Talk:Battle of Wilson's Creek/GA1

GA Review
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Reviewer: Harrias (talk · contribs) 11:45, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

I'll take a look at this shortly. Harrias talk 11:45, 3 March 2020 (UTC)


 * References
 * "Reynolds, Thomas C; Schultz, Robert G editor (2009)" is listed in the references but not used. Either use it, or move it to Further reading.
 * Actually, it's ref 6. I fixed the formatting to be consistent with the others (sfn template).
 * Ref #6 needs a full-stop.
 * Done
 * "Garrison-Finderup, Ivandelle Dalton (1997). Roots & Branches of Our Garrison Family Tree. Garrison Library." This sounds suspiciously self-published. What makes it a reliable source? Also, Google suggest it might have 232 pages, in which case a page number would be required.
 * Will replace
 * Reference replaced with Catton, I had to drop the detail about the major's name, as I was having trouble verifying it. Possibly a Garrison family tale.
 * Ref #19 needs an endash in the year range, and could do with an OCLC number.
 * Dash corrected there an in a similar issue in the Centennial Book PDF, too. OCLC added, too.
 * Ref #27 needs a title, and formatting consistently with ref #26.
 * Gave Ref 27 and replaced ref 26 with a ref that was easier to read. I've also gone through and reworked/replaced the NPS references, as the website reorganized. Hog Farm (talk) 21:18, 3 March 2020 (UTC)

Full review to follow. Harrias talk 20:06, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
 * I have access to some sources now that I didn't when the article was nominated, so that'll be a help. Hog Farm (talk) 20:30, 3 March 2020 (UTC)


 * Images
 * File:Wilsons-cropped-better.jpg needs details of when it was painted, to confirm the PD tag is appropriate.
 * File:Nathaniel lyon small.jpg needs a US PD tag.
 * File:Samuel D. Sturgis - Brady-Handy.jpg needs a US PD tag.
 * File:Sterling Price-1.jpg needs a US PD tag.
 * File:Nicholas Bartlett Pearce.jpg needs a US PD tag. Harrias  talk 10:42, 5 March 2020 (UTC)
 * US-PD tags added for the latter four. The first one appears to have been painted in 1920 (public domain in US) by N. C. Wyeth. I removed the tag for "author deceased for 100 years) (N. C. Wyeth appears to have died in 1945), but added the US-PD tag, since it is public domain in the US by courtesy of being published before January 1, 1925.  Information on the first image came from . Hog Farm (talk) 22:52, 5 March 2020 (UTC)


 * Background
 * "On April 20, 1861, a secessionist mob seized the Liberty Arsenal, increasing Union concerns in the state." I think it would be good to clarify where the Liberty Arsenal was; I had to follow the link to find out whether it was in the state or nearby.
 * Done
 * "..defend the state from attacks from perceived enemies from either side of the war." Can this be rephrased to avoid three instances of "from" in quick succession?
 * Changed to "defend the state from attacks by perceived enemies on either side of the war"
 * "..and command by a brigadier general." Should be commanded.
 * Done
 * "Because much of the organization's recruiting areas.." "much" and "areas were" jars: Use either "many" and "areas were", or "much" and "area was".
 * Changed to "many" and "areas were"
 * "..the 1st Kansas and 2nd Kansas infantry.." Why not trim to "the 1st and 2nd Kansas infantry" as done for Missouri?
 * Done
 * "cancelled" or "canceled" in AmEng?
 * I've always used cancelled, but a Google search suggests canceled for AE, so I changed it to that.


 * Battle
 * Wikilink rout.
 * Done
 * Link counterattack on the first use, rather than the third.
 * Done


 * Aftermath
 * "After falling back to Springfield, Sturgis handed command of the army over to Sigel. At a council of war that evening, it was agreed that the Union army.." Move "Union" to the first mention of army here, just to reinforce as early as possible which side we are talking about.
 * Done


 * Lead and infobox
 * The location in the infobox is given as "Greene and Christian counties", but this isn't mentioned at all in the body. I would suggest switching it to "Wilson's Creek, near Springfield, Missouri". But if you prefer what is there, then add that detail to the body.
 * Changed per your suggestion, the creek was more relevant to the context of the battle location than the counties
 * Consider using instead of ~. (Eg.   to produce c. 5,430.
 * Done
 * Speaking of which, the 5,430 isn't given in the article body, which just states "approximately 6,000 men". I know it is referenced, but really this information should match. Similar with the 12,120 figure, and the casualties and losses; if the information is worth giving in the infobox, it is worth reproducing in the body.
 * Using the figures from the infobox, I'm still going to qualify with "about" or "estimated", the figures appear to be rounded to the tens place, and casualty numbers, especially for the Confederates, were a bit shaky in this era.
 * The lead says the battle was 12 miles southwest of Springfield, but the body has a figure of 10 miles?
 * I'm not sure, either. The National Park Service gives the distance as 10 miles, but the American Battlefield Trust gives the distance as 12 miles .  I'd consider both sources to be reliable.  Bruce Catton, who is considered to be one of the premier scholars in this field, gives the distance as 10 miles, so I'll go with 10 and cite Catton's book.  Not sure why there's a difference - Rounding?  One end of the battlefield vs another?  Urban sprawl?

Overall, a really nice piece of work that I found very interesting. Nicely done. Harrias talk 13:54, 5 March 2020 (UTC)

I believe I've answered all of your concerns, are they acceptable to you? Hog Farm (talk) 03:29, 6 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Yep, all good now, nice work. Harrias  talk 12:01, 6 March 2020 (UTC)