After the Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter in South Carolina, President Abraham Lincoln called for the states to raise 75,000 able men as volunteers to prevent Confederate forces from striking again. Governor Jackson refused to find volunteers for Lincoln because he believed that, “The Presidents army to make war upon the people of the seceded states.” Knowing that Jackson intended to take his state of Missouri out of the Union, General Nathaniel Lyon took action to prevent this.
The first thing that General Lyon did was that he chased Jackson and his band of Missouri State Guards out of Jefferson city, the capital of Missouri. When Lyon entered the capital, he found that the city was nearly abandoned. After he took the confederate flag off of the capital …show more content…
The men under the command of Governor Jackson amounted to an estimated 2600 infantry troops and 1500 cavalry. Most of his men were either unarmed or had shabby weapons brought from the homes of his volunteers. Jackson also had another 2000 men which sat on the sidelines who were unarmed.
Colonel Sigel on the other hand had under his command 1100 well trained soldiers and eight cannon units. Even though Sigel was outnumbered, he had the advantage of his men being well trained, well armed, and most importantly well clothed. The battle was about to start.
Before Sigel even started the battle, he encountered the rebel’s cavalry under the command of J. O. Shelby. Shelby’s actions caused Sigel’s line of cannons to be distracted with which he wasted ammunition and powder.
After pushing Shelby’s rebels aside, Sigel opened the battle with his show of artillery, co-ordination, and speed. Jackson’s men responded with a show of force. After about an hour, Jackson sent his cavalry to try to flank Sigel’s sides and have him surrounded with no
The first thing that General Lyon did was that he chased Jackson and his band of Missouri State Guards out of Jefferson city, the capital of Missouri. When Lyon entered the capital, he found that the city was nearly abandoned. After he took the confederate flag off of the capital …show more content…
The men under the command of Governor Jackson amounted to an estimated 2600 infantry troops and 1500 cavalry. Most of his men were either unarmed or had shabby weapons brought from the homes of his volunteers. Jackson also had another 2000 men which sat on the sidelines who were unarmed.
Colonel Sigel on the other hand had under his command 1100 well trained soldiers and eight cannon units. Even though Sigel was outnumbered, he had the advantage of his men being well trained, well armed, and most importantly well clothed. The battle was about to start.
Before Sigel even started the battle, he encountered the rebel’s cavalry under the command of J. O. Shelby. Shelby’s actions caused Sigel’s line of cannons to be distracted with which he wasted ammunition and powder.
After pushing Shelby’s rebels aside, Sigel opened the battle with his show of artillery, co-ordination, and speed. Jackson’s men responded with a show of force. After about an hour, Jackson sent his cavalry to try to flank Sigel’s sides and have him surrounded with no