Nathaniel Lyon's River Campaign of 1861

<p> On May 10, 1861, Captain Nathaniel Lyon marched out of the federal arsenal at St. Louis at the head of 7,000 Union Regulars and pro-Union volunteers to break up a Missouri State Militia encampment at Camp Jackson. Hostilities erupted and several civilians and soldiers died when opposing forces opened fire on each other. The unfolding of events afterward drove previously undecided Missourians to join either the Union or Confederate side. Receiving near dictatorial authority from the sta