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

Springfield
Zagonyi's Charge
Civil War Missouri

American Civil War
October 25, 1861


Ride With The Devil
The bloody feud among neighbors in the border state of Missouri. In this war zone the destinies of several young Southern bushwhackers as they experience the violence and the seasons

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)


Decision in the Heartland
The Civil War in the West
The western campaigns cost the Confederacy vast territories, the manufacturing of Nashville, the financial center of New Orleans, communication hub Corinth, Chattanooga, and Atlanta, along with the breadbasket of the Confederacy.

Confederate Officer Adult Uniform
  • Tailored coat
  • Gold colored trim
  • Pants
  • Gold sash
  • Lightweight

Missouri State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Women in the War
Civil War Picture Album
Kids Zone Causes of the War
Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Civil War Submarines
Civil War Store
She Went to the Field:
Women Soldiers of the Civil War
several substantiated cases of female soldiers during the American Civil War, including Sarah Rosetta Wakeman (aka Private Wakeman, Union); Sarah Emma Edmonds (aka Private Thompson, Union); Loreta Janeta Velazquez (aka Lieutenant Buford, Confederate); and Jennie Hodgers (aka Private Cashier, Union).
American Civil War Book Titles

The Missouri Compromise and Its Aftermath: Slavery and the Meaning of America
Go behind the scenes of the crucial Missouri Compromise, the most important sectional crisis before the Civil War, the high-level deal-making, diplomacy, and deception that defused the crisis.
Civil War on the Western Border, 1854-1865
Fanatical politics of the western frontier, immigrant abolitionists with loaded Spencer rifles funded by mysterious personages back East, cut-throats, gin heads and horse thieves, colorful character descriptions
Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War
The state of Missouri witnessed the most widespread, prolonged, and destructive guerrilla fighting in American history. A horrific combination of robbery, arson, torture, murder, and swift and bloody raids on farms and settlements.
Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War
This places James within a specific political context, showing why it was possible for this murderous bandit to emerge as a folk hero among Southern sympathizers following the Civil War in which he fought as a teenager

General Jo Shelby
Undefeated Rebel
When the Confederacy fell, Shelby refused to surrender and instead took his command to Mexico, where they fought in support of the emperor Maximilian. Upon his return to Missouri, Shelby became an immensely popular figure in the state
Civil War St. Louis
Rough-and-tumble St. Louis played a key role as a strategic staging ground for the Union army. A citadel of free labor in a slave state, it also harbored deeply divided loyalties that mirrored those of its troubled nation
The Partisan Rangers of the Confederate States Army: Memoirs of General Adam R. Johnson
The capture of Newburg, Indiana, with only twelve men and two joints of stovepipe mounted on the running gear of a wagon. This episode won him a nickname of "Stovepipe." He was promoted to Brigadier General in June 1864
Charles W. Quantrell
A True History Of His Guerilla Warfare On The Missouri And Kansas Border During The Civil War Of 1861-1865
This book was written just as Captain Harrison Trow told it to John P. Burch, giving accounts of fights that he participated in, narrow escapes experienced, dilemmas it seemed almost impossible to get out of, and also other battles

Current Weather conditions and City History for Saint Louis Missouri

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

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