The Wilsons Creek National Battlefield is located just a bit West of Battlefield. It was the scene of a bloody Southern victory during the Summer of 1861 which took the life of the first Union general killed in combat. The museum on the grounds displays collections of uniforms, weapons, flags, personal items, letters and photographs from the period of the Civil War fought in the Trans-Mississippi West. In addition the museum has trading cards with scenes from the Civil War to Civil Rights. There are collections here of objects from prisoner of war camps where Trans-Mississippian soldiers were detained and died. and documents which describe battlefield medicine and advances in treatment, the role of women in the Civil War and the naval role of warfare in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.

Hon. Mark Rundel