THE SECOND CAMPAIGN TO SPRINGFIELD.
Detention at Warsaw.--A Bridge over the Osage.--The
Body-Guard.--Manner of its Organization.--The Advance
to Springfield.--Charge of the Body-Guard.--A Corporal's
Ruse.--Occupation of Springfield--The Situation.--Wilson Creek
Revisited.--Traces of the Battle.--Rumored Movements of the
Enemy.--Removal of General Fremont.--Danger of Attack.--A Night of
Excitement.--The Return to St. Louis.--Curiosities of the Scouting
Service.--An Arrest by Mistake.
The army was detained at Warsaw, to wait the construction of a
bridge over the Osage for the passage of the artillery and heavy
transportation. Sigel's Division was given the advance, and crossed
before the bridge was finished. The main column moved as soon as the
bridge permitted--the rear being brought up by McKinstry's Division. A
division from Kansas, under General Lane, was moving at the same time,
to form a junction with Fremont near Springfield, and a brigade from
Rolla was advancing with the same object in view. General Sturgis was
in motion from North Missouri, and there was a prospect that an army
nearly forty thousand strong would be assembled at Springfield.
While General Fremont was in St. Louis, before setting out on this
expedition, he organized the "Fremont Body-Guard," which afterward
became famous. This force consisted of four companies of cavalry,
and was intended to form a full regiment. It was composed of the
best class of the young men of St. Louis and Cincinnati. From the
completeness of its outfit, it was often spoken of as the "Kid-Gloved
Regiment." General Fremont designed it as a special body-guard for
himself, to move when he moved, and to form a part of his head-quarter
establishment. The manner of its organization was looked upon by many
as a needless outlay, at a time when the finances of the department
were in a disordered condition. The officers and the rank and file of
the Body-Guard felt their pride touched by the comments upon them, and
determined to take the first opportunity to vindicate their character
as soldiers.
When we were within fifty miles of Springfield, it was ascertained
that the main force of the Rebels had moved southward, leaving behind
them some two or three thousand men. General Fremont ordered a cavalry
force, including the Body-Guard, to advance upon the town. On reaching
Springfield the cavalry made a gallant charge upon the Rebel camp,
which was situated in a large field, bordered by a wood, within sight
of the court-house.
In this assault the loss of our forces, in proportion to the number
engaged, was quite severe, but the enemy was put to flight, and the
town occupied for a few hours. We gained nothing of a material nature,
as the Rebels would have quietly evacuated Springfield at the approach
of our main army. The courage of the Body-Guard, which no sensible
man had doubted, was fully evinced by this gallant but useless charge.
When the fight was over, the colonel in command ordered a retreat of
twenty miles, to meet the advance of the army.
A corporal with a dozen men became separated from the command while
in Springfield, and remained there until the following morning. He
received a flag of truce from the Rebels, asking permission to send
a party to bury the dead. He told the bearer to wait until he could
consult his "general," who was supposed to be lying down in the
back office. The "general" replied that his "division" was too much
exasperated to render it prudent for a delegation from the enemy to
enter town, and therefore declined to grant the request. At the same
time he promised to send out strong details to attend to the sad duty.
At sunrise he thought it best to follow the movements of his superior
officer, lest the Rebels might discover his ruse and effect his
capture.
Two days after the charge of the Body-Guard, the advance of the
infantry entered Springfield without the slightest opposition. The
army gradually came up, and the occupation of the key of Southwest
Missouri was completed. The Rebel army fell back toward the Arkansas
line, to meet a force supposed to be marching northward from
Fayetteville. There was little expectation that the Rebels would
seek to engage us. The only possible prospect of their assuming the
offensive was in the event of a junction between Price and McCulloch,
rendering them numerically superior to ourselves.
During our occupation of Springfield I paid a visit to the Wilson
Creek battle-ground. It was eleven weeks from the day I had left it.
Approaching the field, I was impressed by its stillness, so different
from the tumult on the 10th of the previous August. It was difficult
to realize that the spot, now so quiet, had been the scene of a
sanguinary contest. The rippling of the creek, and the occasional
chirp of a bird, were the only noises that came to our ears. There was
no motion of the air, not enough to disturb the leaves freshly fallen
from the numerous oak-trees on the battle-field. At each step I could
but contrast the cool, calm, Indian-summer day, with the hot, August
morning, when the battle took place.
All sounds of battle were gone, but the traces of the encounter had
not disappeared. As we followed the route leading to the field, I
turned from the beaten track and rode among the trees. Ascending a
slight acclivity, I found my horse half-stumbling over some object
between his feet. Looking down, I discovered a human skull, partly
covered by the luxuriant grass. At a little distance lay the
dismembered skeleton to which the skull evidently belonged. It was
doubtless that of some soldier who had crawled there while wounded,
and sunk exhausted at the foot of a tree. The bits of clothing
covering the ground showed that either birds or wild animals had been
busy with the remains. Not far off lay another skeleton, disturbed and
dismembered like the other.
Other traces of the conflict were visible, as I moved slowly over the
field. Here were scattered graves, each for a single person; there a
large grave, that had received a dozen bodies of the slain. Here were
fragments of clothing and equipments, pieces of broken weapons; the
shattered wheel of a caisson, and near it the exploded shell that
destroyed it. Skeletons of horses, graves of men, scarred trees,
trampled graves, the ruins of the burned wagons of the Rebels,
all formed their portion of the picture. It well illustrated the
desolation of war.
The spot where General Lyon fell was marked by a rude inscription upon
the nearest tree. The skeleton of the general's favorite horse lay
near this tree, and had been partially broken up by relic-seekers. The
long, glossy mane was cut off by the Rebel soldiers on the day after
the battle, and worn by them as a badge of honor. Subsequently the
teeth and bones were appropriated by both Rebels and Unionists. Even
the tree that designated the locality was partially stripped of its
limbs to furnish souvenirs of Wilson Creek.
During the first few days of our stay in Springfield, there were vague
rumors that the army was preparing for a long march into the enemy's
country. The Rebel army was reported at Cassville, fifty-five miles
distant, fortifying in a strong position. General Price and Governor
Jackson had convened the remnant of the Missouri Legislature, and
caused the State to be voted out of the Union. It was supposed we
would advance and expel the Rebels from the State.
While we were making ready to move, it was reported that the Rebel
army at Cassville had received large re-enforcements from Arkansas, and
was moving in our direction. Of course, all were anxious for a battle,
and hailed this intelligence with delight. At the same time there
were rumors of trouble from another direction--trouble to the
commander-in-chief. The vague reports of his coming decapitation were
followed by the arrival, on the 2d of November, of the unconditional
order removing General Fremont from command, and appointing General
Hunter in his stead.
Just before the reception of this order, "positive" news was received
that the enemy was advancing from Cassville toward Springfield, and
would either attack us in the town, or meet us on the ground south
of it. General Hunter had not arrived, and therefore General Fremont
formed his plan of battle, and determined on marching out to meet the
enemy.
On the morning of the 3d, the scouts brought intelligence that the
entire Rebel army was in camp on the old Wilson Creek battle-ground,
and would fight us there. A council of war was called, and it was
decided to attack the enemy on the following morning, if General
Hunter did not arrive before that time. Some of the officers were
suspicious that the Rebels were not in force at Wilson Creek, but when
Fremont announced it officially there could be little room for doubt.
Every thing was put in readiness for battle. Generals of division were
ordered to be ready to move at a moment's notice. The pickets were
doubled, and the grand guards increased to an unusual extent. Four
pieces of artillery formed a portion of the picket force on the
Fayetteville road, the direct route to Wilson Creek. If an enemy had
approached on that night he would have met a warm reception.
About seven o'clock in the evening, a staff officer, who kept the
journalists informed of the progress of affairs, visited General
Fremont's head-quarters. He soon emerged with important intelligence.
"It is all settled. The army is ready to move at the instant. Orders
will be issued at two o'clock, and we will be under way before
daylight. Skirmishing will begin at nine, and the full battle will be
drawn on at twelve."
"Is the plan arranged?"
"Yes, it is all arranged; but I did not ask how."
"Battle sure to come off--is it?"
"Certainly, unless Hunter comes and countermands the order."
Alas, for human calculations! General Hunter arrived before midnight.
Two o'clock came, but no orders to break camp. Daylight, and no orders
to march. Breakfast-time, and not a hostile shot had been heard. Nine
o'clock, and no skirmish. Twelve o'clock, and no battle.
General Fremont and staff returned to St. Louis. General Hunter made
a reconnoissance to Wilson Creek, and ascertained that the only enemy
that had been in the vicinity was a scouting party of forty or fifty
men. At the time we were to march out, there was not a Rebel on the
ground. Their whole army was still at Cassville, fifty-five miles from
Springfield.
On the 9th of November the army evacuated Springfield and returned to
the line of the Pacific Railway.
General Fremont's scouts had deceived him. Some of these individuals
were exceedingly credulous, while others were liars of the highest
grade known to civilization. The former obtained their information
from the frightened inhabitants; the latter manufactured theirs with
the aid of vivid imaginations. I half suspect the fellows were like
the showman in the story, and, at length, religiously believed what
they first designed as a hoax. Between the two classes of scouts a
large army of Rebels was created.
The scouting service often develops characters of a peculiar mould.
Nearly every man engaged in it has some particular branch in which he
excels. There was one young man accompanying General Fremont's army,
whose equal, as a special forager, I have never seen elsewhere.
Whenever we entered camp, this individual, whom I will call the
captain, would take a half-dozen companions and start on a foraging
tour. After an absence of from four to six hours, he would return
well-laden with the spoils of war. On one occasion he brought to camp
three horses, two cows, a yoke of oxen, and a wagon. In the latter
he had a barrel of sorghum molasses, a firkin of butter, two sheep, a
pair of fox-hounds, a hoop-skirt, a corn-sheller, a baby's cradle, a
lot of crockery, half a dozen padlocks, two hoes, and a rocking-chair.
On the next night he returned with a family carriage drawn by a horse
and a mule. In the carriage he had, among other things, a parrot-cage
which contained a screaming parrot, several pairs of ladies' shoes,
a few yards of calico, the stock of an old musket, part of a
spinning-wheel, and a box of garden seeds. In what way these things
would contribute to the support of the army, it was difficult to
understand.
On one occasion the captain found a trunk full of clothing, concealed
with a lot of salt in a Rebel warehouse. He brought the trunk to camp,
and, as the quartermaster refused to receive it, took it to St. Louis
when the expedition returned. At the hotel where he was stopping, some
detectives were watching a suspected thief, and, by mistake, searched
the captain's room. They found a trunk containing thirteen coats
of all sizes, with no pants or vests. Naturally considering this a
strange wardrobe for a gentleman, they took the captain into custody.
He protested earnestly that he was not, and had never been, a thief,
but it was only on the testimony of the quartermaster that he was
released. I believe he subsequently acted as a scout under General
Halleck, during the siege of Corinth.
After the withdrawal of our army, General Price returned to
Springfield and went into winter-quarters. McCulloch's command formed
a cantonment at Cross Hollows, Arkansas, about ninety miles southwest
of Springfield. There was no prospect of further activity until the
ensuing spring. Every thing betokened rest.
From Springfield I returned to St. Louis by way of Rolla, designing
to follow the example of the army, and seek a good locality for
hibernating. On my way to Rolla I found many houses deserted, or
tenanted only by women and children. Frequently the crops were
standing, ungathered, in the field. Fences were prostrated, and there
was no effort to restore them. The desolation of that region was just
beginning.