Orient yourself with Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in the Visitor Center or see the excellent Civil War Research Library next door. A five-mile driving tour will allow you to explore Wilson’s Creek Battlefield while walking trails off the driving tour lead to various battle sites throughout the park.
Wilson’s Creek Visitor Center and Bookstore
Start your visit to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in the Visitor Center. Here a short film will provide you with information on the Civil War, Wilson’s Creek Battle fought in August of 1861 and Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield today. Additionally you can watch an eight-minute map program presenting the movement of troops using fiber optic light. A museum in the Visitor Center showcases artifacts from the American Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi West Theater. Literature on the Civil War and the Battle at Wilson’s Creek is available to purchase in the Visitor Center’s Bookstore. Be sure to ask Visitor Center staff for a park brochure with information about the battle, the five-mile driving tour and special events taking place during your visit.
Civil War Museum at Wilson’s Creek Battlefield
Within the Visitor Center is the Civil War Museum, boasting one of the finest publicly held museum collections representing the American Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi West Theater. Notable items in the Wilson’s Creek museum collections include: a sword belt and sash belonging to Arkansas General Patrick Cleburne, a telescope and case belonging to Abolitionist John Brown, Civil War Medals of Honor, rare weapons like the Gibbs Carbine carried by a soldier in the 10th Missouri Calvary, the bed where Union General Nathaniel Lyon’s body rested before it was removed to Springfield, the Lyon body pass issued by Captain Emmett MacDonald, some of Lyon’s belongings and the counterpane used to cover Lyon after his death. Additional holdings include a collection of Civil War Flags such as the Confederate Cherokee Mounted Rifles Regimental flag Cherokee Braves representing the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole soldiers led by Cherokee General Stand Watie.
The Hulston Library
Located adjacent to the Visitor Center is the John K. and Ruth Hulston Civil War Research Library founded in 1985. The library’s holdings include around 10,000 volumes concentrating on the Civil War period and the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Tour
Learn more about Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield during a five-mile driving tour through the park. Drive along a paved road winding through Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. Along the way are eight interpretive stops at significant points along the tour road. Short walking trails off the main tour road provide an opportunity for individual exploration.
- The Visitor Center at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield is ADA complaint.
- Living history programs that interpret Civil War soldier life, musket and artillery firing, Civil War medicine and other related topics are presented from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Visit the official Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield US National Park Service website to find out more about living history programs taking place during your visit.