General Lyon halted, faced his troops about, and bringing his artillery to bear, opened fire on the rebels, and after a short engagement, killed thirty-five and took thirty prisoners, while the remainder fled in all directions, leaving many of their guns on the field. This accomplished, the General moved forward and took possession of the town. Neither General Price nor Governor Jackson were on the field of battle, though the latter was a spectator, and took an early opportunity to withdraw. On the 17th of June, Colonel Boernstein was appointed Military Governor at Jefferson City, including Cole and the adjoining counties, the Governor and officers of the State having fled. Colonel Boernstein, on being questioned as to how long he should remain, replied, “I don’t know, perhaps a year; so long as the Governor chooses to stay away. I am Governor now, you see, till he comes back!” His idea of freedom of speech and the press he expressed freely, like this: “All people zall speak vot dey tink, write vot dey pleazhe, and be free to do any tink dey pleazhe—_only dey zall speak and write no treason_!” The loyal people of the State now entered with zeal into the work of defence. Union Home Guards were organized at Hannibal, Herman, Rolla, Potosi, and many other places, and troops stationed at various points, of which two thousand five hundred kept guard over the Hannibal and St. Joseph, and one thousand over the North Missouri railroad; three thousand took their position also at Rolla, on the south-west branch of the Pacific railroad. At Booneville, on the 18th, General Lyon issued a proclamation, in which he exposed the misrepresentations of the conspirators. The views they had endeavored to inculcate, that the United States would overrun the State with “military despotism,” and “destroy State rights,” were pronounced false—the glaring inconsistencies of the secessionists exposed,—and all malcontents solicited to return to their allegiance to the old flag. On the same day, eight hundred Union Home Guards, under Captain Cooke, at Camp Cole, were surprised and routed by a body of rebels from Warsaw. Twenty-five were killed, fifty-two wounded, and twenty-three taken prisoners. The rebel loss was forty-five killed and wounded. At this time, Colonel Siegel, General Sweeney, and Colonel Brown, with their commands, were in the south-western part of the State, keeping the insurgents at bay.