Civil War Springfield (Civil War Sesquicentennial) - Softcover

During the Civil War, Springfield was a frontier community of about 1,500 people, but it was the largest and most important place in southwest Missouri. The Northern and Southern armies vied throughout the early part of the war to occupy its strategic position. The Federal defeat at Wilson's Creek in August of 1861 gave the Southern forces possession, but Zagonyi's charge two and half months later returned Springfield to the Union. The Confederacy came back near Christmas of 1861 before being ousted again in February of 1862. Marmaduke's defeat at the Battle of Springfield in January of 1863 ended the contest, placing the Union firmly in control, but Springfield continued to pulse with activity throughout the war. Historian Larry Wood chronicles this epic story.

Larry Wood is a retired public school teacher and freelance writer specializing in the history of the Ozarks region. His magazine articles have appeared in publications like America's Civil War, Blue and Gray, Gateway Heritage, History Magazine, Kansas Heritage, Missouri Historical Review, Missouri Life, Ozarks Mountaineer, Ozarks Reader, Show Me the Ozarks, True West, and Wild West. His previous books include The Civil War on the Lower Kansas-Missouri Border, The Civil War Story of Bloody Bill Anderson, Other Noted Guerrillas of the Civil War in Missouri, Ozarks Gunfights and Other Notorious Incidents, and two historical novels entitled Call Me Charlie: A Novel of a Quantrill Raider and Showdown at Baxter Springs. Wood and his wife, G.G., live in Joplin, Missouri.