'The Battle of Jefferson City: What If It Happened?'

Summary

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"This means war," Lyon declared to Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, Gov. Claiborne Fox Jackson and Col. Frank Blair, as depicted in this plate from "The Struggle for Missouri," by John McElroy.

As part of its ongoing Civil War project, Life During Wartime, the Tribune explores a might-have-been scenario from May and June 1861, when the alignment of states between North and South was jelling. What if, Tribune writer Rudi Keller asks, Missouri had kept together a force of men in Jefferson City to challenge Federal authority rather than disperse it three weeks before fighting began?

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Extract

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'The Battle of Jefferson City: What If It Happened?'

Library of Congress

Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon

Photo by Parker Eshelman

A modern view of the Missouri River looks upstream from Jefferson City. Lyon would have seen the same kind of uninviting, tree-lined embankments as he descended on the Capitol on June 15, 1861.

Library of Congress

Col. Frank Blair, commander of the First Missouri Volunteer Regiment

Library of Congress

An 1861 cartoon makes fun of Missouri's indecision on secession, which led to a state government ill-prepared to resist Union forces.

State Historical Society of Missouri

Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, above, was a popular former governor who joined with Gov. Claiborne Fox Jackson in the attempt to take Missouri into the Confederacy.

State Historical Society of Missouri

Jason Tyler/Tribune

This map shows a likely disposition of forces on June 15, 1861, if the Missouri State Guard had been ready to fight Lyon's attempt to take Jefferson City.

CIVIL WAR GLOSSARY

Military Units

Regular Army: Officers and men who were in the U.S. Army before 1861. An officer could hold a rank in the Regular Army and a much higher rank leading volunteers.

Volunteers: Active-duty companies or regiments made up entirely of voluntary enlistments for a specified...

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