Springfield
Zagonyi's Charge
Civil War Missouri

American Civil War
October 25, 1861

Having accomplished little since taking command of the Western Department, with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, Major General John C. Fremont formulated a plan to clear Major General Sterling Price's Rebels from the state and then, if possible, carry the war into Arkansas and Louisiana.

Leaving St. Louis on October 7, 1861, Frémont's combined force eventually numbered more than 20,000. His accompanying cavalry force, numbering 5,000 men and other mounted troops, included Major Frank J. White's Prairie Scouts and Frémont's Body Guards under Major Charles Zagonyi.

Major White became ill and turned his command over to Zagonyi. These two units operated in front of Frémont's army to gather intelligence.

As Frémont neared Springfield, the local state guard commander, Colonel Julian Frazier, sent out requests to nearby localities for additional troops.

Frémont camped on the Pomme de Terre River, about 50 miles from Springfield. Zagonyi's column, though, continued on to Springfield, and Frazier's force of 1,000 to 1,500 prepared to meet it.

Frazier set up an ambush along the road that Zagonyi travelled, but the Union force charged the Rebels, sending them fleeing. Zagonyi's men continued into town, hailed Federal sympathizers and released Union prisoners.

Leery of a Confederate counterattack, Zagonyi departed Springfield before night, but Frémont's army returned, in force, a few days later and set up camp in the town.

In mid-November, after Frémont was sacked and replaced by Major General Hunter, the Federals evacuated Springfield and withdrew to Sedalia and Rolla.

Federal troops reoccupied Springfield in early 1862 and it was a Union stronghold from then on.

This engagement at Springfield was the only Union victory in southwestern Missouri in 1861.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: Greene County

Campaign: Operations to Control Missouri (1861)

Date(s): October 25, 1861

Principal Commanders: Major James Zagonyi [US]; Colonel James Frazier [CS]

Forces Engaged: Prairie Scouts and Frémont's Body Guard [US]; Missouri State Guard troops [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 218 total (US 85; CS 133)


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Civil War Missouri History Book Club Additional Reading Titles


The Devil Knows How to Ride: The True Story of William Clarke Quantrill and His Confederate Raiders
William Clarke Quantrill was quite possibly the most dangerous man to fight in the Civil War. The leader of an almost psychopathic band of guerrilla warriors, Quantrill participated as a Confederate in a deadly border war between Southern sympathizers in Missouri and the Unionist Jayhawks of Kansas. He was largely responsible for the 1863 massacre of nearly 200 unresisting men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as dozens of other brutal acts that today would be called terrorism. Among the notorious men who rode with him were Frank and Jesse James, whose postwar crime careers are briefly reviewed.
The Civil War in Missouri, Day by Day, 1861 to 1865
Follow as events transpire across Missouri within those four long years. From raids and pursuit of the outlaws to the hunting down of Southern sympathizers and the Federal scouting parties across the state. Something for everyone in this book. This book is deemed by many readers as a Missouri classic.
Civil War on the Missouri-Kansas Border
This aspect of the Civil War is often misunderstood in that the majority of what we know has been passed down to us from the "victors" point of view. In fact, these were very, very hard times and a good case can be made that there were indeed no real winners in this not so isolated, but under reported, part of the war. Horrible, barbaric actions were consummated by both sides of this conflict. If we attempt to place ourselves at that time and place in history, we can well see where both sides had their grievances, and both sides were able to justify their atrocities.

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.