In early 1861, most Missourians hoped they could remain neutral in the upcoming conflict between North and South. In fact, a popularly elected state convention voted in March of that year that "no adequate cause" existed to compel Missouri to leave the Union. Instead, Missourians saw themselves as ideologically centered between the radical notions of abolition and secession. By summer 1861, however, the situation had deteriorated dramatically. Because of the actions of politicians and soldiers such as Missouri Gov. Claiborne Jackson and Union Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, Missourians found themselves forced to take sides. In this updated edition, author Jeffrey Patrick tells the fascinating story of high-stakes military gambles, aggressive leadership, and lost opportunities. Campaign for Wilson's Creek is a tale of unique military units, untried but determined commanders, colorful volunteers, and professional soldiers. The first major campaign of the Civil War to take place west of the Mississippi River guaranteed that Missourians would be engaged in a long, cruel civil war within the larger, national struggle.

In the summer of 1861, Americans were preoccupied by the question of which states would join the secession movement and which would remain loyal to the Union. This question was most fractious in the border states of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri. In Mi

In the First Iowa Infantry, the author was a private soldier. He desires to give a history of the Regiment, and feels that he cannot do so in a proper way without drawing a brief picture of the conditions that preceded the great conflict. The author served entirely through the war in Iowa regiments so has gone in detail of the history.

The story of General Nathaniel Lyon, whom the author aptly calls a “Missouri Yankee,” is a drama of stirring political-military events breaking on the Western Border in the spring of 1861. In exactly 90 days, Missouri was forever lost to the Confederacy. The Lyon story is high tragedy staged at the sanguine second battle of the American Civil War—Wilson’s Creek. Colonel Hans Christian Adamson in Rebellion in Missouri combines all the necessary elements in the dramatic story. He expertly re-examines Lyon’s generalship of the Union Army of the West. He ably reflects upon the significance of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek now, a century later, in the light of all the evidence. Moreover, he brings to us, during the centennial year of Lyon’s death, a monumental biography of Lyon. The others are eulogistic and written in the stilted and artificial speech of the eighteen sixties.