Framed Battle of Wilson's Creek, Aug 10, 1861 by Kurz and Allison

Battle of Wilson's Creek, Aug 10, 1861 by Kurz and Allison depicts the intensity of one of the earliest major battles of the Civil War fought west of the Mississippi River. Union and Confederate forces clash in swirling smoke and dust across rolling Missouri farmland as infantry fire in tight formations and cavalry charge through the fray with sabers raised. Officers on horseback direct the action while fallen soldiers and abandoned artillery pieces lie scattered across the ground, emphasizing the ferocity of the fight. Although stylized in the firm’s characteristic dramatic and heroic manner, the print evokes the moment when Union General Nathaniel Lyon was killed while leading his troops—an event likely highlighted in the composition as a focal point of valor and tragedy. Through vivid color and frenetic motion, the lithograph commemorates the high stakes and early sacrifices of the war’s Western Theater.