Wilson's Creek National Battlefield is located in southwest Missouri
approximately 180 miles southeast of Kansas City. The battlefield includes
1752 acres, which approximates the area of the battle which determined
whether the north or south would gain control of much of the state of
Missouri. The battle of Wilson's Creek took place on 10 August 1861 as a
result of a confrontation between Union forces led by General Nathanial
Lyon and Confederate forces led by Major General Sterling Price, Generals
Ben McCulloch and N. Bart Pearce (Bearss 1960). The Civil War battle is
the primary emphasis of the park itself. However, Wilson's Creek contains
a wealth of prehistoric information seldom examined throughout the history
of the park.
The major purpose of the survey portion of the Phase II project was related
to management concerns regarding the location and number of archeological
sites to be affected by the proposed tour road construction. Subsequent to
this basic objective is the desire to increase the archeological site
inventory for the park, thereby increasing the data base of both
prehistoric and historic sites at Wilson's Creek Battlefield.
The evaluation section of this Phase II work focused on the collection of
data relating to the size, depth, content, condition and significance of
individual site deposits. This information has been made available for
management to aid in planning the final design of the tour road route.
This information together with previous studies will be used to better
interpret past patterns of human adaptation in this region of
southwestern Missouri. This data will aid the park in developing
interpretative programs that would inform the public about the broad base
of settlement history evident in the Wilson Creek drainage.
Due to the sensitive nature
of this subject this report is
available to professional
archeologists only. If you
order this manuscript we may
contact you for verification of
your profession.