REPUBLIC, MO - The Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield will commemorate the 161st Anniversary of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek at 10 am on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. The outdoor ceremony will take place on the Visitor Center lawn. Entrance to the park is free on the battle anniversary.
The ceremony will include an announcement that Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation purchased a significant collection of objects from a descendent of U.S. Colonel Franz Sigel, who played a critical role in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. This collection will be donated to the park as part of the ceremony. The Foundation is the park’s official philanthropic partner, with a mission of encouraging awareness, appreciation, education, and development of the park, as well as fundraising.
Speakers include Park Superintendent Sarah Cunningham, Wilson’s Creek Foundation outgoing and incoming Presidents Garin Ferguson and Crystal Sharp, respectively, and keynote speaker, Dr. Jeremy Neely. Dr. Neely is a professor of Civil War History at Missouri State University. The ceremony also includes the presentation of a memorial wreath, playing of taps, and a cannon salute.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, visitors are invited to view the temporary exhibit featuring items such as an ornate presentation sword, a framed engraving of a young Sigel as an officer in the revolutionary army of Baden, a.22 Flobert-style target pistol, and Sigel’s commission as a major general of volunteers, signed by Edwin M. Stanton and Abraham Lincoln. The objects will be on display until the end of 2022, at which time they will either be returned to “rest" in climate-controlled storage or sent to an artifact conservator for conservation treatment.
In areas the CDC identifies as high COVID-19 community level, masks are required for everyone in all NPS buildings regardless of vaccination status. In most low and medium COVID-19 community level areas, masks are optional.
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. The Confederate victory on Aug. 10, 1861 focused greater national attention on the war in Missouri, leading to greater federal military action. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield is located 10 miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri at the intersection of Highway ZZ and Farm Road 182. For current information, please visit www.nps.gov/wicr or visit us on Facebook.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
