St. Louis Arsenal

During the American Civil War, the St. Louis arsenal's contents were transferred to Illinois by Union Captain Nathaniel Lyon, an act that helped fuel tension between secessionists and those citizens loyal to the Federal government.

By 1840, 22 separate buildings had been erected, and a garrison of 30 ordnance soldiers manned the site, along with 30 civilian employees, who assembled finished weapons and artillery from parts supplied by private contractors and armories.

Another flurry of activity accompanied the Utah War in 1857–58, when President James Buchanan ordered an expedition of Federal troops to suppress the Mormons.

Buchanan's Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, a Virginian, was accused of aiding in this transfer of arms and resigned his post in December 1860 to return to Virginia.

In March 1861 the Missouri Constitutional Convention of 1861 voted 98 to 1 to stay in the Union but not supply weapons or men to either side if war broke out.

During the evening of April 29, on orders from Secretary Cameron, Captain Nathaniel Lyon transported 21,000 rifles and muskets to Alton, Illinois, via steamer.

At that moment, envoys secretly dispatched by Governor Jackson, with Price's knowledge, were asking Confederate President Jefferson Davis to order an invasion to "liberate" Missouri.

On June 11, Lyon and Jackson met one last time, at the Planter's House hotel in St. Louis, to discuss the right of access to the interior of the state for Federal troops.

Jackson and General Price, who were in St. Louis on a safe conduct, immediately returned to Jefferson City, ordered the railroad bridges burned, and prepared for war.

This action secured most of the key strategic parts of the state for the Federal Government, which would control those areas for the rest of the war.

General Lyon was killed leading a charge late in the day, and his successor, Major Schofield, concerned about low ammunition stocks withdrew towards Springfield.

That complex was retained by the U.S. Army, with substantial peaks in weaponry and ammunitions storage and dispensing during World Wars I and II.