Naturally this threw Gen. Price into much confusion, and his face reddened with mortification, but after a few minutes he said that he did not remember hearing the paper read; that it was true that Hitchcock and Turner had come from Gen. Harney to see him, but he could recall nothing of any such paper being presented. The discussion grew warmer as Gen. Lyon felt more strongly the force of his position. Gen. Price insisted that no armed bodies of Union troops should pass through or be stationed in Missouri, as such would occasion civil war. He asserted that Missouri must be neutral, and neither side should arm. Gov. Jackson would protect the Union men and would disband his State troops.

Gen. Lyon opposed this by saying, in effect, "that, if the Government withdrew its forces entirely, secret and subtle measures would be resorted to to provide arms and perfect organizations which, upon any pretext, could put forth a formidable opposition to the General Government; and even without arming, combinations would doubtless form in certain localities, to oppress and drive out loyal citizens, to whom the Government was bound to give protection, but which it would be helpless to do, as also to repress such combinations, if its forces could not be sent into the State. A large aggressive force might be formed and advanced from the exterior into the State, to assist it in carrying out the Secession program; and the Government could not, under the limitation proposed, take posts on these borders to meet and repel such force.

The Government could not shrink from its duties nor abdicate its corresponding right; and, in addition to the above, it was the duty of its civil officers to execute civil process, and in case of resistance to receive the support of military force. The proposition of the Governor would at once overturn the Government privileges and prerogatives, which he (Gen. Lyon) had neither the wish nor the authority to do. In his opinion, if the Governor and the State authorities would earnestly set about to maintain the peace of the State, and declare their purposes to resist outrages upon loyal citizens of the Government, and repress insurrections against it, and in case of violent combinations, needing co-operation of the United States troops, they should call upon or accept such assistance, and in case of threatened invasion the Government troops took suitable posts to meet it, the purposes of the Government would be subserved, and no infringement of the State rights or dignity committed. He would take good care, in such faithful co-operation of the State authorities to this end, that no individual should be injured in person or property, and that the utmost delicacy should be observed toward all peaceable persons concerned in these relations."

Gen. Lyon based himself unalterably upon this proposition, and could not be moved from it by anything Price or Jackson could say.

Gov. Jackson entered into the discussion again to suggest that they separate and continue the conference further by correspondence; but Lyon, who felt vividly that the main object of the Secessionists was to gain time to perfect their plans, rejected this proposition, but said that he was quite willing that all those present should reduce their views to writing and publish them; which, however, did not strike Jackson and Price favorably. As to the close of the interview, Maj. Conant says:

"As Gen. Lyon was about to take his leave, he said: 'Gov. Jackson, no man in the State of Missouri has been more ardently desirous of preserving peace than myself. Heretofore Missouri has only felt the fostering care of the Federal Government, which has raised her from the condition of a feeble French colony to that of an empire State. Now, however, from the failure on the part of the Chief Executive to comply with constitutional requirements, I fear she will be made to feel its power. Better, sir, far better, that the blood of every man, woman and child of the State should flow than that she should successfully defy the Federal Government.'"

Col. Snead has published this account of the close of the conference:

"Finally, when the conference had lasted four or five hours, Lyon closed it, as he had opened it. 'Rather,' said he (he was still seated, and spoke deliberately, slowly, and with a peculiar emphasis), 'rather than concede to the State of Missouri the right to demand that my Government shall not enlist troops within her limits, or bring troops into the State whenever it pleases, or move its troops at its own will into, out of, or through the State; rather than concede to the State of Missouri for one single instant the right to dictate to my Government in any matter however unimportant, I would (rising as he said this, and pointing in turn to every one in the room) see you, and you, and you, and you, and every man, woman, and child in the State, dead and buried.'

"Then turning to the Governor, he said: 'This means war. In an hour one of my officers will call for you and conduct you out of my lines.'

"And then, without another word, without an inclination of the head, without even a look, he turned upon his heel and strode out of the room, rattling his spurs and clanking his saber, while we, whom he left, and who had known each other for years, bade farewell to each other courteously and kindly, and separated—Blair and Conant to fight for the Union, we for the land of our birth."

When the great American painter shall arise, one of the grandest themes for his pencil will be that destiny-shaping conference on that afternoon in June, 1861. He will show the face of Gov. Jackson as typical of that class of Southern politicians who raised the storm from the unexpected violence of which they retreated in dismay. There will be more than a suggestion of this in Jackson's expression and attitude. He entered the conference full of his official importance as the head of the great Sovereign State, braving the whole United States, and quite complacent as to his own powers of diction and argument. He quickly subsided, however, from the leading character occupying the center of the stage to that of chorus in the wings, in the deadly grapple of men of mightier purpose—Lyon and Price, who were to ride the whirlwind he had been contriving, and rule the storm he had been instrumental in raising.

Even Blair, immeasurably stronger mentally and morally than Jackson—Blair, tall, sinewy, alert, with face and pose revealing the ideal leader that he was—even he felt the presence of stronger geniuses, and lapsed into silence.

The time for talking men was past Captains of hosts were now uttering the last stern words, which meant the crash of battle and the death and misery of myriads. Hereafter voices would be in swords, and arguments flame from the brazen mouths of cannon hot with slaughter.

Sterling Price, white-haired, large of frame, imposing, benignant, paternal, inflexible as to what he considered principle, was to point the way which 100,000 young Missourians were to follow through a thousand red battlefields.

Nathaniel Lyon, short of stature, red-haired, in the prime of manhood and perfected soldiership, fiery, jealous for his country's rights and dignity, was to set another 100,000 young Missourians in battle array against their opponents, to fight them to complete overthrow.

After they withdrew from the conference, Gov. Jackson, as Price's trumpeter, sounded the call "to arms" in a proclamation to the people of Missouri.

According to the Census of 1860 there were 236,402 men in Missouri capable of bearing arms, and if the matter could be put in such a way that a half or even one-third of these would respond to the Governor's mandate, a host would be mustered which would quickly sweep Lyon and his small band out of the State. The proclamation to effect this which was elaborated by the joint efforts of Gov. Jackson and Col. Snead, the editor of the St. Louis Bulletin, a Secessionist organ, and the Governor's Secretary and Adjutant-General, together with Gen. Price.

Considered as a trumpet call it was entirely too verbose. Col. Snead could not break himself of writing long, ponderous editorials. The more pertinent paragraphs were:

This proclamation was given out to the press, but even before it appeared the Governor had telegraphed throughout the State to leading Secessionists to arm and rush to his assistance.

This did not catch Gen. Lyon at all unawares. He had long ago determined upon a movement to Springfield, which, being in the midst of the farming region, was the center of the Union element of southwest Missouri. Immediately, upon reading the Governor's proclamation, he saw the necessity of forestalling the projected concentration by reaching Jefferson City with the least possible delay. Before he retired that night he had given orders for the formation of a marching column, and had placed the affairs of his great Department outside of this column, of which he proposed to take personal command, in the hands of Col. Chester Harding, to whom he gave full powers to sign his name and issue orders.

Having thought out his plans well beforehand, Gen. Lyon began his campaign with well-ordered celerity. Part of the troops he had at command were sent down the southwestern branch of the Pacific Railroad to secure it. Others were sent to points at which the militia were known to be gathering to disperse them.

Gen. Lyon himself, with his staff, the Regulars, infantry and artillery, and a force of volunteers, embarked on two steamboats to move directly upon Jefferson City by the way of the Missouri River.

They arrived at the Capital of Missouri about 2 o'clock in the afternoon of June 15, and were met with an enthusiastic reception from the loyal citizens, of whom a large proportion were Germans. Gov. Jackson had only been able to assemble about 120 men, with whom he made a hasty retreat to Boonville, about 50 miles further up the river, which had been selected by Gen. Price as one of his principal strategic points. Boonville is situated on the highlands at a natural crossing of the Missouri, and by holding it communication could be maintained between the parts of the State lying north and south of the river, and thus allow the concentration of the Militia, which Gov. Jackson had called out. The hights on the river bank would enable the river to be blockaded against expeditions ascending it, and the entire length of the stream to Kansas City, about 100 miles in a direct line, could be thus controlled.

The Missouri River divides the State unequally, leaving about one-third on the north and two-thirds on the south. Of the 99 Counties in the State, 44 are north of the Missouri River, but these are smaller than those south.

Gov. Jackson had telegraphed orders for the Brigade-Generals commanding the districts into which the State had been divided to concentrate their men with all haste at Boonville and at Lexington, still further up the river, nearly midway between Boonville and Kansas City. The beginnings of an arsenal were made at Boonville, to furnish arms and ammunition.

Gen. Lyon saw the strategic importance of the place, and did not propose to allow any concentration to be made there. He did not, as most Regular officers were prone, wait deliberately for wagons and rations and other supplies, but with a truer instinct of soldiership comprehended that his men could live wherever an enemy could, and leaving a small squad at Jefferson City, immediately started his column for Boonville, sending orders to other columns in Iowa and Kansas to converge toward that place.

Progress up the Missouri River was tedious, as the water was low, and the troops had to frequently disembark in order to allow the boats to go over the shoals. It was reported to Gen. Lyon that about 4,000 Confederates had already concentrated at Boonville.

While Gen. Price was the Commander-in-Chief, several prominent Secessionists were commanders upon the field of the whole or parts of the force. The man, however, who was the most in evidence in the fighting was John Sappington Marmaduke, a native Missourian, born in Saline County in 1833, and therefore 28 years old. He was the son of a farmer, had been at Yale and Harvard, and then graduated from West Point in 1857, standing 30 in a class of 38. He had been on frontier duty with the 7th U. S. until after the firing on Fort Sumter, when he resigned to return to Missouri and raise a regiment for the Southern Confederacy. He was to rise to the rank of Major-General in the Confederate army, achieve much fame for military ability, and be elected, in 1884, Governor of the State.

The column immediately under the command of Gen. Lyon consisted of Totten's Light Battery (F, 2d U. S. Art.); Co. B, 2d U. S.; two companies of Regular recruits; Col. Blair's Missouri regiment and nine companies of Boernstein's Missouri regiment; aggregating somewhere between 1,700 and 2,000 men. On the evening of Sunday, June 16, the boats carrying the command arrived within 15 miles of Boonville, and lay there during the night. The next morning they proceeded up to within about eight miles of the town, when all but one company of Blair's regiment and an artillery detachment disembarked and began a land march upon the enemy's position. The remaining company and the howitzer were sent on with the boats to give the impression that an attack was to be made from the river side.

The people in the country reported to Gen. Lyon that the enemy was fully 4,000 strong, and intended an obstinate defense. He therefore moved forward cautiously, arriving at last at the foot of a gently undulating slope to a crest one mile distant, on which the enemy was stationed, with the ground quite favorable for them. Gen. Lyon formed a line of battle about 300 yards from the crest, with Totten's battery in the rear and nine companies of Boernstein's regiment on the right, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Schaeffer, and the Regulars and Col. Blair's regiment on the left. It was a momentous period, big with Missouri's future.

The engagement opened with Capt. Totten shelling the enemy's position and the well-drilled German infantry advancing with the Regulars, firing as they went. The question was now to be tried as to the value of the much-vaunted Missouri riflemen in conflict with the disciplined Germans. The former had been led to believe that they would repeat the achievements of their forefathers at New Orleans.

Under the lead of Col. Marmaduke, the Confederates stood their ground pluckily for a few minutes, but the steady advance of the Union troops, with the demoralizing effect of the shells, were too much for them. Col. Marmaduke attempted to make an orderly retreat, and at first seemed to succeed, but finally the movement degenerated into a rout, and the Confederates scattered in wild flight, led by their Governor, who, like James II. at the battle of the Boyne, had witnessed the skirmish from a neighboring eminence. The losses on each side were equal—two killed and some eight or nine wounded.

Lyon pushed on at once to the camp of the enemy, and there captured some 1,200 pairs of shoes, 20 to 30 tents, and a considerable quantity of ammunition, with quite a supply of arms, blankets and personal effects.

The detachment which had gone by the river on the boats aided in securing the victory by a noisy bombardment with their howitzer, and landing at the town, captured two six-pounders, with a number of prisoners. The Mayor of Boonville came out and formally surrendered the town to Gen. Lyon and Col. Blair. Parties were sent out the various roads to continue the pursuit, and Gen. Lyon issued the following proclamation, admirable in tone and wording, to counteract that of the Governor and quiet the people, especially as to interference with slave property:

Several thousand of Jackson's Militia had already assembled at Lexington, nearly midway between Boonville and Kansas City. When they heard of the affair at Boonville they realized that they were in danger of being caught between the column advancing from that direction and the one under Maj. Sturgis, which Gen. Lyon had ordered forward from Leavenworth through Kansas City, while a third, under Col. Curtis, was approaching from the Iowa line. They dispersed at once, to fall back behind the Osage River, at Gen. Price's direction. Thus Lyon gained complete control of the Missouri River in its course through the State, enabling him to cut off the Confederates in the northern from those in the southern part of the State.

Another success which came to him was the seizure of the office of the St. Louis Bulletin, and the discovery there of a letter from Gov, Jackson to the publisher, which completely proved all the allegations that had been made as to the Governor's action, decisively contradicted the material assertions in his proclamations and vindicated Gen. Lyon from the charges against him of undue precipitancy. The letter was long, personal and confidential. In it he said:

This would clear the State of the whole congerie of Secession leaders, remove the young men from their influence, stop the persecutions of the Union men in that section, and cement Missouri solidly in the Union line. He also wrote Gen. B. M. Prentiss, in command of the troops at Cairo, asking co-operation by clearing out the rebels from the southeastern portion of the State. Lyon's far-reaching plans did not stop with Missouri. He also contemplated pushing his advance directly upon Little Rock, through the Union-loving region in northwestern Arkansas, and clinching that State as firmly as Missouri.

The next day after the decisive little victory at Boonville occurred an event which greatly raised the drooping spirits of the Secessionists, and was much exaggerated by them in order to offset their defeat at Boonville by Lyon.

Benton is one of the interior Counties of the State, lying on both sides of the Osage River. In 1860 its people had cast 74 votes for Lincoln, 306 for Bell and Everett, 100 for Breckinridge, and 574 for Stephen A. Douglas. All the County officials and leading men were Secessionists, and doing their utmost to aid the rebellion; still, the Union people, under the leadership of A. H. W. Cook and Alex. Mackey, were undaunted and earnestly desirous of doing effective service for the United States. Cook and Mackey had been warned to leave the State, and Cook had done so, but returned to take part in the capture of Camp Jackson, and afterward went back to his home to organize the Germans and Americans there for their own defense.

A meeting was held at which the Stars and Stripes were raised, and nine companies of Home Guards organized, sworn into service, and given arms. These companies went into camp in a couple of barns some three miles south of Cole Camp, where their presence and support to the Union sentiment was the source of the greatest irritation to the Secessionists, who attempted to disperse them by legal processes, and failing in this, determined to attack them. In the meanwhile all but about 400 of the men were allowed to return to their homes to put their affairs in order for a prolonged absence.

About 1,000 Secessionists, under the command of Walter S. O'Kane, marched on June 19 to attack them. Col. Cook was informed of the intended attack and prepared for it by throwing out pickets and summoning his absentees.

At 3 o'clock in the morning of June 20 the Secessionists reached the pickets, whom they bayonetted to prevent their giving the alarm, and rushed in upon the sleeping Unionists, pouring volley after volley into the barns. The men in one of the barns had been warned, but were prevented from firing by the Union Flag which the Secessionists carried. Many of them who managed to get out of the barns were rallied behind the corn cribs, and began an obstinate fight which lasted till daylight. The absentees, whom Col. Cook had summoned, came up during the engagement, but not being able to comprehend the situation, rendered no assistance. Finally all the Union men got together and retreated in good order, repulsing their pursuers.

The reports as to this affair are so conflicting that it is difficult to determine the truth. It seems pretty certain that Col. Cook had only about 400 men. He reports that he was attacked by 1,200, but the Secessionists say that O'Kane's force was only 350. Cook reports his loss as 23 killed, 20 wounded, and 30 taken prisoners, while Pollard, the Secessionist historian, insists that we lost 206 killed, a large number wounded, and over 100 taken prisoners, with the Secession loss of 14 killed and 15 or 20 wounded. Probably the truth lies between these two extremes, the only definite thing being that the Secessionists captured 362 muskets.

There were five or six prominent Secessionists among the killed, one of them being Mr. Leach, the editor of the Southwestern Democrat.

Col. Cook gathered up his men, received some additional recruits, some arms and ammunition, and pushed on to Warsaw, on the Osage, one of the points of concentration indicated by Gen. Price, capturing 1,500 pound cans and 1,500 kegs of fine rifle powder, many tons of pig-lead, 70 stand of small-arms, a steamboat-load of tent cloth, a lot of State Guard uniforms, four Confederate flags, and 1,200 false-faces which had been used by the "border ruffians" in their political operations in Kansas. A little further on they surrounded and captured 1,000 Secessionists, and paroled them on the spot.

The Secessionists, on the other hand, took much comfort out of the surprise and defeat and the acquisition of 362 new muskets and 150 more which they had beguiled from a German company in a neighboring County.

In the meanwhile the Conservatives, aided by Lieut-Gen. Scott, whose distrust of "Capt." Lyon never abated, secured the addition of Missouri to the Department commanded by McClellan, whom it was thought would hold the "audacious" officer in check. Lyon, though he felt that McClellan, then far distant in West Virginia, could not give matters in the State the attention they needed, yet loyally accepted the assignment, wrote at once to McClellan cordially welcoming him as his commander, and giving full information as to the conditions, with suggestions as to what should be done. Col. Blair and the Radicals were much displeased at this move, and began efforts to have Missouri erected into a separate Department and placed under the command of John C. Fremont, lately appointed a Major-General, and from whose military talents there were the greatest expectations.

As the first Presidential candidate of the Republican Party Fremont had a strong hold upon the hearts of the Northern people. During the campaign of 1856 there had been the customary partisan eulogies of the candidates, which placed "the Great Pathfinder" and all he had done in the most favorable light before the American people. Above all he was thought to be thoroughly in sympathy with the policy which Blair and his following desired to pursue.

In reality Fremont was a man of somewhat more than moderate ability, but boundless aspirations. He was the son-in-law of Senator Benton, and his wife, the queenly, ambitious, handsome Jessie Benton Fremont, was naturally eager for her husband to be as prominent in the National councils as had been her father. What Fremont was equal to is one of the many unsolved problems of the war, but certainly he was not to the command of the great Western Department, including the State of Illinois and all the States and Territories west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, to which he was assigned by General Orders, No. 40, issued July 3,1861.

Fremont's father was a Frenchman, who had married a Virginia woman, and followed the occupation of a teacher of French at Norfolk, Va., but died at an early age, leaving the members of his family to struggle for themselves. Fremont became a teacher of mathematics on a sloop of war, then Professor of Mathematics for the Navy, and later a surveyor and engineer for railroad lines, and was commissioned by President Van Buren a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Owing to the opposition of Senator Benton, his daughter had to be secretly married to Lieut. Fremont in 1841, but soon after the Senator gave his son-in-law the benefit of his great influence.

Fremont was designated to conduct surveys across the continent into the unknown region lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, and made several very important explorations. He was in California prior to the outbreak of the Mexican War, and became involved in hostilities with the Mexicans. When the war did break out he assumed command of the country around under authority from Commodore Stockton, and proceeded to declare the independence of California. A quarrel between him and Stockton followed, and later another quarrel ensued with Gen. Kearny, who had been sent into this country in command of an expedition.

He was court-martialed by Gen. Kearny's orders and found guilty of mutiny, disobedience, and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline. He was sentenced to be dismissed, but the majority of the court recommended him to the clemency of President Polk, who refused to approve the verdict of mutiny, but did approve the rest, though he remitted the penalty. Fremont, refusing to accept the President's pardon, then resigned from the Army, settled in California, and bought the famous Mariposa estate, containing rich gold mines. He became a leader of the Free-Soil Party in California, and was elected to the Senate for a brief term of three weeks. He was nominated by the first Republican Convention in Philadelphia, June 17, 1856, and in his letter of acceptance expressed himself strongly against the extension of Slavery, and in favor of free labor. The hot campaign of 1856 resulted in a surprising showing of strength by the new party. Fremont received 114 electoral votes from 11 States to 174 from 19 States for Buchanan and eight votes from Maryland for Fillmore. The popular vote was 874,000 for Fillmore, 1,341,000 for Fremont, and 1,838,000 for Buchanan.

Lyon welcomed the appointment of Fremont to command, because he felt the need of having a superior officer at hand who would appreciate the urgency of the situation, and stand between him and the authorities at Washington, who apparently did not understand the emergency, were not honoring his requisitions for money, arms, and supplies, and who were drawing to the eastward the troops that Lyon felt ought to be sent to him. It was also satisfactory to him that the State of Illinois was in the Department, since the important point of Cairo should be administered with reference to controlling the situation in southeastern Missouri.

The first distrust of Fremont came from his deliberation in repairing to his command. The people of Missouri felt very keenly that no time should be lost in the General arriving on the spot and getting the situation in hand, but in spite of all importunities, Fremont lingered for weeks in New York, and it required a rather sharp admonition from the War Department to start him for St. Louis, where he arrived as late as July 25.

Lyon's prompt advance upon Jefferson City now bore fruit in another direction. The Union people of Missouri decided that as Gov. Jackson, Lieut-Gov. Reynolds and other State officials had abandoned the State Capital to engage in active rebellion against the United States, the State Convention, which had been called to carry the State out of the Union, but which had so signally disappointed the expectations of its originators, should reconvene, declare the State offices vacant, and instate a loyal Government A strong party desired that a Military Governor should be appointed, and urged Col. Frank P. Blair for that place, but he refused to countenance the project. The Convention, by a vote of 56 to 25, declared the offices of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and Secretary of State vacant, and elected Hamilton R. Gamble Governor, Willard P. Hall Lieutenants Governor, Mordecai Oliver Secretary of State, and George A. Bingham Treasurer. An oath of loyalty was adopted to be required of all citizens before being allowed to vote, and to be taken by all incumbents of office and all who should be qualified for office thereafter.

Gov. Jackson established his Capital at Lamar, in Barton County, about 30 miles south of the Osage, and the men who had been appointed to command the Militia Districts began to come in with their contingents. None seemed to know about the flanking columns which had been sent out toward Springfield, to take the line of the Osage in the rear, and they were astounded when forces under Sweeny and Sigel, which had dispersed the gathering Militia before them at Holla, Lebanon, and other intervening points, reached Springfield, and began sending out from there expeditions to Neosho, Ozark, Sarcoxie and other towns in the southwestern corner. Col. Franz Sigel, who had shown much activity and enterprise, learned at Sarcoxie that several divisions of State Guards under Gens. Rains, Parsons, Slack and Clark were to the north of him, and the Governor and Gen. Price were endeavoring to bring them together in order to turn upon and crush Gen. Lyon in his advance from Boonville. Sigel's men, who were anxious to accomplish something decisive before the expiration of their three months' term, brought about a decision in their commander's mind to march upon the force encamped upon Pool's Prairie, whip and scatter it, and then attack the other forces in turn.

After making the necessary detachments to guard his flanks and rear, Col. Sigel had under his command nine companies of the 8d Mo., 550 men under Lieut.-Col. Hassendeubel; seven companies of the 5th Mo., under Col. Charles E. Salomon, 400 men, and two batteries of light artillery, four guns each, under Maj. Backof.

After a hard day's march of 22 miles in very hot weather, Col. Sigel came, on the evening of July 4, about one mile southeast of Carthage, on the south side of Spring River. He made preparations to attack the enemy, reported to be from 10 to 15 miles in his front.

That night Gov. Jackson received news of Sigel's advance, and gathered his forces to resist him. He had already concentrated many more men than Sigel had expected, and had with him seven pieces of artillery. Most of his men carried the arms which they had brought from home, and were arranged, according to the provisions in the Military Bill, into divisions, of which there were no less than four present. The Second Division, commanded by Brig.-Gen. James S. Rains, who afterward attained much reputation in the Confederate army, had present 1,208 infantry and artillery and 608 cavalry. The Third Division, commanded by Gen. John B. Clark, also to attain eminence in the Confederate army, had 365 present. The Fourth Division, commanded by Gen. Wm. Y. Slack, later a Brigadier-General in the Confederate army, had 500 cavalry and 700 infantry. The Sixth Division, commanded by Gen. Monroe M. Parsons, who served with distinction throughout the war, had altogether about 1,000 men and four pieces of artillery. The official returns show that Gov. Jackson had thus 4,375 men with seven guns to oppose something over 1,000 men with eight guns under Col. Sigel. The Union force was strong in artillery, while the Confederates were powerful in cavalry, of which the Unionists had none. Both sides were poorly supplied with ammunition, especially for the cannon, and loaded these with railroad spikes, bits of trace chains, etc.

Early on the morning of July 5 Sigel marched out of camp, crossing the Spring River about one mile north of Carthage, and soon came upon an open prairie. He advanced slowly and cautiously along the Lamar Road, with his wagons under a small escort following a mile or so in the rear. Nine miles north of Carthage and three miles north of Coon Creek he came in sight of the Governor's troops drawn up in line of battle on a slight rise of the prairie, and about one mile and a half away. The enemy's skirmish line, which was under the command of Capt. J. O. Shelby, of whom we shall hear much more later, opened fire on Sigel's advance, but was soon driven across the creek and through the narrow strip of timber less than one-half mile wide, followed by Sigel's men in line of battle. They came out on the smooth prairie, covered with a fine growth of grass, and offering unequalled facilities for manuvering, except that from the ridge Sigel's line could be accurately observed and its numbers known.

Sigel formed his line of battle within a half mile of the enemy's position, distributed his artillery along it, then ordered an advance, and opened the battle with a fire from his guns, which was promptly responded to by the enemy's pieces. The distance was so close that the Union guns could fire canister and shell very effectively; but the enemy, perceiving that Sigel had no cavalry, sent out their numerous mounted force on a flank movement, which soon compelled the retirement of the line across the creek, where the battle was renewed and maintained for two hours, during which time the enemy suffered some loss from the artillery fire.

Again the enemy made a flank movement with their cavalry, reaching this time back toward the baggage-train, to which Sigel retreated. The Union men broke up the cavalry formation, and Sigel followed this with a charge which scattered his enemies and enabled him to continue his retreat unmolested across the prairie in full sight of his foes. Sigel could also see the rallied cavalry making a wide circuit over the prairie to gain the hights of Spring River and cut off his retreat Gen. Rains, who led this movement, succeeded in reaching the road at Spring River, but in coming up Sigel at once attacked with his artillery, and after a brisk little engagement of half an hour drove the enemy out of the woods, and marched on to Carthage, which he reached about 5 o'clock, and there prepared to give a short rest to his men, who were worn out by 18 miles of marching under a hot sun and almost continual fighting and manuvering. The Secessionists renewed their attack, but were again driven off by the infantry and artillery, and the march was resumed.

Again Gens. Slack, Parsons, and Clark pushed their men forward on the Union flank, while Rains renewed his attack, and again they were all repulsed, largely by the skillful handling of the artillery. As darkness came on the Secessionists disappeared, but Sigel moved on to Sarcoxie, 12 miles distant, and went into camp.

Gov. Jackson's forces camped in and around Carthage, and the next day marched to Neosho, where they met Gen. Ben McCulloch coming up from Arkansas with a force of Arkansans and Texans and also 1,700 of the State Guards, which Gen. Price had brought forward. In the fighting the Union side had lost 13 killed and 21 wounded. The Confederates report 74 killed and wounded in the four divisions under the command of Gov. Jackson.

This brings Gen. Sigel prominently before us. Of the many highly-educated Germans who had migrated to this country in consequence of their connection with the Revolution of 1848, Franz Sigel had, far and away, the most brilliant reputation as a soldier. A slight, dark, nervous man, with a rather saturnine countenance, he was born at Zinsheim, Baden, Nov. 18, 1824, and was therefore in his 37th year. He graduated from the Military School at Carlsruhe with high promise, which he filled by becoming one of the Chief Adjutants in the Grand Duke's army. He ardently shared the aspirations of the young Germans for German Unity, and resigned his commission in 1847 to become one of the leaders in the revolutionary forces. He was appointed to chief command of the army sent from the Grand-Duchy to the assistance of the revolutionists in Hesse-Darmstadt, but a disagreement arose, another was appointed to the command, and Sigel assumed the position of Minister of War. Upon the defeat of the expedition by the Prussian forces, he resumed the chief command of the demoralized men, and conducted a brilliantly successful retreat to a place of safety in the fortress of Rastadt. This achievement at the age of 24 seemed to stamp the character of his military career.

At the collapse of the revolution he escaped to Switzerland, which expelled him, and he then came to New York, where he supported himself as a teacher of mathematics, later engaging in the same occupation in St. Louis, where he was living when the war broke out, and rendered invaluable service in organizing and leading the Germans in support of Blair and Lyon.

Unfortunately for his reputation, the war upon which he had now entered was to be carried on by stern aggressiveness, to which he seemed unsuited. He had a strong hold on the affections of the Germans, whose support of the Union was exceedingly valuable, and in spite of repeated failures to satisfy the expectations of his superior officers, he was promoted and given high commands, in all of which his misfortune was the same. After Rastadt he seemed bent only upon conducting brilliant retreats, and that from Carthage greatly helped to confirm this tendency. He was finally relegated to the shelf, which contained so many men who had started out with brilliant promise, and died in New York in 1902, supported during his later years by a pension of $100 a month granted him by Congress.

After resting his men a few hours at Sarcoxie, Sigel marched on to Springfield, where Gen. Sweeny was, and to which point Gen. Lyon hurried with all the force he could gather, to forestall the junction of Gen. Ben McCulloch's Arkansas column with the force that Price and Jackson would bring to him.

There was strong need of his presence there and of his utmost efforts. He had rolled back the Secession tide only to have it gather volume enough to completely submerge him. Not only had Gov. Jackson and Sterling Price concentrated many more men than he had, but a still stronger column composed of Arkansans and Texans under the noted Gen. Ben. McCulloch was near at hand and pushing forward with all speed.

Benjamin McCulloch, a tall, bony, sinewy man of iron will and dauntless courage, was easily a leader and master of the bold, aggressive spirits who had wrested Texas away from Mexico and erected her into a great State. He had achieved much reputation in the command of the Texan Rangers during the Mexican War and in the Indian fights which succeeded that struggle. As a soldier and a fighter he had the highest fame of any living Texan, except Sam Houston, and when he espoused the cause of Secession he drew after him many thousands of the adventurous, daring young men of the State. The Confederate army had immediately commissioned him a Brigadier-General, and he had set about organizing, with his accustomed energy and enterprise, a strong column for aggressive service west of the Mississippi. Warlike young leaders, ambitious for distinction, hastened to join him with whatever men they could raise, for such was their confidence that they felt his banner would point to the most direct road to fame and glory. Many of these, then Captains and Colonels, afterward rose to be Generals in the Confederate army. He had proposed to the Confederate Government to aid the situation in Virginia by active operations in Missouri, and to this plan the Governors of Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas gave their hearty consent and co-operation. McCulloch had another motive for aggressive action, as it would determine the position of the Indians.

The wisest among the Chiefs of the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Creeks and Seminoles desired to remain neutral in the struggle, since they did not wish to bring down upon them the wrath of the Kansas people, who were within easy striking distance. By prompt action these wavering aborigines could be brought into the Confederate ranks and be made to render important assistance.

He had already crossed the Missouri line with 3,000 mounted men, and on the night of the 4th of July came to Buffalo Creek, 12 miles southwest of Neosho, where he was joined by Gen. Price with 1,700 mounted men, and he sent urgent messages back to the rest of his men to hurry forward to him. These were so well obeyed that he shortly had, independent of Price's men, fully 5,000 men from Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana, who were better equipt and organized than the Missourians.

Gov. Jackson and Gen. Price also sent urgent messages for concentration, which were as promptly responded to. The result was that there were shortly assembled Confederates under Gen. McCulloch and "State Guards" under Gov. Jackson and Gen. Price, a total estimated by Maj. Sturgis and others at 23,-000 men. For lack of proper arms and organization, many of these were not very effective. McCulloch says that the great horde of mounted men "were much in the way," and hindered rather than helped But they were certainly very effective in harrying the Union people; in impressing recruits; in embarrassing Lyon's gathering of supplies; in driving in the small parties he sent out, and confining his operations to the neighborhood of Springfield.

In the meanwhile the great disaster of Bull Run had occurred to depress the Union people and fill the Secessionists with unbounded enthusiasm and confidence. The thoughts of the Government and of the loyal people of the country became concentrated upon securing the safety of Washington. Troops were being rushed from every part of the country to the National Capital. Lyon's forces were constantly dwindling, from the expiration of the three months for which the regiments had been enlisted. The men felt the need of their presence at home, to attend to their hastily-left affairs, and could see no prospect of a decisive battle as a reason for remaining. Gen. Lyon importuned Gen. Fremont and the War Department for some regiments, for adequate supplies for those he had, and money with which to pay them. The War Department, however, could apparently think of nothing else than making Washington safe, while Gen. Fremont, deeming St. Louis and Cairo all-important, gathered in what troops he could save from the eastward rush, for holding those places. Gen. Scott even proposed to deprive Gen. Lyon of his little squad of Regulars, and sent orders for seven companies to be forwarded East.

Laboring with all these embarrassments, Gen. Lyon confronted the storm rising before him with a firm countenance.