The Battle of Boonville, Missouri - Missouri Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

County of marker: Cooper County
Location of marker: E. Morgan St. & Riverside Dr., Boonville
Marker Erected by: Adams Dairy
Date Erected: September 1958

Marker Text:

THE BATTLE OF BOONVILLE
  On the morning of June 17, 1861, one of the first engagements of the War Between the States occurred between State and Federal troops here in the hills below Boonville. The engagement began at 8 A.M. and ended near this spot with the surrender of the town by acting City Mayor James H. O'Brian to Union General Nathaniel Lyon.

  Raw, pro~Southern State Guardsmen had been hastily organized and called out to defend the state on June 12 by Governor Claiborne F. Jackson. It was here that General Lyon's trained forces first met them and overcame a force under the command of General John S. Marmaduke, dealing a severe blow to the Southern cause in Missouri and to the prestige of Governor Jackson.

  After the Battle of Boonville, the State Guard retreated to Southern Missouri where under the command of General Sterling Price, they eventually defeated the Unionists in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, August 10, 1861. The battle for Missouri was to continue indecisively for four more years.

Web link: [Web Link] History of Mark: "The Battle of Boonville took place on June 17, 1861, more than a month before the First Battle of Bull Run, and is considered by many to be the first battle of the American Civil War. In fact, the fighting east of Boonville, Missouri was little more than a skirmish and lasted only about 30 minutes. But this skirmish had a long lasting impact on the struggle for the State of Missouri in 1861. The rapid mobilization by Union Brigadier-General Nathaniel Lyon surprised and defeated the secessionists who had to abandon the Missouri River and flee south towards Arkansas. Except for a brief occupation of Lexington later in the year, Southern forces would never regain control of the State of Missouri for the duration of the Civil War." ~ Civil War Muse Additional point: Not Listed

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