WILSON’S CREEK, AND THE DEATH OF LYON.

294

advanced his infantry toward the pointwhere the by-road crosses the creek, hisflanks supported by the cavalry on theright and dragoons on the left, fourguns being placed on a hill overlookingthe tents. At about 5:30 A. M., hear-ing the musketry on Lyon’s front, heopened fire with his guns, pushing hisinfantry across the creek and into thelower camp, whence they had fled, over-whelmed by the suddenness of the at-tack. Sigel crossed his guns and pushedwith infantry and artillery forward ashort distance in pursuit, meeting withslight resistance. He advanced from hisfirst position near the creek, by a roadwest of the deserted camp, and formedline of battle in a field between theroad and the camp. Afterward headvanced to Sharp’s house. The Ar-kansans and Texans retired to thenorthward, fell in with Price’s Missouri line, and assisted in the fight againstLyon. Meanwhile McCulloch calledupon a battalion of mounted Missouri-ans, and upon a part of the Louisiana regiment which had been confrontingPlummer in the corn-field, and withthese attacked Sigel’s men, who werein line at Sharp’s farm, and drove themfrom the field. When the attack bythe Confederates, from the direction ofLyon’s front, was made, the confusionof Sigel’s men was brought about bythe enfilading fire of Reid’s battery eastof the creek, and by the belief thatthe infantry in their front were friends.Sigel went back the way he came witha part of his command, including Carr’scavalry. All but the cavalry, who wereahead, were ambuscaded and, for themost part, killed or captured; Sigelnarrowly escaped capture. Colonel Sal-omon with 450 of the troops retreated,by a detour to the west, to the LittleYork road, as did also Lieutenant Far-

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THE BATTLE-FIELD OF WILSON’S CREEK. AS SEEN FROM BEHIND PEARCE’S CAMP ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE CREEK —SEE MAP, PAGE 290. FROM PHOTOGRAPHS.