Greene County, Missouri - Chapter 12: History of the County in 1863 - Battle of Springfield, 1883

Chapter 12: History of the County in 1863 - Battle of Springfield

Miscellaneous County Court Proceedings - Deaths of Prominent Citizens. The Battle OF Sprinqfibld. - The Situation Described - A Fat Prize for the Confederates - Gen. Marmaduke Discovers it, and Prepares to Gobble it - " The Rebels are Coming! " - The Federal Garrison Prepare to Defend the Town - Disposition of the Troops - The " Quinine Brigade " - The Morning of the 8th of January, Anniversary of Gen. Jackson's Battle of New Orleans - Marraaduke's March - Bad Luck ! - Change in the Programme - McDonald Cleans up the Post at Beaver - Capture of Ozark - On to Springfield - A Line of Battle Formed - Marmaduke's Marvelous Mistake - Gen. Brown's Preparations for Defense - The Ball Opens - The Confederate Charge on the Right Repulsed - Maneuvreing - Gen. Brown Wounded - Col. Crabb Assumes Command - The Main Fight of the Day - The 72d E. M. M. "Retires. " - Temporary Confederate Success - The 72d Rallies - Shelby vs. Sheppard - Capture of the Iowa Cannon - The Hardest Fight of the Day - The Confederates are Driven Back - The Night After the Battle - Morning - The Fight Over - The Confederate Retreat - The Town Safe - Details of the Part Taken by the 72d E. M. M., in the Battle - List of Killed and Wounded in the 72d - Aggregate Losses of Both Sides - Incidents of the Fight - Subsequent Movements of the Confederates - Battle of Hartville - Burial of the Federal Dead at Springfield - Congratulations - Arrival of Re-inforcements - Death of Judge Littleberry Hendrick - The January Term of the Circuit Court - Judgment by Default against Certain Confederate^ Non-Residents - Up to the Spring of 1863 - Hard Times - The Refugees - Organization of the 6th Provisional Regiment E. M. M. - Killing of Will Wright Fulbright - The November Election - Gen. Schofield's Order - No Troops at the Polls - OflJcial Canvass of the Vote in Greene County.

At the January session of the county court, Woodson Howard took his seat as one of the judges, in the room of Judge Joseph Rountree. Judge Gray was made the presiding justice. January 21, VVm. P. Davis was appointed county clerk in the place of Maj. A. C. Graves, killed in the battle of Springfield.

April 7, A. M. Julian was appointed county collector ; hitherto the sherifts had been, by virtue of their office, the collectors of the revenue.

July 6, Col. John M. Richardson was appointed the county's agent to prosecute a claim against the United States for rent and damage of the court-house, and to obtain possession of that building for the use of the county authorities. The court-house had been in the almost continuous possession of the military 'since Curtis' army entered. August (the 5th) Josiah Leedy, the old contractor for the building of the new court-house (the present one), not having completed his contract by reason of "circumstances over which he had no control, " the matter was compromised by himself and Greene county.

Deaths Of Prominent Citizens In 1863

January 10, Judge Littleberry Hendrick died at Springfield of fever aggravated by the excitement incident to the battle of the 8th. The same evening Maj. A. C. Graves died from his wound received in the battle. Maj. Graves was an old Greene county newspaper man, and at the time of his death was one of the editors of the Journal. He was also county clerk at the time of his death, and serving on Gen. Holland's staft' with the rank of Major and commissary. January 16, the old Whig politician, and former Representative, Hon. Wm. McFarland, died, aged - .

This year also died John Fulbright, in Laclede county, Mo., and Thos. Tiller, at Litchfield, Illinois. Fulbright was the second treasurer of the county, and served in 1833, and Tiller was an ex-county assessor.

The year 1863 opened on Greene county with the stars and stripes waving fair and free over all her soil, and with the Federal troops in undisputed possession of all the military stations, and no vexatious " rel)els " near to molest them or make them afraid. But this altogether pleasant state of affairs for the men and the cause of Uncle Sam was not long to continue. There was a mustering of the Confederate clans across the border in Arkansas that boded no good to the men in blue.

1 The battle of Wilson's Creek was at the time and is yet frequently called the battle of Springfield. The battle of Wilson's Creek (or Oak Hills) was fought Aug. 10, 1861 ; the battle of Springfield, January 8, 1863.

Springfield was now the great military depot for the Federal *' Army of the Frontier, " whi(3h, under Gens. Schofield, Herron, and Blunt, was down in northwestern Arkansas resting on the laurels won at Prairie Grove. There were forts and cannon and muskets and powder and shot and shells and provisions and quartermasters' stores and hospital supplies in great abundance, - but few soldiers. Nearly all the available troops had gone to the front, and a detachment of eight companies of the 18th Iowa Infantry under Lieut. Col. Cook, was the only regular garrison in the place. The 3d M. S. M., under Col. Walter King, 10 companies, 500 strong, were temporarily here. There were about 1,200 sick and wounded in the hospitals in charge of Surgeon S. H. Melcher, formerly the assistant surgeon of Salomon's old 5th Missouri, and there were also perhaps 300 furloughed men and convalescents in a camp in the north part of town awaiting transportation, pay, etc., while down at Ozark and out at other points were detachments of the Missouri State Militia, which might be called in if a reasonable time were given. Col. Boyd's and Col. Sheppard's regiments of the Enrolled Militia were lying around loose at their homes throughout Greene, Lawrence and other counties. The district of Southwest Missouri was under the command of Gen. Egbert B. Brown, of the E. M. M., and under him was Col. Benj. Crabl), of the 19th Iowa Infantry, who was in command of the post.

About the 1st of January it came to be known to the Confederate General John S. Marmaduke, down in Arkansas, at Louisburg and Pocahontas, that there was a big fat prize up in Missouri, and in Greene county, to be had for the taking - namely, the goodly town of Springfield, with all of its military stores and other " loot," and with all of its mules and wagons to transport the captures into Dixie. The weakness of the garrison and the exact condition of the place were described to the Confederate commander with great exactness. If a sudden concentration of forces could be effected and a swift march made, the capture of Springfield was certain - with all that the term implied. The base of supplies for Schofield's array would be broken. Gen. Blunt would be forced to let go his hold on the Arkansas river, and both Herron and Blunt would be compelled to abandon northwest Arkansas, and fall back, running the risk of fighting a battle oi route under all disadvantages ; heavy reinforcements would have to be sent to this quarter, and it would take months of time and millions of treasure to repair the damage inflicted by this raid, if it were successful, - and why should it not be?

Gen. Marmaduke divided his little army into two columns. One, under Col. Joseph C. Porter, was to move from Pocahontas, Ark., and, coming via Hartville and Marshfield, was to be in the neighborhood of Springfield on the east by the evening of January 10th. Porter's forces consisted of the cavalry regiments of Colton Green and Burbridge and a battalion or two besides - 800 men.

The main column under the immediate command of Marmaduke himself consisted of Col. Jo. Shelby's brigade, composed of Shelby's old regiment, then led by Lt. Col. Gordon, of Lafayette county ; Col. Gideon Thompson's regiment. Col. Jeans' regiment, Col. Ben Elliott's battalion. Col. Emmett McDonald's battalion, or regiment, and Capt. R. A. Collins' batter}^ of two pieces, the entire brigade numbering not far from 2,000 men. ^ All of the forces, including Porter's, were mounted. Shelby's brigade was to leave Louisburg, Ark., come north into Missouri through Taney county, swoop down upon the isolated Federal posts at Forsyth and Ozark, gobble them up, and be on the south of Springfield by the 10th and join forces with Jo. Porter.

On the evening of the 7th there came clattering into Springfield from the south a scouting party composed of detachments of the 14th Missouri State Militia and of the 73d E. M. M., all under command of Capt. Milton Burch, of the 14th M. S. M., and reported to Gen. Brown that a large force of Confederates, numbering all the way from 2,000 to 6,000, had come upon Lawrence Mill, Taney county, from Dubuque, Arkansas, and was on its way to Springfield, as fast as it could travel, to capture the place and play the mischief with the Federal cause generally ! The alarm was given and Gen. Brown notified. That officer immediately sent out swift messengers wiio skurried over the country calling up the enrolled militiu of Col. Johnson's 26th regiment. Col. Sheppard's 72d, and Col. Marcus Boyd's 74th, ordering them to concentrate immediately at Springfield. Word was also sent to detached companies in Webster, Lawrence and Dade counties, and to Mt. Vernon and Cassville.

All possible preparation was made in Springfield. Every soldier that could shoot a gun was called out, and all of the citizens belonginj2; to the militia were mustered. The sick and wounded soldiers in

' Edwards' " Shelby and His Men," page 140, fourth line from the bottom, says Shelby's brigade numbered 1,800; McDonald's battalion 200 more.

the hospitals who were able crawled out from their bunks, were organized into companies by Surgeon Melcher, and were given muskets by him. "The quinine brigade," as these men were sometimes called afterwards, did heroic and valuable service. The transient soldiers were organized under Capt. C. B. McAfee, of the 3d M. S. M., and others.

Extemporizing Artillery

Fort No. 4, on South street, was without artillery. Early in the evening Surgeon S. H. Melcher, in charge of the post hospital, and Col. B. O. Carr, chief quartermaster of the Army of the Frontier, called on Gen. Brown and from him first learned of the danjrer. After some solicitation Gen. Brown consented that Col. Carr and Dr. Melcher should assist in the defense. Dr. Melcher suggested that it was very important that Fort No. 4 sh(mld be supplied with artillery. Gen. Brown said he had none available. Dr. Melcher replied : " There are three old iron guns, two 12-pounder8 and a 6-pounder, lying on the ground down by the Presbyterian church. They can be rigged up and shot off once apiece, anyhow^ and that will help scare, if nothing more ! "

Gen. Brown at last gave permission to " rig up " the cannon. At about 10 o'clock that night Dr. Melcher went through his hospital and found Lieut. Joseph HotFman, of Backoff's battery, 1st Missouri artillerv, and also a sergeant and seven privates of the same regiment. The nine artillery men readily volunteered to take charge of the guns, and to do their best, in their sick, enfeebled condition. Col. Carr furnished the front wheels of throe army wagons for gun-carriages. With chains and other devices the cannons were fastened to the axles. Some carpenters made trail-pieces and prepared blocks and Avedges as sul)stitutes for elevating screws, and before morning the three guns, well mounted, were in position in Fort No. 4, supplied with plenty -of ammunition, and manned by the nine gunners of the 1st Missouri, and some other volunteers. Sergt. Christian Mindener, of Battery L, 1st Mo. Artillery, had charge of one of the guns, and says he was *' awakened from a peaceful slumber 1)}'^ Dr. Melcher, who put me in charge," etc.

A considerable detachment of the 18th Iowa occupied Fort No. 1; another detachment was in Fort No. 2. The detachments of the 4th M. S. M., the 14th M. S. M., and the 3d M. S. M., were stationed west, east and south of town watching the roads. It was hardly expected to make a successful defense of the place, since it was almost wholly unprotected on the east along and on both sides of the St. Louis road, and it was believed that the Confederates knew the vulnerable points, and would come rattling down the little Wilson's creek valley from the east and be upon the public square in fifteen minutes after the firing of the first shot - and then the town would l)e lost.

Gen. Brown at first wanted to retreat.- Other officers, amonowhom were Cols. Sheppard and Boyd, thought it might be necessary to surrender the town, but they did not wish to do so without first making a fight. Col. Crabb and Lieut. Col. Cook declared that if it came to the worst all should repair to Fort No. 1 and behind its strong walls keep up the fight until reinforcements came. Gen. Brown'^ never a very efficient and determined officer, was on this occasion especially flustered and irresolute, and throughout the night was in a very perturbed state of mind, declaring one minute'that he would retreat, and the next that he would fight. Sheppard and Boyd, whose homes were here, were determined not to retreat or yield without first having tried the metal of Marmaduke's merry men.

Meantime Surgeon Melcher had gone through the hospitals calHng for volunteers to defend the toAvn. The hospitals then consisted of the court-house (the present) with some forty tents, the Lyon hotel (now the Southern) with forty tents, the buildings at the Berry place, and some private residences. Al)out 300 men were obtained Avho were able to walk about and were willing to fight, and they Avere organized into companies of 50 each and placed under the command of nurses and stewards, and disabled commissioned officers. Then they were marched down to the arsenal and furnished with muskets and ammunition. Dr. Melcher at once set his cooks to work preparing cooked rations, and in the morning, with their " grub" in their haversacks, their quinine, calomel, and jalap in their pockets, and patriotic pluck m their hearts, the members of the " quinine brigade" marched totteringly but bravely out to the skirmish line'.

As to the character and importance of the service rendered at the battle of Springfield by Dr. Melcher and his " quinine brigade," Gen. E. B. Brown testified under oath, June 6, 1874, before Rufus Campion, notary public of St. Louis, the following being an extract from his testimony : -

A/r*i u* * ^"^""^g ^^^e attack of Gen. Marmaduke, he, the said Melcher, organized the convalescents under his control into military companies, who, acting under his (Melcher's) direction, did very efficient duty in the battle and greatly assisted in the dciense oV said post, and thereby saved several millions of dollars to the government of the United States in military stores deposited at that point for the use of the Army of the Frontier, then in northwest Arkansas. I have always been and am still of the opinion that, as my command was composed entirely of irregular troops and militia, without the aid and assistance of said Melcher, as aforesaid, I could not have successfully defended said post.

All through the night and in the early morning the members of the enrolled militia kept coming in. During the night, too, confirmation of the advance of the Confederates was received from squads that came in from toward Forsyth. The people of the town were greatly excited. Many of the Unionists were seriously alarmed. It was said that the town would be taken, and then woe to the Yankee sympathizers and their property !

The Confederate sympathizers did not seem cast down with a great burden of sorrow, or plunged into an ocean of grief at the prospect of a speedy occupation of the town by their friends, and a sight, brief though it might be, of the bonnie stars and bars. From lip to lip the messasre had run that Marmaduke was comins:, and with him were some of the Greene county boys that were wearing the gray, whom it would be an extra delight to welcome when they should enter with the flush of victory on their brows. The ladies at that day were almost universally violent partisans for one side or the other, and they were especially demonstrative at this time in expressing their glee or their dissatisfaction at the prospective coming of the " rebels."

Some of the citizens " packed their traps" and betook themselves to the houses of relatives and friends in the country ; others fled from exposed situations to Fort No. 1 and to the public square ; still others went to their cellars ; all hid their money and valuables. It was a night of excitement, alarm, and terror, to be sure.

At daylight on the morning of the 8th there came galloping into town the d(^tachment of the 14th ^I. S. M., which had been stationed at Ozark, and reported that Marmaduke, Shelby, Emmett McDonald, and other chieftains of equal and lower degree had attacked them at their post ai about 10 o'clock the night before, had driven them out, and were now upon their heels. They added that the Confederates had destroyed their fort by giving it to the flames, and burning everything inflammable. They had ridden all night, they said, and had

Immediately Gen. Brown began to prepare in dead earnest for the fight. Capt. Green B. Phillips' company of Col. Boyd's regiment of militia, was thrown into Fort No. 4, as were a number of the convalescents from the hospitals and the volunteer gunners under Lieut. Hoffman, who were to work the pieces of artillery in the fort. To the west of the old graveyard, on Campbell street, and between Campbell and Market, near Grand avenue, stood a two-story brick college building, enclosed on three sides with a stout palisade, which had been used by the garrison as a military prison. The prisoners, about 50 Confederates, were now taken out of this prison and carried to the jail, and the building was ordered by Gen. Brown to be filled with soldiers ; but by some oversight this was not done. On theleftof Brown's line, to the southeast of town, the cavalry were stationed, under Lt. Col. Walter King, of the 3d M. S. M. To the right of the cavalry and to the left of the fort was a detachment of the " quinine brigade." " What of Boyd's regiment (the 74th) that had got into town, - with the exception of Co. C, - Phillips' company, - was over in Fort No. 1, where also the greater portion of the 18th Iowa was. In Fort No. 2 were about 100 men belonging to the 18th Iowa and the " quinine brigade." Col. Sheppard's 72d regiment, to the number of 238 men, were in the public square, awaiting orders.

Capt. McAfee organized a number of men from the convalescent camp and some citizens, armed them, and, reporting to Gen. Brown tor orders, was assigned to the arsenal, the church building of the M. E. South, which is still standing on South street, and was then piled full of tons of ammunition of all kinds, cartridges, shot and shell, and hundreds of stands of arms. Gen. Brown ordered Capt. McAfee to prepare oil, turpentine, shavings and other inflammables, and be ready to set fire to and ])low up the arsenal and magazine, when ordered or when it became evident that the town had fallen.

Dr. Melcher states that just as the last company of the convalescents was being armed, the next morning, the skirmishing began. Just then a company of citizens, forty-two in number, came running up and asked to be furnished with arms and ammunition. They were supplied, joined the " quinine brigade," and Dr. Melcher says fought bravelv throusrhout the da v.

The convalescents and citizens were distributed in Fort No. 4, and in houses and along the line m that vicinity, except the detachment stationed at the arsenal.

Leaving Louisburg, Ark., Marmaduke crossed White river at Dubuque, and so far all was well. The march was to be made in silence and the Federals were to I)e surprised. Porter was to come in from the eastward and brush away the small Federal garrisons at Hartville and elsewhere, and prevent their forming in the rear, and, as this would take a little time, Marmaduke, with Shelby's brigade, was to move leisurely and give the other column plenty of time to get up to Springfield before the fight should come off. Bad luck ! Near Dubuque a little scouting party was encountered, and, instead of running away, stood its ground and made a " nasty little fight" with the advance of Shelby's brigade, Elliott's battalion, and found out the size and character of the Confederate force and its probable destination, and then hurried away to give the alarm, turning about and watching from time to time, but keeping swift messengers on the way to Springfield, and these rode without drawing bridle rein, save to exchange an exhausted horse for a fresh one.

No leisure now ! The march was to be a rush, and Springfield reached within 24 hours if men and horses could do it. Messengers dashed eastwardly across the country to Porter to inform him of the change in the programme rendered necessary by circumstances which could not be foreseen, and to order him to turn squarely across the country by the first road that ran westward, ;ind be at Springfield by the evening of the 8th at the latest. But cither because they missed their way and became entangled and bewildered amid the rocky roads - no better than sheep paths - that led through the mountains and hills and woods of the country, or else because Porter had passed by when they struck his trail - these messengers failed to find Porter, and that officer passed on with his force, unconscious that anything had occurred to change the original plan.

A detachment of the 14th M. S. M., under Capt. Birch, went down from Ozark to ascertain if the reported invasion was a fact. Not far from White river this detachment came upon a Confederate lieutenant and two men, who had been left sick in a house by the roadside. From them it was learned that in truth, and in dangerous numbers, the Confederates were on the war path, with such l)old leaders as

Striking northward, Capt. Birch made for the Federal post at Lawrence Mills, on Beaver creek, in the northwestern part of Taney county, where Maj. Turner, of the 73d E. M.M., had about 75 Douglas and Taney county men in garrison in a little block-house and fort. Reaching the fort in good time Birch warned Maj. Turner of his danger and advised him to evacuate the post and go on to Ozark. But Turner was an old man, had been long in the service, and had heard n great deal more of the Confederates than he had ever seen of them, und was incredulous about there being any more of them then in the country than a squad of bushwhackers.

Scarcely had Maj. Turner delivered himself of his opinions, when spat - spat - spat - " the pistol shots of the Confederate advance firing on his pickets were heard ! A few moments later and Emmett McDonald, with 500 cavalry, dashed up and assaulted the block house and the men in it and around it, cheeri'ig and shouting and making more noise than a charivari party at a country wedding ! The fight was soon over. The 14th M. S. M. scampered away towards Ozark; Maj. Turner was wounded; four or five of his men were killed, and very soon nearly the whole outfit were prisoners of war, had been paroled, and McDonald was clattering across the country to join the main body under Marmaduke.

Gen. Marmaduke had come on the main Yellville road, leaving Forsyth to the left and west, and striking straight for Ozark and Springfield. McDonald had been detached to "cleanup" the post at Beaver or Lawrence Mills, and not allow it to form and follow in the rear, and right well did he do his work. Three days later his work was done forever.

In the evening of the 7th Shelby's brigade was near Ozark, and stopped an hour or so to eat a hasty supper and give the horses a bundle of fodder and a few ears of corn. Near midnight a gallop was made by the advance into Ozark, where the 14th M. S.M. had abandoned the post in haste, and gone on to Springfield. The fort and block house were burned, and then, after a few prisoners had been made, the command, Shelby and Marmaduke at the head, with Elliott's battalion, struck out for Springfield on the main road, with the polar star to steer by should they miss the way. En route a few prisoners were picked up, mainly members of the militia, and a few citizens of Union proclivities.

By daylight the iidviince reached Phelps' farm, and, after some discussion as to the propriety of waiting for Porter, keeping the town closely invested in the meanwhile, a line of fight was formed between 9 and 10 o'clock. Some skirmishers from the militia, advancing through some high weeds, were discovered, fired on, and brought down severely wounded. Preparations were at first made to feel of the Federals at the southeast corner of their position, on the St. Louis road, and a regiment (Thompson's) was swung around to the right.

Two miles from the public square, in the edge of the timber, Marmaduke formed his line for the attack. Gid. Thompson's regiment held the right ; Shelby's regiment, commanded by Lieut. Col. Gordon, held the left; Jeans' regiment, commanded by Lieut. Col. Chas. Gilkey, and Collins' battery were in the center. These troops were dismounted. Elliott's and McDonald's battalions continued to ojjcrate as cavalry, Elliott to the right, and McDonald to the left. The lines were formed in the open prairie, under fire.

Here Gen. Marmaduke made a fatal blunder. The Federals had been of the opinion that his force numbered something near 5,000 or 6,000 men, and were consequently much in fear of him. Now, he came fairly up in sight of them, displayed his whole force almost so plainly that every man could be counted, and gave away his weakness, showing that he had but a few hundred men more than they had, and then Gen. Brown, hitherto a little undecided, determined to fight to the last.

Burning Houses

Early in the morning, after it had become apparent that the Confederate attack was to come from the south and southeast. Gen. Brown ordered to be burned a number of houses that obstructed the range and sweep of the guns of Fort No. 4, on South street. Perhaps ten or a dozen buildings were thus destroyed, half of which belonged to Mrs. J. A. Stephens, widow of the Union citizen killed by accident by Zagonyi's men. Another house destroyed belonged to W. P. Davis, a Union man, in the Federal service at the time. The expediency of this action has been called in question, l)ut no doubt Gen. Brown thought it necessary to prevent a lodgment of the enemy- in his immediate front, and the severe, if not fatal, harassment of his best position. Perhaps the destruction of these houses was a " military necessity," made so by the exigency of the occasion, but in that event the government ought long ago to have paid their loyal owners full value for them, which at this date it has not done.

The burning of the houses added not only fuel to the general flame, hut distraction to the already intense excitement among the citizens, tiumhers of whom began leaving with their lares and penates for the sheltering walls of Fort No. 1, and continued to tramp back and forth from that fortification during the day.

The Fight Begins

On St. Louis street was Walter King's 3d M. S. M. (which regiment, a month later, was broken up and distributed among the 6th and 7th M. S. M.) and the 14th M. S. M., numbering at least 600 men, and they were to the north and south of the street. Near the public square a huge steam boiler and some other obstructions were placed across the street.

Upon the front of King's regiment hovered a force of Confederate cavalry, Elliott's battalion, seat to feel the way and to learn if the route into the city by St. Louis street and down the valley of Wilson's creek were practicable. A sharp skirmish ensued. The Confederate force was small and it fell back. Then King's regiment charged and drove the force well back on the prairie, but did not follow far, fearful of being cut off. Returning to their original position the Federals fired with their carbines at somewhat long range upon such of the Confederates as showed themselves, and at least one more successful charge was made, the forces not coming to close quarters, however, and doing but little injury to each other in the matter of wounds and casualties.

Here Marmaduke made another serious mistake. Had he concentrated his entire force upon the southeast and east and made one grand rushing charge, he would have broken King's line easily and been into town upon the pul)lic square in ten minutes after his bugles had sounded the advance. The force he sent was by far too small to eflect anything like success. The Federals fought well and made a display of all their force in that quarter, and did a deal of marching up and counter-marching to the rear, which had the effect to make the Confederates believe that there was a very powerful force in their front, and it was known that it was too strong for the force which had been sent to develop it. The entire Confederate force then was formed well to the southeast, and the men sat upon their horses waiting and wondering what was to be done next.

Shelby Sends His Compliments

demand for surrender, and now the bombardment of the town was commenced without notification to remove the women and children, a circumstance unfavorably commented ui)on by the Federals. Moving up the two guns belongiiic: to his brigade, Col. Shelby ordered their commander, Capt. R. A. Collins, to open on the town and Fort No. 4. Collins unlimbered and soon was banging away, his balls falling about the fort and into and near the square in quite rapid succession, and very uncomfortable precision. One shot pierced the Lyon house, (now the Southern Hotel) on South street ; two others struck the church building of the M. E. South, then occupied as an arsenal, and guarded by Capt. McAfee's convalescents.

Compliments Returned

The iron guns in Fort No. 4 now began to reply to the two guns of Shelby's and for a time there was quite a free interchange of metallic compliments between Lieut. Hoffman and Dick Collins. Capt. Phillips' company of Marcus Boyd's regiment of militia and the convalescents in the fort tried the range of their muskets too, and quite a din arose. Hoffman threw shell, as he had howitzers, and Collins threw solid shot. (It is not certain that Hoffman did not open the fight, by shelling Marmaduke's advance.)

The fighting now slackened for a time. It was about half-past 11. Marmaduke conferred with his officers, who examined the field in front as well as they were able with their field-glasses, and after a great deal of riding about and consulting, it was finally agreed to assault the Federal position from the south and southwest. Gen. Marmaduke himself, being ver}^ near-sighted, could tell nothing about the position of his enemy, but approved the plan of attack, which was begun at once.

The troops had been drawn up in line and dismounted ; they might as well have been disarmed. Shelby's men were never themselves save when upon their horses. Right cheerfully would they have formed in column " by fours " and charged up South street, letting the firing of the fort and its supporters go for what it was worth, but very reluctantly did they abandoned their trusty steeds, and take to their *' trotters " for it, just as the " web feet," as they called the infantry, fought.

to the north of that thoroughfare, in the vsouthwest quarter of town. The 72d regiment of militia was also moved up from the public square to the Fayetteville road, for it was evident <to Gen. Brown that an attack was to be made in that quarter. There w^as a lot of galloping about on the part of the officers, and a great deal of" doublequicking" on the part of the men as they hurried from one part of town to the other. The route from town to Fort No. 1 was also well thronged with fugitives tramping back and forth from their homes carrying over their most valuable articles for safe keeping.

Many Union citizens, not already organized by Dr. Melcher, were willinjr to fiirht to defend the town, and asked for arms. Lieut. Creighton was the officer in charge of the arsenal proper and he issued muskets to those having orders for them and made every man that received a gun sign a receipt for it. This proceeding required so much time that Capt. McAfee says he summarily interfered, drove Creighton away, and then gave guns to those who asked for them as fast as he could hand them out. There was no time for red-tape proceedings then, with an enemy thundering at the gates of the city and the people clamoring to be allowed to defend them.

Gen. Brown Wounded

At about 3 p. M. Gen. Brown was severely wounded in the arm. He had ridden out South street to the corner of State, to encourage the men, and while here with some of his staff, was shot from his horse. He went to the rear and by written order turned over the command of the troops engaged in defending the city to Col Crabb. His arm bone above the elbow was broken, and afterwards a piece was taken out. He did not leave the service, however, until several months later, and commanded the forces sent against Shelby in his raid the ensuing fall. Gen. Brown's arm was dressed and saved from amputation by Surgeon Melcher. ^ The operation was counted one of the most skillful in the surgical annals of the war.

1 The Confederates, unlike some of the Federals, gave Gen. Brown great credit for courage and good conduct at the battle of Springfield. Maj. Edwards, in his account of the battle ("Shelby and His Men," p. 139,) says: " Gen. Brown made a splendid fight for his town, and exhibited conspicuous courage and ability. He rode the entire length of Shelby's brigade, under a severe fire, clad in bold regimentals, elegantlj- mounted and ahead of all, 80 that the fire might be concentrated on him. It was reckless bravado, but Gen. Brown gained by one bold dash the admiration and respect of Shelby's soldiers. * * * As he rode along the front of the brigade, two hundred voices were heard above the crashing muskets, 'Cease firing - don't shoot that man - let him go - let him go.' I take pleasure in paying this tribute to a brave and generous officer."

The Main Fight Of The Day

At about 2 in the afternoon the Confederates, dismounted, began moving around toward the southwest part of town. One of the guns of Collins' battery was also sent around and took up a position a little to the west of Market street and opened on the 72d in its front with grape and canister. Previously Lieut. Col. Jones, of the 72d, had made a reconnoissance down in the brush on the Fayetteville road and found no enemy. Presently Collins' second gun followed the first.

Sometime between two and three o'clock the fight began in earnest. The Confederates advanced from the south towards the north and northwest, coming up the little valley at the foot of South and Campbell streets, and sweeping over the ground to the westward. On they came, through " Dutchtown," as a collection of houses at the foot of Campbell street was called, taking the houses and their outbuildings for shelter as they advanced - forward to the stockaded college building, which had been left unguarded, and captured it without losing a man - beating down and driving backward the 72d, pushing on, on, step by step, from house to house, from street to street, until the 72d was back upon College street and they were along West Walnut.

In front of No. 4 was a portion of Jeans' regiment of Confederates under Gilkey, and some of Gordon's men, meaning to storm the fort when there was a good opportunity, but Hoffman's gunners served their old iron pieces so vigorously, and the members of the " quinine battalion " popped away with their muskets so rapidly, pausing occasionally to take a powder or a pill, and both cannoneers and quinineers worked so effectively that Gordon and Gilkey gave up for a bad job all attempts at assault, and the Confederates drifted westward and over about the graveyard.

Some of the sharpest and hardest fighting of the day was done in and about this graveyard, amid the tombstones and the cold hie jacets" of the dead. Back' and forth through the aisles and across the graves of the silent sleepers ran blue coats and gray jackets, and through the trees, where nothing but birds had sung and soft breezes had blown aforetime, now whistled the cannon shot and shrieked the bombshell.

Jones, came gallantly " to the right about," and advanced against the enemy driving them back across and a little to the south of Mt. Vernon street. A number of volunteers from among the convalescents at the arsenal double-quicked across to the corner of Market and Mt. Vernon and took possession of the dwelling house then occupied by Mrs. Toney, and from this point of vantage opened on the Confederates in front, first driving away Mrs. Toney, who made a sudden appearance from her celUir, and refused to leave until the soldiers, in language more forcible than elegant, and inexcusable under any other circumstances, commanded her to depart, when she ran away, with the Confederate bullets singing about her ears quite lively. When the fight was over nine of the convalescents lay weltering in their blood about this house and the building itself was riddled with bullet holes, the marks of which are plainly visible at this day. On the vacant lot just east of Mrs. Toney's house known now tis show ground," men in blue and men in gray lay scattered about, some moaning and groaning, and others silent and pulseless and cold in death.

Shelby Vs. Sheppard

For an hour or more lively skirmishing was kept up between the Confederates of Gordon's and Thompson's regiments and Sheppard's 72d and the convalescents. A little after 4 o'clock five companies of the 18th Iowa came up from toward Fort No. 1 and went into position along the Fayetteville road, opening a galling fire on the enemy in sight. On two or three occasions some of Shelby's men, who were workinor themselves around to the risht or west of the Federal line, were charged and driven back by the cavalry on that flank stationed there to prevent the turning of the Federal right. The Confederates in the stockade made it lively for every bluecoat in range, and an attempt to drive them out was abandoned before it was fairly begun.

There were two six-pound brass field pieces over in Fort No. 1. Some time before the Confederates advanced on their grand charge, one of these guns, manned and supported by detachments from the 18th Iowa, under Capts. John A. Landis, Wm. R. Blue, and Joseph Van Meter, had been run over to strengthen the Federal right. A minute or two before the charge was made, this gun came into po sition on State street, a little east of Campbell, and to the east and south of the cemetery, and opened on Shelby's brigade with canister.

Immediately a battalion of Gilkey's men under Maj. John Bowman, and some of Gordon's regiment under Capt« Titsworth, sprang away for this gun, and after a short hard fight captured it and hauled it away in triumph, after driving back the supports to the fort, and to the left and into and beyond the graveyard. The hardest fight of the engagement was had here.

Maj. Bowman dashed up and called out to the lowans, " Surrender ! Surrender!" Capt. Landis replied, " We were here first; you surrender!" Bowman instantly fired, the ball taking off Landis' shoulder strap. Almost at the same moment a shot from the lowan's revolver struck Maj. Bowman just below the heart. In the fierce fight that followed Captains Blue and Van Meter were mortally wounded, two or three of their men were killed, and Capt. Landis and a dozen more of the Hawkeyes were severely wounded, while the Confederates lost Capt. Titsworth, Lieut. Buffingtou, and Lieut. McCoy, and four or five men killed, and perhaps twenty (including Lieut. Maurice Langhorne, now of Independence) wounded.

The gunner with the primers of the piece in his possession ran to the rear, and the Confederates were not able to profit much just then by their capture, and so it was hauled off to the rear by hand. Before the Confederates had fairly started on the charge, some of the lowans said, "Let us get away from here or they will capture us sure." Capts. Blue and Van Meter drew their pistols and threatened to shoot the first men who offered to retreat, and so saved their reputation for bravery, but lost their gun and their lives. It is said that Capt. Blue shot down three of the Confederates before he himself fell. Capt. Van Meter also fought well, and it is claimed that had not every officer of the lowans been stretched upon the ground with fearful bullet wounds, the Confederates would have been driven back.

Capt. Blue died on the 12th, and Capt. Van Meter died on the 14th, after the fight. The remains of both are buried in the National Cemetery. The gallant Confederate, Maj. John Bowman, died a day or two after the fight. Dr. Melcher writes : -

" The next morning after the fight I found Maj. Bowman at a small house, half a mile east of the Phelps homestead, and examined his wound. He was past surgical aid - in fact, was dying. Two of his men had remained, and were tenderly but hopelessly caring for him."

The Last Rounds

Late in the evening, at about 5 o'clock, or thereabouts, the Confederates, under the leadership of Shelby himself, made a charge on, or rather towards. Fort No. 4. Jeans' regiment and Elliott's battalion advanced under cov^er of the houses and the fences and the hedges to within 100 yards of the fort, and then, opening fire, made a brave attempt to fight their way in. But Capt. Phillips' company of militia, the detachments of the 18th Iowa, and the convalescents, opened such a rapid and deadly fire of small arms that the Confederates were driven back, and the attempt to take the fort was not only a signal failure, but a disastrous one.

Al)out sundown and until dark Collins' battery thundered away spitefully and recklessly at the town, and several shot and shell fell into the midst of the city, doing no serious damage, however. One shot passed through the Missourian newspaper office, on South street, scattering plaster all over the room, and knocking into " pi " half a column of advertisements oil a " galley." Other buildings were struck, among which were some private houses, but, as the occupants had skedaddled and were safe over in Fort No. 1, and as there were no soldiers in that quarter, nobody was hurt, and Capt. Collins' balls served no other purpose than to furnish relic-hunters Avith rare treasures.

There was some charging and counter-charging, and a great deal of shooting and skirmishing as long as it was daylight, and after dark there was desultory firing until midnight. About 8 o'clock and at intervals through the night, Lieut. Hoffman, with his gun in No. 4, practiced on the stockade and different portions of the Confederate line until late at night, using shell.

When darkness had settled down, there was an occasional boom of cannon, a pop of a musket and crack of a revolver, but no serious fighting. Some Union women made coffee and sent it out to the skirmishers who had fought so well for the town, and were even yet keeping watch and ward over it.

The lines of the two forces after nightfall seem to have been as fol- !f)ws : The Confederates were in two wings, which formed a very obtuse angle or letter V, with the arms much extended. The point of this angle rested on the stockade, and the right arm (or the Con- federate left), extended in a tsouth westerly direction along the Fayetteville road. The left arm (the Confederate right), ran in a southeasterly course across State street, through " Dutchtown," and past a ])laoksmith shop, out into the open prairie.

Here Marmaduke resolved to wait until daylight, hoping and trusting that Porter would come up or be heard from some time during the night. Along toward midnight, the skirmishing ceased, the Confederate line fell back or was withdrawn to the prairie, and at 1 o'clock on the morning of the 9th a venturesome party of Federals found the stockade abandoned, and they speedily took possession. Some of Sheppard's regiment also advanced about midnight some distance to the southward of Mt. Vernon street, finding no enemy. Details worked all night gathering up the dead and wounded, and bearing the latter to the hospitals.

Morning The Fight Over The Town Safe

At daylight all was quiet. From the top of the court-house the Confederates could be seen in motion to the southeast and at Phelps' farm, but whether they were preparing for another attack or for retreat was not certainly known. Gradually they moved away, and the Federal line, which had been prepared for either attack or defense, moved forward, and it was found that the battle was over, that the victory was with the " boys in blue," and that the town was safe. By and by the Union prisoners came in, and a message from Marmaduke was received ysking care for the wounded, and a soldier's sepulture for the Confederate dead. The prisoners had been released on parole. Among them was Judge J. H. Show, who, with others, had been captured when the advance was made east of town.

There was a great deal of satisfaction at the result among the Federal officers and soldiers, to be sure. The usual cheering and congratulations were indulged in, mingled with sympathies and regrets fc)r those who had fallen. Maj. Graves, of the militia, had been mortally wounded ; Lieut. McCrosky, of the 72d, had been killed, and Maj. Hornbeak, of the same regiment, wounded. Gen. Brown was badly hurt, and it was touch and go whether he would lose his arm or not. The hospitals were well filled with the Federal wounded, while the Confederates were piled as thick as they could lie in the house of Mrs. Owen, in the south part of town.

The citizens began to return from Fort No. 1, and to come up out of the celhirs, und order once more reigned in Warsaw. Col. Crahh decided to let well enough alone, and not attempt to follow Marmaduke and Shelby, who were moving out on the wire road toward ^ Marshfield. A renewal of the attack was feared by some, as the prisoners had learned and reported the presence of Porter's column, somewhere to the eastward. The cavalry was ready to advance if the order should be given, but no orders came, and only a reconnoissance a mile or so eastward and south was made.

Space forbids a detailed mention of the part borne by all of the commands in the battle of Springfield. It is proper, however, to describe the part taken by the 72d regiment of Enrolled Missouri Militia, since it was called the Greene county regiment and was largely officered and composed of Greene county men. Its colonel, Henry Sheppard, and its lieutenant-colonel, Fidelio S. Jones, both of Springfield, led the regiment in person, and to them much of the efficient service it rendered is due.

From the personal statements of many of the members of this reo-imentyet living, and from a private letter written by Col. Sheppard himself a few days after the fight and kindly furnished by his son, Frank H. Sheppard, Esq., as well as from Col. S.'s report, this account has been derived.

Col. Sheppard states that his regiment numbered in the fio-ht, all told, officers and privates, 253 men, represented in Companies A, B, D, E, F, G, H and I, Company C, Capt. Stone, and Company K, -Cai)t. Moore, being absent. At daylight the regiment was formed on the public square. At about 11 it was on East St. Louis Street to repel the expected attack from that quarter. Afterward it doublequicked out on the Fayetteville road. Between 2 and 3 o'clock, and when the grand charge of Shelby's brigade was made, it lay along State street, to the right and south of the palisaded college building.

The men were '« double-quicked " about over town until they were almost exhausted before they fired a shot. Gen. Brown had but comparatively few troops, and these he showed everywhere. When the main fight came off the 72d was on the right and a little in front of the Federal line, unsupported by artillery or reserves, with 200 cavalry to the right and rear, north of the Fayetteville road. The Confederate advance was in two lines, dismounted. It was composed of some of the best fighting men of either army. Shelby's brigade won and deserved an excellent name for its dash, bravery and gallantry in action.

Col. Sheppard states that the Confederates came on in a line of convex shape, the point nearly opposite Fort No. 4, and the wings well out. When near State street the line rapidly concentrated and contracted, advancing with a rush through Dutchtown and the brushwood and gardens westwardly, cheering and shouting and pouring a hot fire upon the 72d, which the colonel had formed along the Fayetteville road, or State street, and behind fences, near the then residence of Mr. Worley. The men were lying down, but their curiosity to see what was coming caused every head to bob up and become a fair target. The men now began to fire and a hot fight was soon in progress. In the midst of the rattle of musketry and the pattering of revolvers and all of the noise of battle, a poor unfortunate calf attempted to run the gauntlet of flying bullets, and when it was struck by a shot set up a loud bawling. One of the 72d sprang to his feet and roared out to the advancing Confederates : *' You had hetler take care of your calf! " A shout of laughter rose audibly over all the din.

But Shelby's men came dashing on, now using their revolvers with serious eflfect. The fire was too hot for the 200 militia, and they sought to move hack from it ! There was soon considerable disorder. The men lost their numbers and began to mix up. Col. Sheppard and Lieut. Col. Jones reformed and renumbered them under fire, and got them down and to work again. By this time the regiment had lost seriously. Major Hornbeak was wounded, Lieut. McCroskey was killed, Lieut. Lane's leg was shot nearly off, and the halt and maimed were already thick, and growing thicker every minute.

Very soon the regiment was again in disorder, and this time it gave way. The men trotted back in search of safer positions. Col. Sheppard shouted at them and tried to stop them until his voice was gone ; Lieut. Col. Jones had lost his horse and was well nigh exhausted, but by voice and example struggled desperately to rally them ; Major Hornbeak, wounded as he was, worked vigorously ; the commander of the milita and his staflf came up and the officers exhorted and threatened, and commanded, but " backward, still backward, " went the militiamen until they got under the cover of the hill that slopes down to Wilson creek, and stopped along College street, reformed, and began to load their muskets. One squad, however, led by a commissioned officer, retreated to Fort No. 1, reporting that they were ordered to do so. Major A. C. Graves was mortally wounded while trying to rally the 72d at this time.

As soon as the regiment reformed and the men turned their faces again to the south, Col. Sheppard and Lieut. Col. Jones again ordered them forward. The men set up a shout and moved forward as readily as they had moved backward a few minutes before. Some of Shelby's more venturesome men were along Walnut street, and, following somewhat the fashion at Donnybrook fair, whenever they saw a head fired at it. The 72d drove these men away, and pushed on up the hill to near Mt. Vernon street, where the men threw themselves into and behind the houses, behind fences, and into all sorts of shelter, and so the fight went on until dark. The Confederates held the college and the line of houses and fences west of it, with Collins' battery in the rear, near Mr. Worley's place. The college building, which the Federals had blunderingly left unguarded, and which the Confederates quickly seized, was a strong position, being of brick and surrounded on the east, south and west sides with strong palisades of stout logs, driven deep in the ground, and well pierced with port holes.

"When the night came on, " says Col. Sheppard, " my men were placed in the line of buildings right west of the Baptist church, in the brick Hornbeak house, at the M. E. church South (then the arsenal), and in Fort No. 4, to the command of which I was assigned. In the night Iliad the howitzer in the fort, a 12-pounder, pepper the rascals in the palisade college building, 250 yards away. The moon shone beautifully and the Dutch lieutenant (Lieut. Hottnian) made splendid practice. The secesh vacated it and at 1 a. m. I put a company in it. All night my boys, in squads, under careful officers, were crawling over the ground to the front, spying out the land, but daybreak showed only dead and wounded rebels before us. An hour later, with Gen. Brown's field-glass, I sat in a bastion and saw the long lines of the enenn^ working their way eastward from ' the goosepond, ' where they had withdrawn during the night. To only one idea did it seem reasonable to attribute this movement that the attack was to be renewed from the east and north. "

Ozark was so rapid that the members of tlie regiment living in the country were cut off iVoni town and were unable to join us. We have buried 51 of the enemy. About 80 of their wounded are here; they carried away a good many of their wounded in wagons, and of course numl)ers of their slightly wounded rode off their own horses. Nine prisoners, armed with Enfield rifles, were taken in one house by a squad of the 7 2d.

Bill Frazier was with them, and badly shot; he is now in the hospital. Lingow was also with them, and so exhausted that he lay down in one of the little houses in Dutchtown, and did not wake until morning. Then, supposing the rebels had possession of the college, he went in and was kindly received by Capt. Small, who sent the gentleman over to me. He is a lieutenant of artillery.

My men are by all looked upon as the men who saved the town, protected the immense accumulations of government stores for the Arm}^ of the Frontier, and preserved the communications of that army and the quiet of the whole Southwest. 1 doubt not that my gallant boys rendered triple more actual valuable service to the U. S. government than Gen. Fremont's entire army and magnificent Body Guard. We lack letter-writers, however, and he had them in abundance.

The total loss of the 72d E. M. M. in the l)attle of Springfield was 53, of which number 7 were killed or moi;tally wounded, 45 severely and slightly wounded, and one man reported missing. The following are the names, b}^ companies : -

Company A, (Japt. JacJcson Ball commanding. - Killed, 2d Lieut. David J. McCroskey ; Private John N. Cox. Wounded, Corporal Elisha L. Elam and Privates Stephen Sink, John Davis, Nimrod P. Ginger, Aaron T. Bacon, and D. M. Wallace.

Company B, Capt. B. K. Hart co^nmanding. - Wounded, Sergt. John H. Williams, in thigh ; Privates Levi E. Grimmitt, in the ankle, iuid Jackson O. Hale, in leg.

Company D, Lieut. Geo. S. Patterson commanding. - Wounded, Sergt. John L. Rainey, in arm, mortally; Corporal J. W. Boren, in head, slightly; Privates Silas Dugger severely, W. J. McDaniel in hip, S. M. Gresham in shoulder, Thos. Wilson in foot* Elisha Painter in foot, W. R. Russell in face, H. C. McKee in hip, N. J. Dver in hip, F. M. Chiping.

Lieut. W. F. Lane, leg broken (died) ; Corporals Hinim Vaughn in shoulder and John Hissey in arm ; Privates Charles Crane in leg, severely, George W. Townlin in head, Clay Leslie in head, Robert P. Ellison in head, Josiah M. Cunningham in arm.

Company F, Capt. Geo. T. BeaJ commanding. - Wounded, Sergts. W. R. M. Campbell in head (died) ; P. G. Perkins in leg; Privates, W. H. O'Neal mortally, W. Braswell severely, Louis Payne in knee, J. M. O'Neal in hand and leg, W. W. Ward, J. A. Hampton, W. R. Norman, Baker Russell and W. C. McCroskey, all slightly.

Number Of Troops And Loss On Each Side

According to the official reports (cited by Col. Sheppard and others) the Federals had 1,566 men, all told, in the battle. This included convalescents and the men from the hospitals. The Confederate strength was not far from 2,000.

The Federal loss was 18 killed outright, some 12 mortally wounded, who within two months, died from wounds and disease combined. The wounded numbered about 100. The total killed and wounded on the Union side, including citizens, convalescents, and all was about 125.

The Confederate loss was much greater - how much cannot now be <letinitely ascertained. The Missourian newspaper, published January 17th, after the fight, said that 32 dead Confederates were picked up on the battle.-field, " and those of their wounded who have since died will raise their loss in killed to over 40." Dr. Melcher says that altogether he knows 80 Confederates were buried from first to last. The doctor further says that there were left in charge of four of Marmaduke's surgeons Confederate wounded to the number of 60, of whom only 28 were alive on January 31, showing that only the more dangerously wounded were left behind. Ex-Confederates say that all of their wounded that could ride away did so.. Ten days after the battle Col. Sheppard says : '< AVe have buried 51 of the enemy. " of the 14th M. S. M. lost two men killed - E. C. Vanbibber, regimental commissary, and Private S. H. Hyde, Company D - ten wounded, and one missing. The 3d M. S. M. lost one man killed, Simon McKissick, private Company B. James T. Harris, of Co. D, was wounded, and James Pennington and H. S. Rickets were taken prisoners. The 4th M. S. M. had two men killed - Michael Schmidt, private of Company C, and Reuben H. Parker, private of Company K. The 18th Iowa had six men killed outright, five mortally wounded and 42 severely and slightly wounded. Capt. Wm. R. Blue, of Company C, of the 18th, died on the 12th, and Capt. Joseph Van Meter, of Co. H, died on the 14th. Capt. John A. Landis, of Co. D, and 2d Lieut. A. B. Conaway, of Co. C, were severely wounded.

The Confederate officers killed were Major John Bowman, of Jeans' i-egiment ; Captain Titsworth and Lieut. John Buffington, of Gordon's (Shelby's) regiment; Lieuts. McCoy and Steigall, of Jeans' regiment. (Col. Jeans was not in the fight, the regiment being led by Lieut. Col. Gilkey.)

Incidents Of The Fight

Will Rid2:ely, a young lad of 16, had his gun and accouterments taken from him b}^ Col. Sheppard, and was ordered out of the fight, but he mounted the colonel's horse, which he had been ordered to lead to the rear, and galloped ofi* and served all day as orderly to the commander of the militia.

It is impossible to describe the part taken by Col. Marcus Boyd's 74th, for want of information on the subject. It is believed, however, that only three companies of the regiment participated in the fight - Capt. Redferan's Capt. Phillips' and Capt. Small's. Phillips company was in Fort No. 4, and Small's occupied the college building at 1 o'clock on the morning of the 9th, after the Confederates had evacuated. Col. Boyd himself was present and assisted in directing the movements of the troops, etc.

Durino- the fight Col. Sheppard saw a Confederate officer riding a fine black horse. Calling to Will Gott, who had a Springfield rifle umsket. Col. S. bade him try his hand as a sharpshooter. At the crack of the gun the horse fell.

It was reported that 27 dead Confederates were buried on Phelps' farm ; 14 in the graveyard, and that 12 more died from their wounds in ten days after the fight.

S, he left Phelps' house, where he had slept, his command had nearly all ridden away and left him, and a company of King's 3d M. S. M. was " fooling around " unpleasantly near.

Some of the Confederate sympathizers in Springfield were greatly elated at the prospect of the capture of the town, until Col. Sheppard told them that turpentine and gunpowder had been distributed in such quantities that if the town were captured it would soon be a miniature Moscow. " I intend to fire my own store with my own hands," said the colonel.

Seven resident printers belonging to the enrolled militia, took part in the fight. Maj, Graves, of the Journal, was mortally wounded, and Corporal Boren, of the same paper, was slightly hurt. Capt. W. P. Davis, the veteran publisher, took an active part in the engagement. Four printers from the Missourian office participated.

The next day after the battle Col. Jas. W. Johnson, with the 26th E. M. M., from Polk county, came into town, and his arrival made the forces already in town feel more secure. The colonel was unable to get in on the 8th, not having time to get his men together.

When Captains Blue and Van Meter were shot down in the fight over the cannon, Surgeon Whitney was promptly with them. Capt. Blue, realizing that he had his death wound, and that his end was near, asked the surgeon to stay with him while he lived. Surgeon Whitney, seeing Post Chaplain Fred H. Wines near, excused himself to perform other duties, saying, " Here is the chaplain ; he will stay with you ;" but Wines, who was a very active man, and much interested in the battle, breathed but a short prayer for the dying officer, and then said : " Now, cai)tain, put your trust in Jesus ; He will stay with you always ; I can't." And away went the chaplain into the fight.

Surgeon Whitney and Chaplain Wines were both very industriously engaged. When it was the hottest at Fort No. 4, at one angle stood Whitney, shouting, "Give them hell, boys ! give them hell ! " At another angle stood Wines, solemnly but encouragingly exclaiming, **.Put your trust in Jesus, boys, and aim low!'' At the same time the fighting parson was blazing away with his dragoon revolver, and doubtless aiming " low."

One gallant Confederate evidently considered himself sufficiently armored and fortified to capture Fort No. 4 by himself. He charged bravely up alone, till within about fifty yards of the fortification, when he suddenly turned and ran toward the rear. A bullet struck him and he fell in a singular heap. After the fight it was found that he had a large skillet or frying-pan under his clothes in front. When he turned to run he seem to forget that his rear was unprotected. The fatal bullet went clear through his body and lodged in the frying-pan. It is said that one Federal soldier, nominally a member of the 1st Iowa cavalry, was out on the picket line with Sergt. Garrison, of the 72d, deserted and went over to the Confederates, who greeted him with a great cheer. Apparently the information he gave caused the Confederates to move away from Fort No. 4 to the west.

Confederate Movements After The Fight

At 10 o'clock on the morning of the 9th, Marmaduke's command was well out on the wire road leading to Rolla, seeking to join forces with Col. Porter. At Sand Springs the advance of Porter was met and a halt was made. Here the prisoners were all paroled and sent back, and the united command began to r.etreat eastward by way of Marshfield and Hartville. At the latter place a strong Federal force, under Col. Fitz Henry Warren, of the 1st Iowa cavalry, was encountered, and a hard fight ensued on the 11th. Here Emmett McDonald and Col. John M. Wymer, of St. Louis, both were killed and Col. Joe Porter mortally wounded, dying afterward, a week or so, near Little Rock;Maj. George Kirtley, Capt. Chas. Turpin, Capt. Garrett, Capt. Duprey and Lieut. Royster, all Confederates, were either killed or mortally wounded. After this fight Marmaduke retreated rapidly into Arkansas.

The death of the brave and chivalrous Emmett McDonald was learned with regret in the Federal lines as well as in Confederate camps. A desperate fighter when fighting was to be done, he was as kind as a brother and as gentle as a woman when it was over. His kind offices for Federal wounded and prisoners, and his generous conduct regarding the body of Gen. Lyon, a fellow-hero, though an enemy, had won for him great respect among the Union troops, and the people of Greene county and Springfield, Union and Confederate, still admired him for his many heroic, generous qualities.

Burial Of The Federal Dead

fore ordered that the bodies of all officers and men who were killed in the battle of Springfield be buried on Sunday, the 11th inst., 2 p. m.

IV. The procession will form at four at Fort No. 4, and move through the square and out North street in the following order : 1. Baud. 2. Escort. 3. Tlte bodies of the dead. 4. The horses ridden by the slain. 5. Chaplains. 6. Infantry. 7. Cavalry. 8. Mounted Officers. 9. Citizens on horseback. 10. Citizens in carriages. 11. Citizens on foot. Officers and soldiers not detailed on special duty, will join the procession ; they will carry their arms.

Besides the honors thiis shown the Federal soldiers who fell at Springfield, the fine monument, costing $5,000, now standing in the National Cemetery, was erected in their memory by Dr. T. J. Bailey, the well known old citizen of Springfield, whose name so frequently appears in these pages.

On the 10th, two days after the battle, Hon. Littleberry Hendrick died at his residence in Springfield. He had been sick with a fever for some days, and it was thought that the excitement of the battle hastened his death. Such frequent mention has been made of Judge Hendrick in this volume that it is only necessary to state in summary that he was one of the oldest settlers of Springfield, one of the oldest and best lawyers of this section of the State, a prominent politician and public man, and a gentleman of unblemished moral character. At the time of his death he was circuit judge for this circuit.

Upon receipt of the news of the battle of Springfield, Gen. Curtis, then in command of Missouri, sent the following dispatch to Gen. Brown :

To Brig. Gen.E. B.Broion: - Dispatch of the 11th, via Sedalia, received. Your gallant and successful defense of Springfield has added to the glory of the 8th of January. The troops and the people of Springfield who participated in your efforts have given imperishable proof of their loyal devotion to our cause and country, and the State of Missouri will ever cherish your memory.

Arrival Of Reinforcements

The news of the Siiringficld fiirht spread rapidly, and soon the Federal commanders woke up to the importance of protecting their base of supplies. Gen. Herron himself came up in a few days and saw that all was safe and snug against future attacks. News of the battle reached the troops down in Arkansas on the 10th. The 2d brigade, 1st division of the Army of the Frontier, was at once set hi motion for Springfield. This brigade was commanded byCol. Wm. F. Cloud, ^ of the 2(1 Kansas Cavalry, and was composed of that regiment, the 10th and 13th Kansas, and Eabb's 2d Indiana Battery. The brigade started from near Elm Springs on the 10th and by a hard forced march reach Springfield on the 13th. The march from Cassville was made without stopping to feed the horses but once. The 7th cavalry, M. S. M., Col. John F. Philips commanding, joined Col. Cloud at Cassville and came on with the advance.

The January Term Of The Circuit Court, 1863

No sooner had the smoke of battle and the roar of cannon died away at Springfield than the civil law came into dominion again so far as regarded the civil rights of the people. The circuit court for the 14th circuit convened at Springfield on the fourth Monday in January. Hon, John C. Price, judge of the circuit on the west (the 13th), presided in the room of Judge Hendrick, who had died on the 10th. M. J. Hubble was the clerk ; John A. Mack was prosecuting attorney, and Capt. T. A. Reed was sherifl^. Resolutions of respect for the memory of Judge Hendrick were adopted by the bar, J. S. Waddill, presiding, and spread upon the records, and then the court proceeded to business. Geo. W. Randolph acted by appointment as circuit attorney.

At this term of court a number of cases growing out of the war were disposed of. During the Confederate occupancy of Greene county many of the Union citizens had their property taken by the Confederates, some of whom were also citizens of this county and owned property. Certain other Unionists were arrested by the Greene county Confederates who of course were only acting in obedience to the orders of their sui)erior officers. When the Confederate army left, the Greene county members under Campbell, Lotspeich, and others, left with it, and after the Federal authority was restored suit was instituted against them by some of the Unionists living here whom they had arrested or whose property they had taken for military purposes. As personal service could not be had, notice of these suits was given by publication in the newspapers, which of course the defendants never saw, until long after judgment had been rendered by default and execution issued and served and their property levied on and sold.

Among other suits disposed of at this term of court were the cases of "Sidnev Ingram v. John S. Blackman and Wm. Wallace Blackman," wherein the defendants were charged with " wrongfully and feloniously stealing, taking, and carrying away 35 head of hogs, by which the plaintiff says he is damaged in the sum of four hundred dollars, " the case of " John S. Colman v. L. A. Campbell and Geo. M. Jones," for the sum of $405, "caused by the taking and carrying away by the defendants of certain goods and merchandise, the property of plaintiff, without leave and against his will ; " the case of Warham McElhany v. Wm. D. Hendrick, for *' taking and carrying away nine hogs, of the value of $200." From time to time other judgments were rendered against Confederate soldiers " by default," and afterwards trouble arose.

The Confederates always claimed that these proceedings against them were unjust and unfair, inasmuch as they were carried on during their absence, when they were prevented from appearing in their own defense and that when executions were levied on their property it was sold ridiculously low, and without regard to propriety. But the plaintiffs replied that they were not bound to await the pleasure of the defendants to bring their suits ; that they, the plaintiffs, had been wronored and were not bound to submit without redress ; that the defendants had no right to be in the Confederate army, away from their homes, and still less right to go about taking the property of loyal men and harassing them by arrests and imprisonments. After the war all prosecutions growing out of the military acts of either army were dismissed and forever barred by a special act of the Legislature.

About the middle of February, Col. Benj. Crabb, of the 19th Iowa Infantry, was relieved from the command of the post at Springfield, and was succeeded by Col. Thomas M. Bowen,^ of the 13th Kansas.

Col. Bowen's administration did not give general satisfaction. His men were too fond of foraging, and he seemed unable or unwilling to control them.

A few cases of small-pox prevailed in the hospitals at Springfield during this winter, and in February a citizen, Wm. A. Peacher, died of this disease. Other citizens were attacked, but the contagion was not suffered to spread generally.

In February and March the Army of the Frontier was scattered over Southwest Missouri. Gen. Blimt's command of Kansas troops principally was stationed in Lawrence county. The wide distribution of troops was made necessary on account of the necessity for and great scarcity of forage. How the corn and hay and fodder of the farmers suffered ! How the cattle and hogs, not to mention the turkeys and chickens, suffered and perished, too ! Citizens ft-om Christian county reported to the commander at Springfield that the Federal soldiers were exterminating the hogs in that county, killing them where they could find them, and carrying them off, contrary to orders. There was no excuse for this lawlessness. Uncle Sam fed his soldiers well in this quarter, and the people had no right to expect that they would be plundered by the troops sent to protect them.

By the 1st of March the 8th Missouri Cavalry Volunteers, largely composed of Greene county men, was stationed on Finley, about 30 miles from Springfield. The scarcity of forage and the continued hard scouting required of the men had reduced the number of horses in the regiment to an average of 25 to the company. There was great complaint of the want of discipline in the command. Col. G^iger was absent from the regiment, in command of the second brigade of Herron's division. Lieut. Col. Baldwin was under arrest for havins; some Confederate prisoners (who had violated their paroles) taken out and shot without a trial. Maj. Lisenby was at Springfield the greater portion of the time, and the regiment was commanded by Maj. Rich.

The commanders of the posts in this quarter of the State often sent long forage trains up northward as far sometimes as into Pettis county* The chief forage-master at Springfield was Joseph Gott, still a resident of Springfield. He made several trips and never lost a train. About the middle of February, however, a forage train belonging to the 8th M. S. M., then stationed in Newton county was captured by a scouting party of Confederates (supposed to be under Standwaite and Jackman) and some of the guards killed. A force of cavalry was sent out

Some time in February, Alf. Bolen, a desperate guerilla and bushwacker, was killed across in Boone county, Ark., by an officer of an Iowa regiment, who, disguised as a Confederate, had induced Bolen to come into a house to get his breakfast. While the guerilla was eating, the officer crushed in his skull with the colter of a plow. Bolen was a terror to the Union citizens of the southern part ot Greene county, as well as those of all Christian, Stone and Taney. He had killed man}^ a man, and the Confederates detested him almost as severely as the Unionists. Among his victims was an old man, 70 years of age, named Budd, whose ears he cut off before he finished him with a revolver. This murder was committed in the fall of 1861,

There were hard times among the people of this county, and indeed of all Southwest Missouri in these days. The Confederate sympathizers were preyed upon by those among the Federal soldiers that were vicious and unprincipled, and the lot of the Union families was but little better. Persons who had hitherto struggled bravely to help themselves now gave up in despair and desperation, and daily gangs of women and children concentrated in the little towns and at the military posts, looking for bread which they could find no longer in their own desolated homes. Many of the men had enlisted in the Federal army - in the 24th Missouri, in the 8th Mo. Cavalry, the 6th Mo., the 1st Arkansas, the 14th M. S. M., which regiments were chiefly recruited here, and hundreds were in the Enrolled Militia, and many of the families of these men were in absolute want, for the Federal government had not paid its soldiers in this quarter for months, and no money could be obtained from their natural protectors or earned honorably. The families of the poor Confederate soldiers were of course in wretched plight. The result may be imagined. Hundreds of female refugees swarmed about Springfield and other posts of importance and became abandoned and depraved. Vice and immorality of all sorts prevailed.

Homeless wanderers went stroUino; about bessrinor for food and clothing and shelter. If the weather had been severe there would have been the most intense suffering. But He who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb moderated the chillinor blasts that ordinarily in winter sweep across the Ozarks to gentle breezes, and enabled many wretched people to pass the night in the open air without perishing. The winter of 1863 was exceptionally mild and pleasant.

In February, 1863, the organization of the provisional regiments of militia was begun in this State. It was believed that the crisis calling for the general arming of the people of the State had passed away, and it was decided by Governor Gamble to commence the organization in the various military districts oi a picked force of men, to be detailed from the enrolled militia for permanent service, and to consist of those who could the most easily be spared from their ordinary avocations.

In this military district (the 4th) two regiments of provisional militia were formed, the 6th and 7th, each regiment consisting of twelve companies, and organized as a regiment of cavalry. The colonel, lieutenant colonel, three majors, the adjutant, and other officers of the 6th regiment were mainly from this county, as were three of the companies, as follows : -

Company A. - This company was detailed from the 74th E. M. M., Col. Marcus Boyd's regiment. Its officers were : 1st captain, John Small, promoted to major, Oct. 5, 1863. 2d captain, R. M. Hayter, commissioned Oct. 26, 1863. First, 1st Lieut., Isaac P. Julian; 2d, Lazarus J. Phillips; 3d, Samuel Harshbarger. 1st Second Lieut., Lazarus J. Phillips; 2d, Samuel Harshbarger; 3d, Preston Gilmore.

Company E. - This company was detailed from the 72d E. M. M. All the officers were commissioned April 15, 1863. Captain, Saml. W. Headlee ; 1st Lieut., Bryant Winfield ; 2d Lieut., Saml. B. Rainey.

Company H. - This company was detailed from the 72d. Some of its members were from Christian county. Roswell K. Hart was the first captain ; Wm. McCullah, second captain, Isaac W. Faught, 1st Lieut. ; O. P. Cates, 1st Second Lieut. ; John A. Gideon, 2d Second Lieut.

Killing Of Will Wright Fulbright

of this county, was killed in the southeast part of the county. Young Fulbright was a Confederate soldier, belonging to Marmaduke's army, then in northern Arkansas. He was about 21 years of age.

With the putting out of the leaves in the spring of this year, a favorite pastime of the Confederate boys was to make raids up into Missouri and visit their old homes. Sometimes these raids were bloodless ; sometimes they were not. Young Fulbright called about him a dozen or so of his companions, three of whom are said to have been Will Merritt, "Buck" Abernathy and Brashears, and induced them to accompany him on a raid into Greene county. What the object of this raid was has been variously stated. The party reached the county in safety and went into camp somewhere down on the James. A Union citizen discovered them and reported their presence to the enrolled militia of the neighborhood, a squad of whom was soon organized and in search of the raiders. Coming upon them suddenly the militia soon routed them, and in the melee Fulbright was shot and killed. The militia reported that he was shot while running away, and only after he had been repeatedly commanded to halt.

Some of Mr. Fulbright's relatives claim that at the time he was killed, Will Wright was on his way to Springfield, to procure medicine as he was then, or had been, sick. That his comrades were those who had volunteered to go with him to protect him, and that the party did not intent to make " a raid," as the term was commonly understood. They further allege that he was wantonly shot down in cold blood after he had surrendered. Both versions of the affair are represented as having been obtained from members of the militia who were present ! The reader may believe whichever version he can.

At the general election for 1863, in Missouri, but two tickets were voted for, both claiming to be "Union." One ticket, headed by Barton Bates, W. V. N. Bay, and J. D. S. Dryden, for supreme judges, was called the conservative ticket, the other headed by H. A. Clover, Arnold Krekel, and David Wagner was denominated the " radical " or " charcoal " ticket. The latter was supported by all of the immediate emancipationists in the State.

apprehension w;is felt thiit in many quarters they would attempt to influenee the election h}'^ the intimidation of voters, etc. To prevent any action of this kind being taken, the commander of the department in which Missouri was situated, Maj. Gen. Schofield, whose head(iuarters were then at St. Louis, promulgated the following order : -

The right of the people to peaceably assemble for all lawful purposes, and the right to freely express their will at the polls according to law, are essential in civil liberty.

Any commissioned officer who shall incite or encourage any interference with any lawful assemblage of the people, or who shall fail to do his utmost to prevent such interference, shall be dismissed the service ; and any officer, soldier or civilian, who shall, by violence, threats or otherwise actually interfere with any such lawful assemblage of the people, shall be punished ))y imprisonment or otherwise, at the discretion of a court martial or military commission.

Any officer, soldier, civilian, who shall attempt to intimidate any qtialified voter in the exercise of his right to vote, or who shall attempt to prevent any qualified voter, from going to the polls or voting, shall be i)unished by imprisonment or otherwise, at the discretion of a court martial or military commission.

Special attention is called to the 5th article of war, which Avill be applied to commissioned officers of Missouri militia not in active service, as well as to officers and soldiers in actual service.

In this county there were to be voted for a judge of the circuit court and of the court of probate and common pleas. For the former John S. Waddill (conservative), J. W. D. L. F. Mack (radical), and J. R. Cox were candidates, and for the latter John A. Mack (radical) and E. Headlee (conservative). The following is an abstract of the official vote of the county, including that of the Greene county men in Company E, 6th provisional regiment, and three companies of the 24th Mo. infantry. Returns from other mllitar}' companies were rejected for irregularities, etc. : -