Benjamin McCulloch commanded the Confederate forces at Wilson's Creek. Though possessing no formal military training, he was a veteran Indian fighter, participated in the Texas War of Independence, and commanded a company of Texas Rangers in the Mexican War. After serving as sheriff of Sacramento during the California gold rush, he was appointed U. S. marshal for the eastern district of Texas. McCulloch rose from a colonel of state troops in February 1861 to a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army in May that same year. Seven months after the Confederate victory at Wilson's Creek, he died while leading a division of troops at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, March 7, 1862.

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