Following Sterling Price's secessionist Missouri State Guard victory over General Nathaniel Lyon's Union army at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Price began initiatives to "clean out" opposition in Kansas and retake the state of Missouri. James H. Lane, often called the leader of the Jayhawkers, organized 1,200 troops to resist the Price invasion into Kansas. Price defeated Lane in the Battle of Dry Wood Creek near Fort Scott, Kansas. Lane retreated and Price continued his offensive further into Missouri to the Siege of Lexington.