many of them
without wagons, mules, overcoats, cartridge-boxes, or rations. Orders
were issued to advance and concentrate at Springfield. Sigel arrived
there on the evening of October 27th, and Ashboth on the 30th. Fremont
was convinced that Price was on Wilson's Creek, ten or twelve miles from
Springfield. Despatches were sent urging McKinstry, Hunter, and Pope to
hasten. Pope, having marched seventy miles in two days, arrived on
November 1st, and McKinstry arrived close behind him.

On November 2d an order came from Washington relieving Fremont from
command of the department, and appointing Hunter to the command. Hunter
having not yet come up, Fremont held a council of war, exhibited his
plan of battle at Wilson Creek, and ordered advance and attack to be
made next morning. General Hunter arrived in the night and assumed
command. He sent a reconnoissance next day to Wilson Creek, and learned
that no enemy was there or had been there. It was soon ascertained that
Price was at Cassville, more than sixty miles off. The army being
without rations and imperfectly supplied with transportation, General
Hunter, acting upon his own judgment and also in accordance with the
wish of President Lincoln expressed in a letter to him, refrained from
any attempt to overtake Price, and withdrew his army back to the
railroads.

On November 9th, General Halleck was appointed commander of the new
Department of the Missouri, including that portion of Kentucky west of
the Cumberland River. One-half of the force which Fremont had assembled
at Springfield was stationed along the railway from Jefferson City to
Sedalia, its western terminus, and General Pope was put in command of
this force, as well as a district designated Central Missouri. General
Price advanced into Missouri as far as Osceola, on the southern bank of
the Osage River, from which point he sent parties in various directions,
and where he received detachments of recruits. On December 15th, Pope
moved out from Sedalia directly to the south, as if he were pushing for
Warsaw, and at the same time sent a cavalry force to the southwest, to
mask his movement from Price's command at and near Osceola. Next day a
forced march took him west to a position south of Warrensburg, and
between the two roads leading from Warrensburg to Osceola. The same
night he captured the pickets, and thereby learned the precise locality
of a body of 3,200 men, moving from Lexington south to join Price. A
fl