Born 14 July 1818, Nathanial Lyons was the son of Kezia and Amasa Lyon. He grew up in Ashford Connecticut with a powerful desire to serve in the military as part of his family’s traditions. Lyons attended West Point and received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1841. He served in the 2nd Infantry Division as a junior officer, and later became the General in command of the Missouri Union forces and is credited with being the first Union General Officer to fall in battle during the American Civil War. Nathanial Lyons is reported to have been the seventh child of nine in his family. His father was a farmer, though Nathanial Lyons apparently had a great dislike of the trade. His ancestors had been Soldiers during the American revolution and it was this, along with his childhood duties of helping on the family farm that led him to a career in the military. It was reported that Lyons had a volatile temper which began to show itself later in life. Lyons served in the Seminole and Mexican-American war with the 2nd Infantry Division and was promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant for his bravery in capturing enemy artillery, and shortly promoted to Captain not long after. Shortly after the Mexican-American War we first saw the detrimental effects of his…show more content… On 12 June 1861, Governor Jackson and General Price traveled to St. Lois to the Planter Hotel to meet with BG Lyons and discuss the future of Missouri forces and how the Union troops were going to be stationed. One of the main arguments was weather Union troops would have free movement across the state or if they would be stationed primarily only in the St. Louis area. The meeting reportedly lasted only four hours when Lyons’ temper got the best of him and he ended the meeting, declaring that Missouri Government was acting warlike with the Union General and they were now at
