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The battle fought here on August 10, 1861, was the first major Civil War
engagement west of the Mississippi River, involving about 5,400 Union troops
and 12,000 Confederates. Although a Confederate victory, the Southerners
failed to capitalize on their success. The battle led to greater federal
military activity in Missouri, and set the stage for the Battle of Pea Ridge
in March 1862. Wilson's Creek was also the scene of the death of Nathaniel
Lyon, the first Union general to be killed in combat. With the exception
of the vegetation, the 1,750 acre battlefield has changed little from its
historic setting, enabling the visitor to experience the battlefield in
near pristine condition.
The park, which hosts over 200,000 visitors annually, is considered to be
one of the three best preserved and most pristine Civil War battlefields
in the National Park System. While many come to enjoy the natural setting,
growing numbers of guests come to the park for study and research. Each
year more than 8,000 area school children visit this historic site to learn
more about the events of the battle, the soldiers who fought and died here,
and their heritage as Americans.
With the more than 6,000 volumes that make up the John K. and Ruth L. Hulston
Library, the library at the Wilson's Creek Visitor Center has grown to be
among the largest in the National Park System. Housed in the newly completed
Civil War Research Library and Education Center annex, its books, diaries,
maps and journals contain a wealth of historical information for research
scholars, genealogists, and generations to come who will want to know more
about this defining event that shaped U.S. history, particularly the war
in the west.
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