killed here--General Lyon. The
other was General McPherson, who fell at Atlanta.

Lyon pursued the tactics of Grant by attacking the enemy wherever to be
found, and not taking into consideration the disparity of forces. The
excitement caused by Lyon's campaigns induced the Government to create
the Western Department, and assign to it on July 25th, 1861, General John
C. Fremont as its commander.

In August, 1861, I landed in St. Louis with my Regiment, the Fourth Iowa
Infantry, and soon after was sent to Rolla, Mo., which was then the most
important outpost, being the nearest to the enemy's Army. Soon after I
reached there General Fremont commenced formulating his plans for the
campaign in the South, and being the commander of that outpost I was in
daily communication with him. There was a constant stream of reports
coming from the enemy's lines that seemed to give great importance to
their strength and their position, and I was continually ordered to send
out scouts and troops to test the information. I invariably found it wrong
and my telegrams will show my opinion of those reports.

Soon after arriving at Rolla I was placed in command of the post, and had
quite a force under me, and was ordered to prepare to winter there.

The battle of Wilson's Creek was fought on August 10th, and soon
thereafter General Price formed his plan of campaign to move north into
north Missouri and endeavor to hold it by the recruits that he could
obtain there. With from five to ten thousand men of the Missouri State
Guards, General Price moved, and as he marched north in September his Army
increased heavily in numbers and enthusiasm. The Federal forces were
scattered all over Missouri--some eighty thousand in all. At least half of
these could have been concentrated to operate against any force of the
enemy, but they were all protecting towns, cities and railways and
endeavoring to make Missouri loyal, while Price concentrated and moved
where he pleased, until, on September 21, 1861, he captured Lexington,
with some 3,000 or more prisoners. The movement of Price on Lexington and
the defeat and capture of our forces there, forced Fremont to concentrate,
and he moved with four Divisions, making an Army of 38,000, on
Springfield, which he reached October 27th. Price was then far south of
that place. Had our forces been concentrated to meet Price's Army we had
enough to defeat him; but the moment Fremont commenced concentrating his
four Divi