We just visited the Wilsons Creek battlefield near Springfield MO. I have really only read about the big battles in the East, and a few clashes involving Forrest in the West. Can anybody recommend a good book about the early days in Missouri and surrounding states?

Not really a good single comprehensive history of the war in Missouri but some good biographies and battle histories that are good and together tell the story.

Hatcher and Piston's Wilson's Creek
Shea and Hess' Pea Ridge
Cutrer's Ben McCulloch
Phillips' Missouri's Confederate (about Gov. Claiborne Jackson)
Castel's Sterling Price
Collin's General James Blunt
Stiles' Jesse James

Thomas Goodrich has three great books War to the Knife is about Bleeding Kansas, Black Flag about the guerilla warfare in Missouri and even better is Bloody Dawn about the Lawrence raid by Quantrill

Between the Enemy and Texas; Parson's Texas Cavalry in the Civil War by Anne J. Bailey.

I had a direct ancestor who served in this unit.

Sires and Sons: The Story of Hubbard's Regiment - Trevor Wardlaw.
Walker's Texas Division, C.S.A.: Greyhounds of the Trans-Mississippi - Richard Lowe

The Park Service has a nice Field Guide for Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge. Good resource to match your visit, or for a follow up trip!

Sadly the museum was closed, along with the park office. We were, however, able to drive through the park, read all the informational plaques and listen to the numbered recordings on our cell phones. There is an exceptionally well preserved farmhouse that is furnished with period furnishings that was also locked (you could walk the grounds and go down to the springhouse).

Looks like there is some construction/remodeling going on in addition to the Covid shutdown. I'd like to go back once the museum has reopened.

They are redoing the visitor center to accommodate the General Sweeny Museum artifacts they acquired about 7 years ago. The old building where they were kept across the street was in need of major repair and they decided to consolidate. It is a great collection and I look forward to seeing it again in its new home.

BQ78 said:

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They are redoing the visitor center to accommodate the General Sweeny Museum artifacts they acquired about 7 years ago. The old building where they were kept across the street was in need of major repair and they decided to consolidate. It is a great collection and I look forward to seeing it again in its new home.

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Any idea if it will all be done and opened a year from now? We'll likely go back to that area on vacation right around Memorial Day.

It was supposed to be but who knows with this COVID nonsense.

It was supposed to open up this year but with this COVID stuff who knows.

Thanks for the recommendations everybody. I'm going to start off with "Bloody Hill The Civil War Battle of Wilson's Creek" by William Riley Brooksher, then see where that leads me. I chose it because it supposedly has a bunch of background leading up to the battle itself.

I tend to go on mini-dives where I will read multiple books on a period of history. Last one was the Texas Revolution. Before that I did the Spanish Conquistadors and also the history of the Boers (including both Boer Wars).

It will be open next year, they are re-opening the renovated VC in October. They just sent me a press release about the 1860 Henry Rifle they just had donated to them and it will be on display in October when the VC re-opens.

If you want to do a really good deep dive on Missouri in the Civil War, you should start in Kansas a decade earlier.