Born Among the Rocks: Nathaniel Lyon, Part I
Around one o'clock on the morning of August 10th, 1861, the Army of the West was ordered to halt. The enemy camp was now only a few miles ahead.
The march from Springfield had been short but slow in the hot and humid Missouri night, due in part to the drizzling rain. With the attack on the southern army scheduled to begin later that morning, the men were told to fall out and get what rest they could.
As the army broke ranks, Major John M. Schofield located a resting spot among a group of small boulders and invited the army's commander to join him.
The two men settled in beneath a rubber blanket, lost in their respective thoughts. Much was at stake this day, all of it resting on the element of surprise. If the nearby, unsuspecting enemy force should discover the presence of the divided and outnumbered Union army, the result could be disastrous.
It was bold, this idea of hitting a numerically superior force from two sides at once. A daring plan tightroping alongside reckless. Then again, no one had ever accused this army's commander of excessive caution.
For all his fierce aggressiveness though, he had nearly decided against this. Had nearly decided to retreat rather than attack. Under the circumstances retreat may have been the best option, as he well understood. Except...
Except that he simply could not bring himself to retreat. Much that had thus far been gained could be lost should the army retreat. Nor could he bring himself to simply wait for the enemy to attack. The choices were therefore to retreat or attack first. Which meant that only one true choice remained.
After a time Major Schofield began to second-guess the idea of rocks as good napping spots and offered his apologies. "I'm quite alright," replied Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon. "Back where I come from, in Connecticut, I was born and bred among rocks."
About four o'clock, as the first signs of daylight appeared in the early morning sky, Lyon arose from his fitful rest and signaled to his officers. It was time for the attack to begin.
Missouri's Hero-Villain
All but forgotten today, Nathaniel Lyon burst on the national scene in 1861 to briefly become one of the most famous - and most controversial - people in the country. Fanatical, opinionated, and possessed of a scorching-hot temper, the five-foot five-inch redheaded dynamo was suspected of mental instability even by friends.
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