After a rapid night-march, Zagonyi overtook White, and assumed command of the whole force.  White was quite ill, and, unable to stay in the saddle, was obliged to follow in a carriage.  In the morning, yielding to the request of Zagonyi, he remained at a farm-house where the troop had halted for refreshment,—­it being arranged that he should rest an hour or two, come on in his carriage with a small escort, and overtake Zagonyi before he reached Springfield.  The Prairie Scouts numbered one hundred and thirty, so that the troop was nearly three hundred strong.

The day was fine, the road good, and the little column pushed on merrily, hoping to surprise the enemy.  When within two hours’ march of the town, they met a Union farmer of the neighborhood, who told Zagonyi that a large body of Rebels had arrived at Springfield the day before, on their way to reinforce Price, and that the enemy were now two thousand strong.  Zagonyi would have been justified, if he had turned back.  But the Guard had been made the subject of much malicious remark, and had brought ridicule upon the General.  Should they retire now, a storm of abuse would burst upon them.  Zagonyi therefore took no counsel of prudence.  He could not hope to defeat and capture the foe, but he might surprise them, dash into their camp, destroy their train, and, as he expressed it, “disturb their sleep,”—­obtaining a victory which, for its moral effects, would be worth the sacrifices it cost.  His daring resolve found unanimous and ardent assent with his zealous followers.

The Union farmer offered to guide Zagonyi by a circuitous route to the rear of the Rebel position, and under his guidance he left the main road about five miles from Springfield.

After an hour of repose, White set out in pursuit of his men, driving his horses at a gallop.  He knew nothing of the change in Zagonyi’s plans, and supposed the attack was to be made upon the front of the town.  He therefore continued upon the main road, expecting every minute to overtake the column.  As he drew near the village, and heard and saw nothing of Zagonyi, he supposed the enemy had left the place and the Federals had taken it without opposition.  The approach to Springfield from the north is through a forest, and the village cannot be seen until its outskirts are reached.  A sudden turn in the road brought White into the very midst of a strong Rebel guard.  They surrounded him, seized his horses, and in an instant he and his companions were prisoners.  When they learned his rank, they danced around him like a pack of savages, shouting and holding their cocked pieces at his heart.  The leader of the party had a few days before lost a brother in a skirmish with Wyman’s force, and with loud oaths he swore that the Federal Major should die in expiation of his brother’s death.  He was about to carry his inhuman threat into execution, Major White boldly facing him and saying, “If my men were here, I’d give you all the revenge