Wilson's Creek

Wilson's Creek

Richard J. LeFevre (1931 - 2000)

1994

watercolor and mixed media on paper

Across the Mississippi River in the Trans-Mississippi district (that included states west of the Mississippi River and the Indian Territory), Missouri was an undecided and undeclared state. Men joined and formed regiments; they marched, drilled, and practiced not knowing on which side they would fight. Finally on August 10, 1861, there was a battle at Wilson’s Creek in Springfield, Missouri. The two generals shown in the painting are Maj. Gen. Sterling Price of the Missouri State Guard (on the center left) and General Ben McCulloch (on the far left) of the Confederate Army. In the lower portion of this painting you will see Union Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon with his arm in the air and a sword in the other. His orderly is shown at his left side yelling for the general to get off his horse because he was making himself an easy target. Lyon’s horse was shot out from under him, so he returned to the Union lines and borrowed a horse from the Missouri infantry. In the center of the piece, you will see him being shot from his horse while leading a counter charge on Bloody Hill.

Bequest of the Artist