FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150  
151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   >>   >|  
nks of Congress are hereby given to the brave officers and soldiers who, under the command of the late Gen. Lyon, sustained the honor of the flag, and achieved victory against overwhelming numbers at the battle of Springfield, in Missouri, and that, in order to commemorate an event so honorable to the country and to themselves, it is ordered that each regiment engaged shall be authorized to bear upon its colors the word "Springfield," embroidered in letters of gold. And the President of the United States is hereby requested to cause these resolutions to be read at the head of every regiment in the Army of the United States. 189 CHAPTER XII. A GALAXY OF NOTABLE MEN The Union commanders were naturally very apprehensive that as soon as Price and Mc-Culloch realized that the field had been abandoned they would precipitate upon them their immense horde of vengeful horsemen. Such was not the case. Nothing tells so eloquently of the severity of the blow which Lyon had dealt his enemies than that it was two whole days before Price and McCulloch were in a frame of mind to move forward 10 miles and occupy Springfield, the goal of their campaign. This delay was golden to the Union commanders, hampered as they were by hosts of Union refugees fleeing from the rebel wrath, and incumbering the column with all manner of vehicles and great droves of stock. Considering the activity of the Missourians in guerrilla warfare, and the vicious way they usually harried the Union forces, it is incomprehensible, except on the theory that the Confederate forces had been stunned into torpor by the blow. The Union column was able to make its long retreat of 125 miles from Springfield to Rolla and traverse an exceedingly rough country cut up every few miles by ravines, gorges and creeks, without the slightest molestation from the six or eight thousand horsemen whom McCulloch had complained were so much in the way during the battle on the banks of Wilson's Creek. 190 Gen. McCulloch made a number of lengthy and labored explanations to the Confederate War Department of his failure to make any pursuit, but in the light of facts that then should have been attainable none of these was at all satisfactory. He admits that he did not enter Springfield until after his scouts had brought him satisfactory assurances that the Union army had abandoned the town. Aug. 12 he advanced to Springfield,
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150  
151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Springfield
 

McCulloch

 

United

 

Confederate

 

States

 
abandoned
 
commanders
 

column

 
regiment
 

horsemen


country

 

battle

 
satisfactory
 

forces

 
retreat
 

guerrilla

 
activity
 
exceedingly
 

traverse

 

incumbering


Considering

 

Missourians

 

vehicles

 

theory

 

harried

 

manner

 

incomprehensible

 

stunned

 

droves

 

torpor


warfare

 
vicious
 

attainable

 

admits

 

pursuit

 
advanced
 

assurances

 
scouts
 

brought

 
failure

Department
 

thousand

 
complained
 
molestation
 

slightest

 

ravines

 
gorges
 

creeks

 
lengthy
 

number