St. Louis Arsenal

Book excerpt: On the afternoon of May 10, 1861, Army Captain Nathaniel Lyon marched out of the St. Louis Arsenal at the head of 7,000 Union Regulars and Volunteers to capture an encampment of nearly 700 reputed Confederate sympathizers at Camp Jackson on the western outskirts of St. Louis. It probably did not occur to him that he was embarking on a mission that would forever enshrine his name, and that of the Arsenal, in the annals of Civil War history. In words and images, St. Louis Arsenal: Armory of the West relates in detail the story of the Arsenal, from its founding in 1827 through its transition to cavalry post in 1872, then traces its new life and changing fortunes as the installation adapted its mission to meet the ever changing needs of the federal government. Such personalities as William Beaumont, Ulysses S. Grant, William Sherman, Robert E. Lee, Nathaniel Lyon, Daniel Frost, and many others who would claim a place in American military history once served at, or had dealings with, the St. Louis Arsenal.