After a time Lyon regained his senses, and the surrender proceedings moved forward. The most pressing concern was deciding what to do with the captured men. Lyon initially offered to free anyone who agreed to take an oath of loyalty to the Union. Only ten men accepted, leaving the rest to be taken prisoner. That meant returning them to the arsenal. And that's when a situation that appeared to be under control began to spiral out of control.
Word of what was happening at Camp Jackson had spread like wildfire across St. Louis. It wasn't long before a sizeable crowd turned into an enormous crowd. (Standing among the throng was a relatively unknown figure - William Tecumseh Sherman. The future Union general had brought his son along to watch the proceedings. They would soon have cause to regret not staying home.)
A fair number of those milling about in the crowd not only harbored pro-southern feelings, but carried fully loaded weapons as well. Given their foul mood, it did not seem far-fetched to believe that if given the chance, they would use them. Others, lacking something to shoot with, prepared to make due with whatever weapons might present themselves. All in all, it was a good crowd to avoid if possible.
So naturally, Nathaniel Lyon chose to march his captured prisoners straight through it.
For Lyon, doing things this way would be an effective way of punishing those who would dare to oppose him, and make an example of them at the same time. Unfortunately, it would also prove to be one of the worst decisions of his entire career.
Around 5:30 in the afternoon, the column began the six-mile march to the arsenal, and encountered trouble almost immediately. Predictably, pro-southern citizens along the route began taunting them. Here and there, the verbal abuse was accompanied by passionate spitting.
As the column made its way deeper into the increasingly hostile crowd, hurled insults changed to hurled rocks, dirt clods, and other assorted items.
For the mostly inexperienced, terribly nervous Union recruits, it was all becoming a little too much. Any sort of battle this day had been expected to take place at Camp Jackson, against an armed state militia. Not here, in the middle of St. Louis, against private citizens. But Lyon's poor judgment combined with the crowd's hostility had placed them in a bad fix.
Backed into a corner like some large and dangerous animal, the men in the Union column were beginning to fear for their lives.
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