Phelps Camp #66, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, in cooperation with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, will commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Zagonyi's Charge on Saturday October 22, 2011. The ceremony will take place in Zagonyi Park, at the corner of Mount Vernon and Park Avenue. The program will begin at 2:00 P.M. and last approximately forty-five minutes. Guest speakers will discuss Springfield in 1861 and describe the battle. Staff and volunteers from Wilson's Creek National Battlefield will fire a cannon. Civil War Reenactors, including cavalrymen with horses will also participate and remain after the program to answer questions from the public.
On October 25, 1861, Union cavalrymen under the command of Major Charles Zagonyi attacked pro-Southern Missouri State Guard forces on the outskirts of Springfield, Missouri. A Hungarian immigrant, Zagonyi bravely led his men in a charge down the Mount Vernon Road. The Missouri State Guard withdrew after hard fighting and Zagonyi's troops occupied Springfield. Although Union forces retreated from the Ozarks in early November, the skirmish made national headlines and was an important part of the early struggle for control of Missouri.
Formed in 1994, Phelps Camp actively participates in wide variety of historic and patriotic events throughout southwest Missouri.
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