In late July 1864, Missouri Union cavalry headed south into Mississippi County to hunt for bands of guerillas. On August 2, they encountered Confederate pickets near Osceola and pursued them to the main force led by Captains Charles Bowen and H.M. McVeigh. Lieutenant Colonel John Burriss's Missourians charged the Confederate camp, scattering the men in every direction. Seven Southern soldiers died in the fight and 25 became prisoners of war, including Bowen, who in 1861 had recruited and led a local company, the "Osceola Hornets." Burriss lost no men.