Key Figures of Missouri’s Civil War: Generals, Guerrillas, and Unsung Heroes
Table of Contents
Union Leaders
- Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon – U.S. Army officer, first Union general killed in the Civil War (Wilson’s Creek). His heavy-handed tactics set Missouri on a violent path.
- Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel – German-American officer, key at Carthage and Wilson’s Creek; symbolic leader for German immigrant communities.
- Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis – Architect of Union victory at Pea Ridge, ensuring Missouri stayed under Union control.
- Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing Jr. – Issued General Order No. 11, devastating four Missouri counties to curb guerrilla activity.
- Col. James Totten – Cavalry commander at Boonville, key in securing early Union control of central Missouri.
Union Portraits
Confederate Leaders
- Maj. Gen. Sterling Price – Commander of the Missouri State Guard and Confederate general; central figure in nearly every Missouri campaign.
- Maj. Gen. John S. Marmaduke – Confederate cavalry general; known for raids and post-war politics.
- Brig. Gen. Ben McCulloch – Texan general, led Confederates at Wilson’s Creek; killed at Pea Ridge but influential early on.
- Brig. Gen. Joseph O. Shelby – Famous “Iron Brigade” cavalry commander; refused to surrender, fled to Mexico after the war.
Confederate Portraits
Guerrilla Leaders
- “Col.” William Quantrill – Led infamous raids, including Lawrence, Kansas. Symbol of guerrilla warfare in the West.
- “Capt.” William “Bloody Bill” Anderson – Terrorized Missouri with brutal raids, including the Centralia Massacre.
Honorable Mentions
- Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont – Early Union commander in St. Louis; declared emancipation prematurely, replaced, but left his mark.
- Brig. Gen. Stand Watie – Cherokee leader; fought at Pea Ridge, later the only Native American brigadier general in the Confederacy.
Women & African Americans in Missouri’s Civil War
- Pauline Cushman – Actress turned Union spy with Missouri ties.
- 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers – First African American regiment to see combat in the war, at Island Mound (Missouri).
- Missouri Women – Countless women served as couriers, nurses, and kept families alive amid guerrilla warfare.
Image Credits & Sources
Union Portraits
- Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon – Wood engraving by Holmes, 1861. Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints Collection. Public domain. Portrait sourced from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
- Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel – Photographic portrait, published in Reminiscences, Volume Two by Carl Schurz (1907). Public domain. Portrait sourced from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
- Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis – Illustration from History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century by Benjamin F. Gue (1903). Public domain. Portrait sourced from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
- Gen. Thomas Ewing Jr. – Photograph, ca. 1860–1865. U.S. War Department, Office of the Chief Signal Officer. National Archives at College Park. Public domain. Portrait sourced from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Confederate Portraits
- Gen. Sterling Price – Lithograph portrait, ca. 1860–1870. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division (Digital ID: cwpb 07527). Public domain. Portrait sourced from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
- Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke – Photograph, ca. 1860–1865. Library of Congress, American Memory Collection (Digital ID: cwpb 06001). Public domain. Portrait sourced from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
- Gen. Ben McCulloch – Engraving by George E. Perine, ca. 1865. Missouri History Museum Collections. Public domain. Portrait sourced from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
- Brig. Gen. Joseph O. Shelby – Bust portrait from old photograph, ca. 1861–1865. Missouri Historical Society Collections. Public domain. Portrait sourced from Wikimedia Commons, public domain.