Sixty acres recently acquired at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield will enable the park staff to better tell the story of Col. Franz Siegel's movements during the Civil War battle/NPS

A 60-acre tract of land recently transferred to the National Park Service at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield was the first position of Colonel Franz Sigel’s troops during the Battle of Wilson’s Creek during the Civil War.

The land came to the park through the efforts of the Civil War Trust and Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation.  

The significance of this property, located on the southeast boundary of the battlefield, is that it was the first position of Colonel Franz Sigel’s troops during the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. The Union forces divided their troops as they left Springfield around 6 p.m. on August 9, 1861. The plan was to take 1,200 men under Col. Sigel and swing wide to the south, flanking the Confederates on the right as General Lyon’s force struck from the north.

The 60 acres acquired on January 22, 2018, allows the park to interpret a very significant segment of the battle under the command of Col. Sigel. This property was conveyed to the U.S. Department of the Interior and will be managed by Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield.

“In donating this property to the National Park Service, we continue to preserve a piece of our history for generations to come,” said Jim Lighthouse, president of the Civil War Trust.  

Administered by the National Park Service, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield preserves the site of the first major battle of the Civil War in the West, a site where the first Union general was killed in the Civil War, and evokes the rural character experienced by the combatants.  Wilson’s Creek is located 10 miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri, at the intersection of Highway ZZ and Farm Road 182.