Click 👉Today in History (general history) Aug. 10.
On This Day in Confederate History, Aug. 10.
1861: The Battle of Oak Hills, Mo. (Wilson's Creek) occurred on this day. It was the first major battle in the Trans-Mississippi and the second major battle after First Manassas. Below is the National Park Service, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, summary of the battle. After installing a pro-Union state government and picking up reinforcements, [Federal General] Lyon moved toward southwest Missouri. By July 13, 1861, he was encamped at Springfield with about 6,000 soldiers, consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Missouri Infantry, the 1st Iowa Infantry, the 1st, and 2nd Kansas Infantry, several companies of Regular Army infantry, and cavalry, and three batteries of artillery.
Meanwhile, 75 miles southwest of Springfield, Major General Sterling Price, commanding the Missouri State Guard, had been busy drilling the 5,200 soldiers in his charge. By the end of July, when troops under Generals Ben McCulloch and N. Bart Pearce rendezvoused with Price, the total Southern "coalition" force (a mixture of Confederate troops and state forces) exceeded 12,000 men. On July 31, after formulating plans to capture Lyon's army and regain control of the state, Price, McCulloch, and Pearce marched northeast to attack the Federals. Lyon, hoping to surprise the Confederates, marched from Springfield on August 1. The next day the Union troops mauled the Southern vanguard at Dug Springs. Lyon, discovering he was outnumbered, ordered a withdrawal to Springfield. The Confederates followed and by August 6 were encamped near Wilson's Creek.
Despite inferior numbers, Lyon decided to attack the enemy encampment. Leaving about 1,000 men behind to guard his supplies, the Federal commander led 5,400 soldiers out of Springfield on the night of August 9. Lyon's plan called for 1,200 men under Colonel Franz Sigel to swing wide to the south, flanking the Southern right, while the main body of troops struck from the north. Success hinged on the element of surprise. Ironically, the Southern leaders also planned a surprise attack on the Federals, but rain on the night of the 9th caused McCulloch (who was now in overall command) to cancel the operation. On the morning of the 10th, Lyon's attack caught the Southerners off guard, driving them back. Forging rapidly ahead, the Federals occupied the crest of a ridge subsequently called "Bloody Hill." Nearby, the Pulaski Arkansas Battery opened fire, checking the advance. This gave Price's infantry time to form a battle line on the hill's south slope. For more than five hours the battle raged on Bloody Hill. Fighting was often at close quarters, and the tide turned with each charge and countercharge. Sigel's flanking maneuver, initially successful, collapsed altogether when McCulloch's men counterattacked at the Sharp Farm. Defeated, Sigel and his troops fled. On Bloody Hill, at about 9:30 a.m., General Lyon, who had been wounded twice already, was killed while positioning his troops. Major Samuel Sturgis assumed command of the Federal forces and by 11 a.m., with ammunition nearly exhausted, ordered a withdrawal to Springfield. The Battle of Wilson's Creek was over. Losses were heavy and about equal on both sides--1,317 for the Federals and 1,222 for the Southerners. Though victorious on the field, the Southerners were not able to pursue the Union forces. Lyon lost the battle and his life, but he achieved his goal: Missouri remained under Union control.
Lieutenant General John Clifford Pemberton was born on this day in 1814 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from West Point in 1837 ranking 27th in his class of 27 cadets. Pemberton had an outstanding Mexican-American War record fighting with the 4th U.S. Artillery in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterrey, Veracruz, Cerro Gordo, Churubusco, Molino Del Rey, and Chapultepec. He was brevetted captain and then a major. He sided with the South in the war for Southern Independence and resigned from the U.S. Army on April 29, 1861. He joined the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel and was promoted to colonel on May 9, 1861, and then to brigadier general on May 11, 1861. He was then promoted to major general on Jan. 14, 1862, and given command of the Dept. of South Carolina and Georgia. Pemberton received a promotion to lieutenant general on Oct. 10, 1862, and command of the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, which included Vicksburg and Port Hudson. His battles included the Champion's Hill and the Siege of Vicksburg. After the surrender on July 4, 1863, and his exchange from captivity on Oct. 13, 1863, he spent 8 months without an assignment in Richmond, Va. then asked for an assignment in any capacity. He then resigned his general commission and accepted an assignment to the artillery with the rank of lieutenant colonel on May 9, 1864. Pemberton then commanded the artillery defenses around Richmond and his final assignment was as inspector general of the artillery on January 7, 1865. He was captured on April 12, 1865, at Salisbury 1865 with 14 guns and 1,300 men. Following the war, Pemberton farmed near Warrenton, Va. but returned to Pennsylvania where he died July 31, 1881, and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pa.
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