The Battle of Boonville

On the morning of June 17, 1861, one of the first engagements of the War Between the States took place between State and Federal troops in the hills below Boonville. The fighting began at 8 A.M. and ended near this spot with acting City Mayor James H. O'Brian surrendering the town 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. Here General Lyon's trained forces first met and overcame a force under General John S. Marmaduke, dealing a severe blow to the Southern cause in Missouri and to Governor Jackson's prestige. After the Battle of Boonville, the State Guard retreated to southern Missouri, where under General Sterling Price they eventually defeated the Unionists in the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861. The battle for Missouri then continued indecisively for 4 more years.

Boonville, Missouri · United States