Every thing was in preparation for active hostility.
The Union people were by no means idle.

Captain Lyon had foreseen the danger menacing the public property in the arsenal, and besought the Government for permission to remove it.

Twenty thousand stand of arms were, in a single night, loaded upon a steamer and sent to Alton, Illinois.

They were conveyed thence by rail to the Illinois State Arsenal at Springfield.

Authority was obtained for the formation of volunteer regiments, and they were rapidly mustered into the service.
While Camp Jackson was being formed, the Union men of St.Louis were arming and drilling with such secrecy that the Secessionists were not generally aware of their movements.