I have agreed to do book reviews for The History Press on local history books in our area. The first arrived this week, one being Civil War: Springfield by Larry Wood. The Civil War is certainly part of our Ozarks cultural heritage. From my previous reading I knew that Union and Confederate forces both considered Springfield to be a strategic location and that over the period of the war it was held by each force at different times. As I thumbed through the Larry Wood book, the first time, I took particular notice of Chapter 8: The Rebels Move Back In.
The specific words that caught my attention were: "Price himself arrived on Christmas Day with plans to spend the remainder of the winter." From writing about the Battle of Wilson Creek and the reading I had done about it, I knew that Major General Sterling Price commanded the Missiouri State Guard at Wilson's Creek. He had served in the Mexican War, the United States Congress, and as governor of Missouri. At age 51, he was the oldest of the principal commanders at Wilson's Creek, having accepted the command of the State Guard when the war began.
In Chapter 7, Wood had described the occupation of Springfield by Union troops, under General Fremont. As Chapter 8 began he noted: "In the face of the overwhelming Federal numbers at Springfield, Price had dropped back from Cassville on November 7 to the Pineville area of McDonald County. A week later, however, General McCulloch, who was camped along the Wire Road near the Arkansas line, got word of the Federal withdrawal, and he started for Springfield on November 16 and camped on the outskirts of town on the night of the eighteenth." He continued, "It wasn't long, though, before a portion of the state guard poured back into Springfield…" setting up the return of Price, on Christmas Day.
Lemuel Donnell, a state guard lieutenant who reached Springfield a few days after Price, recorded in his diary that he and his company set up their tents "with a deep snow on the ground and very cold."
Although I have not completed my review of the entire book, it appears to be well researched based on original documents on Springfield at the time. Wood seems to present a very balanced view of the activities of the day. If you have an interest in more details of Springfield 150 years ago, I highly recommend this book as one to read. Wood lives in Joplin. Watch for his appearances at upcoming book signing opportunities.
******
I hope you will also subscribe to my series, above or below, as well, if you have not done so already, leave a comment, and share this article with others. You might also enjoy my blogs: Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories, Dr. Bills Book Bazaar and The Homeplace Series.
Comments