On the morning of June 17, 1861, one of the first engagements of the War Between the States occurred between State and Federal troops here in the hills below Boonville. The engagement began at 8 A.M. and ended near this spot with the surrender of the town by acting City Mayor James H. O'Brian to Union General Nathaniel Lyon.

Raw, pro-Southern State Guardsmen had been hastily organized and called out to defend the state on June 12 by Governor Claiborne F. Jackson. It was here that General Lyon's trained forces first met them and overcame a force under the command of General John S. Marmaduke, dealing a severe blow to the Southern cause in Missouri and to the prestige of Governor Jackson.

After the Battle of Boonville, the State Guard retreated to southern Missouri, where under the command of General Sterling Price, they eventually defeated the Unionists in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, August 10, 1861. The battle for Missouri was to continue indecisively for 4 more years.

Erected September 1958

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Show me all markers in:  Boonville, MO  |  Cooper County  |  65233  |  Missouri  |  United States of America

Battle of Boonville
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Capture of Boonville
Capture of Union Troops
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James Milton Turner

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