Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union general killed in the Civil War. Although the battle ended in favor of the South, Missouri remained in the Union, and the value of Lyon's actions became clear. Thomas L. Snead, a colonel in the Southern Army, reflected that Lyon had given Missouri Union men the time, opportunity, and courage to bring their State Convention together again, establish a state government loyal to the Union, use the organized power of the state, sustain the Union, and crush the South. Overnight, Lyon became a national hero. His family was called to claim his remains, and a military escort took his body by wagon to Rolla and then to St. Louis, where the casket was placed on a train. It stopped in four cities, and thousands turned out at each stop to view the body lying in state, draped in flags and banners and strewn with flowers in a grand display of national mourning. The last part of the journey to his final resting place was again by wagon, and he was buried beside his parents in Phoenixville, Connecticut. As the Civil War continued and many more generals were killed, the success and sacrifice attributed to Lyon receded into history.