The death of General Lyon occurred near the middle of the battle. So
many accounts of this occurrence have been given, that I am not fully
satisfied which is the correct one. I know at least half a dozen
individuals in whose arms General Lyon expired, and think there are
as many more who claim that sad honor. There is a similar mystery
concerning his last words, a dozen versions having been given by
persons who claim to have heard them. It is my belief that General
Lyon was killed while reconnoitering the enemy's line and directing
the advance of a regiment of infantry. I believe he was on foot at
the instant, and was caught, as he fell, in the arms of "Lehman," his
orderly. His last utterance was, doubtless, the order for the infantry
to advance, and was given a moment before he received the fatal
bullet. From the nature of the wound, his death, if not instantaneous,
was very speedy. A large musket-ball entered his left side, in the
region of the heart, passing nearly through to the right. A reported
wound in the breast was made with a bayonet in the hands of a Rebel
soldier, several hours afterward. The body was brought to Springfield
on the night after the battle.

It was my fortune to be acquainted with General Lyon. During the
progress of the war I met no one who impressed me more than he, in his
devotion to the interests of the country. If he possessed ambition
for personal glory, I was unable to discover it. He declared that
reputation was a bubble, which no good soldier should follow. Wealth
was a shadow, which no man in the country's service should heed. His
pay as an officer was sufficient for all his wants, and he desired
nothing more. He gave to the Nation, as the friend he loved the
dearest, a fortune which he had inherited. If his death could aid in
the success of the cause for which he was fighting, he stood ready to
die. The gloom that spread throughout the North when the news of his
loss was received, showed a just appreciation of his character.

"How sleep the brave who sink to rest
By all their country's wishes blest!"

At that battle there was the usual complement of officers for five
thousand men. Two years later there were seven major-generals and
thirteen brigadier-generals who had risen from the Wilson Creek Army.
There were colonels, lieutenant-colonels, and majors, by the score,
who fought in the line or in the ranks on that memorable 10th of
August. In 1863, thirty-two commissioned of