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Second Battle of Springfield
The Second Battle of Springfield took place during the American Civil War on January 8, 1863, in Springfield, Missouri. It is sometimes known as The Battle of Springfield. (The First Battle of Springfield was fought on October 25, 1861, and there was also the better-known Battle of Wilson's Creek, fought nearby on August 10, 1861.) Fighting was urban and house-to-house, which was rare in the war.
On December 31, 1862, three columns of cavalry under the command of Confederate Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke left Pocahontas, Arkansas and Lewisburg, Arkansas, and moved north on separate roads toward Missouri and the Union supply line. Marmaduke's immediate objective was the destruction of the Union Army of the Frontier's wagon trains and supply line between Rolla and Springfield. If successful, Marmaduke would cause elements of the Army of the Frontier to withdraw from Arkansas and pursue Marmaduke's Division.
Marmaduke's main column proceeded north through Forsyth, Missouri, where Marmaduke learned from scouts that the Union army's major supply depot at Springfield was weakly defended. To clear the way for his Confederates, Marmaduke marched on Ozark, Missouri. The Union garrison stationed at Ozark withdrew and the Confederates burned its abandoned fort. A second column, commanded by Colonel Emmett MacDonald, destroyed the Union fort ("Fort Lawrence") at Lawrence Mill on Beaver Creek, about ten miles (16 km) southwest of Ava. A dispatch to the third column under Colonel Joseph C. Porter directed Porter to join Marmaduke at Springfield rather than at Hartville. If everything went as planned, all three commands would converge on Springfield in an attempt to capture the city's lightly defended warehouses of military supplies.
Late in the afternoon of January 7, 1863, Federals from the Ozark garrison reached Springfield and informed the local commander, Brigadier General Egbert Brown, that a Confederate cavalry force, with an estimated strength somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 men, was headed for Springfield. Having only 1343 veteran soldiers, Brown mulled over two options. He could destroy all of the Union Army of the Frontier's winter supplies at Springfield and retreat, or he could defend the town. General Grant on December 23, 1862, had published a major censure of the Union commander and forces stationed at Holly Springs, Mississippi, which had participated in the disgraceful surrender of Grant's Holly Springs supply depot. No doubt, Brown recalling this censure, had a strong reason to favor the defense of Springfield.
Brown's subordinates favored the defense of the city also. The Fourth Military District's commanding general, Colley B. Holland, immediately sent dispatches to the surrounding communities, calling the Enrolled Missouri Militia to active duty with orders to hurry to Springfield. Brown also ordered the removal of 50,000 rations from Springfield into Fort Number 1 and prepared for the burning of the armory in the event of defeat. Meanwhile, at Dr. Samuel Melcher's suggestion, Captain Byron Carr mounted three cannon onto wagon wheels.
During the following morning, the Federals issued arms and ammunition to soldiers and civilians alike. Although Springfield was lightly garrisoned, it had one distinct advantage. It was surrounded by a network of four nearly completed earthen forts and a stockaded college building. Each of the five points commanded the high ground.
As the morning of January 8, 1863 dawned, two of the Confederate columns under Marmaduke approached Springfield from the south. Since Porter's and MacDonald's columns had yet to arrive, Marmaduke occupied the early morning with foraging and capturing some of the Enrolled Missouri Militia about five miles (8.0 km) from Springfield. With MacDonald finally present by 10:00 a.m., the Confederates dismounted two regiments about three miles (4.8 km) from Springfield and advanced to feel out the Union lines and develop their strength. After the Confederates had pushed two Union Missouri State Militia Cavalry Regiments two miles (3.2 km) north, the smoking ruins of burning homes on the outskirts of Springfield came into view. To provide an unobstructed view for his artillery inside Fort No. 4 (located on the east side of South Avenue between Elm and Cherry Streets), Brown at the last minute ordered ten homes burned along South Avenue.
Colonel Joseph Orville Shelby took command of the tactical operations, launching piecemeal assaults upon the Union center and west flank. The Confederates advanced over open ground against Fort Number 4, seeking such shelter as they could get from tree stumps, piles of rock, and the charred remains of the homes burned by the Union forces. Despite repeated efforts, the assault on the fort failed.
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Second Battle of Springfield
The Second Battle of Springfield took place during the American Civil War on January 8, 1863, in Springfield, Missouri. It is sometimes known as The Battle of Springfield. (The First Battle of Springfield was fought on October 25, 1861, and there was also the better-known Battle of Wilson's Creek, fought nearby on August 10, 1861.) Fighting was urban and house-to-house, which was rare in the war.
On December 31, 1862, three columns of cavalry under the command of Confederate Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke left Pocahontas, Arkansas and Lewisburg, Arkansas, and moved north on separate roads toward Missouri and the Union supply line. Marmaduke's immediate objective was the destruction of the Union Army of the Frontier's wagon trains and supply line between Rolla and Springfield. If successful, Marmaduke would cause elements of the Army of the Frontier to withdraw from Arkansas and pursue Marmaduke's Division.
Marmaduke's main column proceeded north through Forsyth, Missouri, where Marmaduke learned from scouts that the Union army's major supply depot at Springfield was weakly defended. To clear the way for his Confederates, Marmaduke marched on Ozark, Missouri. The Union garrison stationed at Ozark withdrew and the Confederates burned its abandoned fort. A second column, commanded by Colonel Emmett MacDonald, destroyed the Union fort ("Fort Lawrence") at Lawrence Mill on Beaver Creek, about ten miles (16 km) southwest of Ava. A dispatch to the third column under Colonel Joseph C. Porter directed Porter to join Marmaduke at Springfield rather than at Hartville. If everything went as planned, all three commands would converge on Springfield in an attempt to capture the city's lightly defended warehouses of military supplies.
Late in the afternoon of January 7, 1863, Federals from the Ozark garrison reached Springfield and informed the local commander, Brigadier General Egbert Brown, that a Confederate cavalry force, with an estimated strength somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 men, was headed for Springfield. Having only 1343 veteran soldiers, Brown mulled over two options. He could destroy all of the Union Army of the Frontier's winter supplies at Springfield and retreat, or he could defend the town. General Grant on December 23, 1862, had published a major censure of the Union commander and forces stationed at Holly Springs, Mississippi, which had participated in the disgraceful surrender of Grant's Holly Springs supply depot. No doubt, Brown recalling this censure, had a strong reason to favor the defense of Springfield.
Brown's subordinates favored the defense of the city also. The Fourth Military District's commanding general, Colley B. Holland, immediately sent dispatches to the surrounding communities, calling the Enrolled Missouri Militia to active duty with orders to hurry to Springfield. Brown also ordered the removal of 50,000 rations from Springfield into Fort Number 1 and prepared for the burning of the armory in the event of defeat. Meanwhile, at Dr. Samuel Melcher's suggestion, Captain Byron Carr mounted three cannon onto wagon wheels.
During the following morning, the Federals issued arms and ammunition to soldiers and civilians alike. Although Springfield was lightly garrisoned, it had one distinct advantage. It was surrounded by a network of four nearly completed earthen forts and a stockaded college building. Each of the five points commanded the high ground.
As the morning of January 8, 1863 dawned, two of the Confederate columns under Marmaduke approached Springfield from the south. Since Porter's and MacDonald's columns had yet to arrive, Marmaduke occupied the early morning with foraging and capturing some of the Enrolled Missouri Militia about five miles (8.0 km) from Springfield. With MacDonald finally present by 10:00 a.m., the Confederates dismounted two regiments about three miles (4.8 km) from Springfield and advanced to feel out the Union lines and develop their strength. After the Confederates had pushed two Union Missouri State Militia Cavalry Regiments two miles (3.2 km) north, the smoking ruins of burning homes on the outskirts of Springfield came into view. To provide an unobstructed view for his artillery inside Fort No. 4 (located on the east side of South Avenue between Elm and Cherry Streets), Brown at the last minute ordered ten homes burned along South Avenue.
Colonel Joseph Orville Shelby took command of the tactical operations, launching piecemeal assaults upon the Union center and west flank. The Confederates advanced over open ground against Fort Number 4, seeking such shelter as they could get from tree stumps, piles of rock, and the charred remains of the homes burned by the Union forces. Despite repeated efforts, the assault on the fort failed.