Marmaduke’s immediate objective was the destruction of the Union Army of the Frontier’s wagon trains and supply line between Rolla and Springfield.

If everything went as planned, all three commands would converge on Springfield in an attempt to capture the city's lightly defended warehouses of military supplies.

The Fourth Military District's commanding general, Colley B. Holland, immediately sent dispatches to the surrounding communities, calling the Enrolled Missouri Militia to active duty with orders to hurry to Springfield.

Brown also ordered the removal of 50,000 rations from Springfield into Fort Number 1 and prepared for the burning of the armory in the event of defeat.

Since Porter's and MacDonald's columns had yet to arrive, Marmaduke occupied the early morning with foraging and capturing some of the Enrolled Missouri Militia about five miles (8 km) from Springfield.

With MacDonald finally present by 10:00 a.m., the Confederates dismounted two regiments about three miles (5 km) from Springfield and advanced to feel out the Union lines and develop their strength.

After the Confederates had pushed two Union Missouri State Militia Cavalry Regiments two miles (3 km) north, the smoking ruins of burning homes on the outskirts of Springfield came into view.

Colonel Joseph Orville Shelby took command of the tactical operations, launching piecemeal assaults upon the Union center and west flank.

The Confederates advanced over open ground against Fort Number 4, seeking such shelter as they could get from tree stumps, piles of rock, and the charred remains of the homes burned by the Union forces.

The Confederates were drawn by the cover offered by a ravine that led uphill toward town from what is now the intersection of Grand Avenue and Grant Street.

The Union forces failed to garrison the college stockade, so the Confederates were able to seize the building easily and use it as their own fortress to return the fire from Fort No.

A series of twelve interpretive markers have recently been placed throughout downtown Springfield at the important sites of the battle.

The elder McCoy was allowed to come to Springfield to claim his son who is buried with him in Union Cemetery in Kansas City.