missouri was also important to both sides because it was "rich in manpower and natural resources" (Lawliss 194). On August 10, 1861, the Battle of Wilson's Creek took place at a site ten miles south of Springfield, Missouri. An officer who was at the fight later described it as "one of the stubbornest and bloodiest battles of the war" (Hattaway and Jones 52). Although the Union was forced to retreat after five hours of fighting, the Battle of Wilson's Creek was important to the North cause because it stopped the Confederate advance and thus prevented the South from seizing Missouri in the early phases of the war. The leader of the Union troops in southwest Missouri at the time was Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon. Earlier in 1861, Lyon's small force had managed to push the Confederate forces of Major General Sterling Price's Missouri State Guard "into the far reaches of southwestern Missouri" (Shea and Hess 1). In July, Lyon arrived in Springfield with an army of about 5,500 men and occupied the city. In order to effectively hold the city, Lyon requested reinforcements from his superior, Major General John C. Fremont in St. Louis. However, Lyon soon learned that Union troops were
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strategically important state of Missouri from falling into Confederate hands. Lyon's decisive act of launching a surprise attack on the rebels enabled this objective to be met. Thus, although the Union army was defeated in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, "Lyon still inflicted enough damage to force the Confederates to halt rather than move farther into Missouri as they had planned" (Hattaway and Jones 52). The second Principle of War relates to the importance of taking an offensive stance and seizing, retaining and exploiting the initiative. This principle was virtually a policy in the general strategy of the Union in the western front. Thus, President Lincoln always emphasized the importance of a Union offensive in the western states, "giving rather special attention to Missouri" ("The Conservation" 11). In dealing with the Confederate forces in southwestern Missouri, Brigadier General Lyon continually seized the initiative. This was true also at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, when Lyon decided to attack the Southern troops before they had a chance to attack him first. By contrast, the Confederacy failed to seize the initiative in that battle because McCulloch cancelled his own plans to attack on the same day. The reason for this
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Approximate Word count = 2101
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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