Q: Where can you enjoy a quiet drive or bike ride on smooth asphalt, and hike on clearly marked wooded trails enjoying the natural Ozarks while learning some important American history? A: Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, just 10 miles southwest of Springfield.
The Battle of Wilson’s Creek in August 1861was the second major battle of the American Civil War, and the first battle fought west of the Mississippi. The casualties were 1,317 Union and 1,222 Southern troops and included Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union general killed in battle.
The battlefield has a visitors center, a Civil War research library and a 4.9-mile tour road with 8 parking stops with information about the events of the battle. At several of the stops, you have the opportunity to get out and walk well-marked trails. Admission is $5.00 per adult, up to a maximum of $10 per car. The price of admission to the visitors center and tour road also includes access to the Wilson’s Creek Civil War Museum (formerly the Sweeny Museum), a collection of original Civil War artifacts relating to the war west of the Mississippi River. Find out more about Wilson’s Creek at the Battlefield website http://www.nps.gov/wicr/index.htm.
If you enjoy biking, even if you aren’t a huge history buff, you will like riding the smooth one-way road with its hills and turns and light traffic for a great bike workout away from the noise and hassle of city biking.
If you are interested in Civil War History, be sure to check out http://www.ozarkscivilwar.org/, an excellent resource for information about the war and its effect on the Ozarks. You’ll also be interested in Springfield’s National Cemetery, where many of the dead from Wilson’s Creek were laid to rest, and the markers downtown that tell the story of the Battle of Springfield.