Editing Nathaniel Lyon (section)

{{short description|First Union general to be killed in the American Civil War}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Nathaniel Lyon
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1818|7|14}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1861|8|10|1818|7|14}}
| birth_place   = [[Ashford, Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_place   = [[Battlefield, Missouri]], U.S.
| image         = Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, commander of the Federal forces at Wilson's Creek.jpg
| caption       = 
| allegiance    = {{flag|United States|1861}}
| branch        = [[United States Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1841–1861
| rank          = [[File:Union Army brigadier general rank insignia.svg|border|23px]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier general]]
| commands      = 
| unit          = 
| battles       = {{tree list}}
*[[Seminole Wars]]
*[[Mexican–American War]]
**[[Battle for Mexico City]]
**[[Battle of Contreras]]
**[[Battle of Churubusco]]
*[[Bloody Island Massacre]]
*[[Bleeding Kansas]]
*[[American Civil War]]
**[[Camp_Jackson_affair|Camp Jackson]]
**[[Battle of Boonville]]
**[[Battle of Wilson's Creek]]{{KIA}}
{{tree list/end}}
| awards        = 
| alma_mater    = [[United States Military Academy]]
| signature     = Nathaniel Lyon, signature.jpg
| laterwork     = 
}}
'''Nathaniel Lyon''' (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was a [[United States Army]] officer who was the first [[Union Army|Union]] [[General officer|general]] to be killed in the [[American Civil War]]. He is noted for his actions in [[Missouri]] in 1861, at the beginning of the conflict, to forestall secret secessionist plans of the governor [[Claiborne Jackson]].

He had fought in the [[Second Seminole War]] in Florida and the [[Mexican–American War]]. 

In 1850 he co-led the [[Bloody Island Massacre]] of 60–200 [[Pomo]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] old men, women, and children as part of the wider [[California genocide]]. Several days later, Lyon was responsible for another massacre in Cokadjal, killing 75 to 100 Native Americans, albeit the number was likely double. 

After being assigned to Kansas, where many residents were divided about slavery and the Union, he developed strong pro-Union views. In February 1861, Lyon was made commander of the Union arsenal in [[St. Louis]] in [[Missouri]], another divided state. Suspicious of governor Jackson, who was working with [[Jefferson Davis]] on a secret plan for secession, Lyon forced the surrender of the pro-Confederate militia. 

Some civilians rioted and Lyon's troops fired into the crowd, which came to be known as the [[Camp Jackson Affair]]. Lyon was promoted brigadier-general and given command of Union troops in Missouri. He was killed at the [[Battle of Wilson's Creek]], while trying to rally his outnumbered soldiers. Despite his death during the first year of the war, Lyon's efforts prevented the State of Missouri from joining the Confederacy.