The Wilson’s Creek Chinkapin Oak stands on the important Civil War battlefield at Wilson’s Creek, 10 miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri, where the battle on August 10, 1861, marked the opening shots of the Civil War in neutral Missouri. The state’s strategic position on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers made it the third most fought-over state in the war, and mixed loyalties plagued its citizens. Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, commanding Union forces, fought for more than five hours in an effort to overcome Confederates led by Benjamin McCulloch. The Union Army suffered heavy losses, and Lyon was killed on a crest known as Bloody Hill. Although the Southerners won a narrow victory, they were unable to pursue the fleeing Union survivors.