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Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was the first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War and is noted for his actions in the state of Missouri at the beginning of the conflict. Some credit his quick action and hard line Unionism for stopping the Missouri secession movement. Others question his influence peddling and his role in events such as the Camp Jackson Affair, which inflamed many Missourians on the secession issue (See Missouri secession.) He graduated from the Military Academy 11th out of a class of 52 in 1841. He fought the Seminole Indians in Florida, as well as in the Mexican-American War. During the war, he received several brevet promotions for gallantry under fire at the battles of Mexico City, Contreras, and Churubusco. He was then sent to posts in California where he participated in several Native American massacres. He was then reassigned to Fort Riley in Kansas, where he began to develop strong support for the Union as a result of the political climate developing in the state, known as “Bleeding Kansas.” In February 1861, Lyon was made commander of the Union arsenal in St. Louis, Missouri, where tensions grew between the Union soldiers stationed there and the secessionist governor of the state, Claiborne Jackson. When the Civil War broke out, Jackson refused to send volunteers from the state to fight for Abraham Lincoln. Instead, Jackson had the militia muster outside the city to begin training in preparation to join Confederate forces. On May 10, 1861, Lyon and his troops surrounded the pro-Confederate Missouri militia under General D. M. Frost, and forced their surrender. While marching his captured prisoners through St. Louis, many citizens began to riot, and provoked the Camp Jackson Affair, during which Lyon ordered his troops to fire into the rioters. On May 17, 1861, Lyon was promoted to brigadier general and was given command of Union troops in Missouri. On August 10, 1861 the Union forces met a combined force of the Missouri Militia and Confederate troops under the command of Ben McCulloch near Springfield, Missouri, during the battle of Wilson’s Creek. Nathaniel Lyon was killed during the battle while trying to rally his outnumbered soldiers. Although the Confederate forces would win the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Lyon’s efforts prevented the State of Missouri from joining the Confederacy. ==Early life and career== Lyon was born on a farm in Ashford, Connecticut, son of Amasa and Kezia Knowlton Lyon.〔Downhour, pp. 1233-34.〕 As a boy he hated farming. His relatives had fought in the American Revolutionary War and he was determined to follow in their footsteps. In 1837 he applied to the United States Military Academy and graduated eleventh in his class of 52 cadets in 1841. He was assigned to the 2nd U.S. Infantry regiment after graduation and served with them in the Seminole Wars and the Mexican-American War. Despite denouncing American involvement in the Mexican War,〔Warner, pp. 286-87.〕 he was promoted to first lieutenant for "conspicuous bravery in capturing enemy artillery" at the Battle for Mexico City and received a brevet promotion to captain for Contreras and Churubusco. He was then posted to the frontier, where he participated in the massacre of Pomo Native Americans at Clear Lake, California, the 1850 "Bloody Island Massacre";〔(Bloody Island Massacre )〕 as many as 100 old men, women and children were killed. After being reassigned to Fort Riley, Kansas, Lyon became staunchly antislavery. He did not support the radicalism of the abolitionists,〔Warner, p. 286, and Phillips, pp. 105, 120, 127, provide contrary views. Warner states that Lyon was "far from being an abolitionist and was not even in favor of disturbing slavery where he existed."〕 and came to support the Republican Party while serving in the border wars known as "Bleeding Kansas." In January 1861, he wrote about the secession crisis, "It is no longer useful to appeal to reason, but to the sword."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nathaniel Lyon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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