GATHERING OF CONFEDERATE FORCES. 251 in the pathway of their flight,' and, setting fire to Confederate stores and buildings at Fayetteville when they left it, went over the range of hills. known as the Boston Mountains, in much confusion. This march of the Nationals was one of the most extraordinary of the war. The little army had moved at the rate of twenty miles a day, often fighting, and enduring great privations from inclement weather and insufficient food. General Price, meanwhile, had been joined by Ben McCulloch, with Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas troops, and his force had become fully equal in numbers to that of Curtis. The latter, glancing back over his long line of communications, and reflecting on the fact that his troops had been subsisting mostly upon what had been taken from the Confederates since he had entered Arkansas, considered it prudent to retrace his steps, and take a stronger position nearer the Missouri border. He accordingly fell back from Fayetteville to Sugar Creek, not far from Bentonville, the capital of Benton County, Arkansas. On the 1st of March he issued an address to the inhabitants of Arkansas, who had fled from their homes on his approach, to remove from their minds the false impressions which the Confederates had given them of the character of his army and the object of its presence in their State. He assured all peaceable citizens of safety and protection in person and property, and he called upon the deluded ones who had taken up arms to lay them down at once and take an oath of allegiance to their common country. Curtis did not wait for a response to his friendly communication. He was aware that his foe was rapidly increasing in numbers, and behind the sheltering hills was preparing to strike a heavy blow. Suddenly came the startling intelligence that Price EARL VAN DOEN. of March. Van Dorn, the senior officer, was in chief command, and he was 1 They left poisoned provisions at a place called Mud Town, of which forty-two of the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Missouri cavalry partook. Several of them died, and all suffered much.-Halleck's dispatch to McClellan, Feb. 27, 1862. 2 He had come from Richmond with instructions from Davis to stop the march of the National troops south ward. 3 See page 475, volume I. Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas troops under McCulloch, 13,000, Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and other Indians, with two white regiments under Pike, about 4,000; and Missouri troops under Price, about 8,000. 252 VAN DORN IN THE CONFEDERATE CAMP. rallying the whole Confederate army in that quarter, to drive Curtis back into Missouri. The forces of the latter, of all arms, did not at that time exceed eleven thousand men, with forty-nine pieces of artillery, including a mountain howitzer. Satisfied that he must soon fight a greatly superior force, he at once prepared for the encounter by so arranging his troops as best to present a strong front to the foe from whatever point he might approach. His head-quarters were near Cross Hollows, on the main road and telegraph line from Fayetteville to Springfield.' The advent of General Van Dorn in the Confederate camp was a cause for great rejoicing. Forty heavy guns thundered a welcome, and the chief harangued his troops in a boastful and grandiloquent style. For the purpose of encouraging the people to take up arms, he caused telegraphic dispatches to be published, falsely proclaiming a great battle at Columbus, in which the Nationals had lost three gun-boats and twenty thousand men; and he told his dupes that the way was now opened to drive the invaders from the soil of Arkansas, and give a final and successful blow for a Southern Confederacy. Van Dorn's preliminaries were followed by vigorous measures. Two days afterward his troops were in motion for offensive action, and animated by a full expectation of gaining a victory whenever they should meet the Nationals. 1 The following was the disposition of the National forces on the 4th of March. The First and Second Divisions, under General Sigel and Colonel Asboth, were at Cooper's farm, near Osage Springs, four miles southwest of Bentonville, the capital of Benton County, under general orders to move round to Sugar Creek, about fourteen miles eastward. The Third Division, under General Jefferson C. Davis (acting major-general), was at Sugar Creek; and the Fourth Division, under Colonel E. A. Carr (acting brigadier-general), was near Cross Hollows, about twelve miles from Sugar Creek. Large detachments were out for forage and information, under Colonel Vandever, Major Conrad, and others, and some of them were too distant to engage in the battle that speedily ensued.* renown. * "Soldiers," he cried, "behold your leader! He comes to show you the way to glory and immortal He comes to hurl back the minions of the despots at Washington, whose ignorance, licentiousness, and brutality are equaled only by their craven natures. They come to free your slaves, lay waste your plantations, burn your villages, and abuse your loving wives and beautiful daughters." Van Dorn had sent forth a characteristic address to "the young men of Arkansas, Texas, and Northern Louisiana." We have voted to be free," he said. "We must now fight to be free, or present to the world the humiliating spectacle of a nation of braggarts, more contemptible than the tyrants who seek to enslave us. The flag of our country is waving on the southern borders of Missouri-planted there by my hands, under authority from our chief magistrate. It represents all that is dear to us in life. Shall it wave there in melancholy loneliness, as a fall leaf in our primeval forests, or shall its beautiful field and bright stars flaunt in the breeze over the bright battalions of Arkansas, of Texas, and of Louisiana, as they are marshaling to do battle with Missouri for victory, for honor, and for independence? Awake, young men of Arkansas, and arm! Beautiful maidens of Louisiana, smile not upon the craven youth who may linger by your hearth when the rude blast of war is sounding in your ears! Texas chivalry, to arms! Hardships and hunger, disease and death are preferable to slavish subjugation; and a nation with a bright page in history and a glorious epitaph is better than a vassaled land with honor lost, and a people sunk in infamy." * General Curtis's second report to General Halleck. The following was the composition of General Curtis's army at this time : First Division, commanded by Colonel Peter J. Osterhaus, consisted of the Thirty-sixth Illinois, Twelfth and Seventeenth Missouri, a battalion of the Third Missouri; the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-fourth Illinois, under Colonel Coler, two battalions of Illinois cavalry, and batteries A and B, twelve guns. There was also a brigade of two regiments under Colonel Greasel. The Second Livision, commanded by Colonel (acting Brigadier General) Asboth, consisted of two brigades, the first commanded by Colonel Schaeffer, and composed of the Second Missouri and Second Ohio Battery, six guns, under Lieutenant Chapman. The Second Brigade, Colonel Joliet, was composed of the Fifteenth Missouri; the Sixth and a battalion of the Fourth Missouri cavalry; and a flying battery of six guns, under Captain Elbert. These two divisions were commanded by General Sigel. The Third Division, under Brigadier-General J. C. Davis, consisted of two brigades; the first composed of the Eighth, Eighteenth, and Twenty-second Indiana; and an Indiana battery of six guns was commanded by Colonel Barten. The second, commanded by Colonel White, was composed of the Thirty-seventh Illinois and Ninth Missouri, and the First Missouri cavalry, with a battery of four guns. The Fourth Division, under Colonel Eugene A. Carr, was composed of two brigades. The first, under Colonel Dodge, consist ng of the Fourth Iowa, Thirty-fifth Illinois, and an Iowa battery under Captain Jones. The Second Brigade, under Colonel Vandever, was composed of the Ninth Iowa, Twenty-fifth Missouri, Third Illinois Cavalry, and a Dubuque battery of six guns under Captain Hayden. There were also two battalions of the Third Iowa cavalry under Captain Bussey, and a battery of four mountain howitzers under Captain Stevens, that were not brigaded. There was also a battalion of cavalry under Major Bowen, acting as General Curtis's body-guard. POSITION OF THE NATIONAL TROOPS. 253 a March, 1862. The morning of the 5th (when Van Dorn moved) was blustery, and snow covered the ground. Curtis was unsuspicious of the movements of his enemy until two o'clock in the afternoon, when scouts and fugitive citizens came hurrying to his tent, in which he was writing, with the startling intelligence that the Confederates were approaching in large force from the direction of Fayetteville, that their artillery had already passed that place, and that their cavalry would be at Elm Springs, not more than twelve miles from head-quarters, that night. Curtis at once determined to concentrate his forces in Sugar Creek Valley, not far from Mottsville, and a short distance south of Pea Ridge, a portion of a spur of the Ozark Mountains, on the highway between Fayetteville and Springfield, where there was a good point for defense and an abundance of water, and where General Davis had already thrown up intrenchments.' He gave orders accordingly, and there, on the morning of the 6th of March, the greater portion of his troops were gathered, excepting those under General Sigel and a few who were yet abroad. Sigel had moved his camp from Osage Springs to a point nearer Bentonville, to secure a better position for obtaining forage. He now found his command, and a train of two hundred wagons, placed in a perilous position by Van Dorn's sudden and unexpected advance; but, as we shall observe presently, he extricated them with small loss. 1862. • March 1. d March 5. Van Dorn had marched rapidly from his camp near the Boston Mountains, in the edge of the Indian Country, about fifty miles from Pea Ridge, accompanied by Generals Price, McCulloch, McIntosh, and Pike. Informed of the strength of Curtis's position in front, he left the direct road at Fayetteville, and, marching more westward through Bentonville, struck the highway near the State line, about eight miles north of Sugar Creek, in the rear of the Nationals, thereby, as he thought, cutting off Curtis's supplies and re-enforcements, and securing him and his army as captives. It was while he was on that march from Fayetteville that his approach was made known." He encamped that night at Cross Hollows, which Carr had left; and Sigel, by a skillful movement in sending cavalry to Osage Springs to cover his right flank, safely conducted his train from McKissick's farm, west of Bentonville, to the latter place, and secured it from the grasp of the Confederates. Leaving a rear-guard (Thirty-sixth Illinois and a portion of the Second Missouri) at Bentonville, he sent his train forward toward Sugar Creek. Mistaking an order, Colonel Schaeffer with the Second Missouri also went forward, leaving only about six hundred men and five pieces of light artillery behind. These were surrounded by a battalion of cavalry forming Price's body-guard, and Louisiana infantry. Fortunately, Sigel had remained with his rear-guard, and he handled his little band so skillfully and bravely that they cut their way through, and, changing front, they fought and fell That valley is low, and from a quarter to half a mile wide. The hills are high on both sides, and the main road from Fayetteville, by Cross Hollows to Keitsville, intercepts the valley nearly at right angles. The road from Fayetteville, by Bentonville, to Keitsville is quite a détour, but it also comes up the Sugar Creek Valley.General Sturgis's Second Report. 2 This is a place at the head waters of the Osage Creek, and not far from those of Sugar Creek. It was so named because three hollows, or ravines, from 75 to 100 feet wide, there cross each other. It was to this strong position that General Price fled when he left Missouri, and from which Curtis drove him in the march to Fayetteville. 254 FLANK MOVEMENT OF THE CONFEDERATES. back alternately along the cross road leading through Leetown to the Elkhorn Tavern, until they were met by re-enforcements sent out by Curtis, when the pursuit ended. In this gallant affair Sigel lost twenty-eight killed and wounded and about fifty made prisoners.' The latter were chiefly Schaeffer's men, who had fallen into an ambuscade. The remainder joined the forces of Davis and Carr at the west end of Pea Ridge, an elevated table-land broken by ravines, and inclosed in a large bend of Sugar Creek. 1862. Van Dorn completed his flank movement on the night of the March. 6th, and proceeded to attack the Nationals early the following morning. He left a small force to make a feint on their front, while Pike, with his Indian followers, took position about two miles to their right, to divert their attention from the main point of attack in their rear. Price occupied the main road not far from the Elkhorn Tavern, north of Curtis's camp, and McCulloch and McIntosh lay north of Sigel and Davis, after the National army had changed position, as we shall observe presently. In the mean time Curtis had been busy in felling trees to block the avenues of approach to his camp, and the roads running parallel to the main highway. Breast works had been speedily constructed at important points, and a battery had been planted and masked near the passage of the main road across Sugar Creek, under the direction of General Davis. His position was strong. On the morning of the 7th, Curtis was first informed of Van Dorn's flank movement, which seriously threatened the communication between his camp and his resources. The peril was extreme, and prompt action was necessary. He at once changed his front to rear, bringing his line of battle across Pea Ridge, and prepared to fight. The number of his foes was more than double that of his own, but there was no alternative. He must either fight or make a perilous flight. His ample preparations to receive Van Dorn in his front were now useless, and he was compelled to meet the skillful Mississippian on a field of the latter's own choosing. In that change, of front, the First and ALEXANDER ASBOTH. Second divisions, under Sigel and At about half-past ten in the 1 Congratulating his troops on the 15th of March, Sigel said of this affair-"On the retreat from Bentonville to Sugar Creek, a distance of ten miles, you cut your way through an enemy at least five times stronger than yourselves." BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE. 255 • March 7, 1862. morning," Colonel Osterhaus was sent out with a detachment of the Third Iowa cavalry and some light artillery (Davidson's Peoria Battery), supported by the First Missouri cavalry, Colonel Ellis, and Twentysecond Indiana, Colonel Hendricks, to fall upon Van Dorn's center before he could fully form in battle order. Just as this movement had commenced, and Curtis was giving instructions to division commanders at Asboth's tent, word came to him that his pickets, under Major Weston (Twenty-fourth. Missouri), on his extreme right, near Elkhorn Tavern, had been heavily attacked. Colonel Carr was at once sent to the support of Weston, and a severe battle ensued. Thus opened the fight on that eventful morning. Meanwhile Osterhaus had advanced about a mile beyond Leetown, and attacked what seemed to be a small body of Confederates in the edge of a wood and shrub-oak thicket. He brought three cannon (Davidson's Battery) to bear upon them, and they were apparently dispersed. Then he moved forward with the Iowa cavalry, to clear the woods of any insurgents that might be left, when he fell into a trap which had been laid for him. The woods swarmed with Confederates. The charge of the cavalry was broken, and they were driven back in disorder upon their supports, hotly pursued by Van Dorn's horse and foot. Two guns were captured by the latter, and a total rout and dispersion of the attacking column seemed inevitable, when General Davis and his division, who had bivouacked on the alert all the night before, came to the rescue, with General Sigel, who appeared on the Confederate flank. Curtis had at first ordered Davis to the relief of Carr on his extreme right, but, deeming the peril to Osterhaus the most imminent, he directed him to hasten to his aid. Davis changed his march skillfully under fire, and advancing through Leetown his Second brigade,' commanded by Colonel Julius White, he was soon fighting heavily with McCulloch and McIntosh, and Pike's Indians, under himself and Ross. The battle was fierce and destructive. The Confederates were continually re-enforced. Davis and Osterhaus recoiled and recovered alternately; and the line of battle swayed like a pendulum. The issue of the strife seemed doubtful, when the Eighteenth Indiana, who had been ordered to attack the Confederate flank and rear, performed the duty so vigorously with ball and bayonet that they drove them from that part of the field, strewed it with the dead and wounded bodies of Texans and Indians, and recaptured the two cannon which, amid the shouts of the victors, were instantly trained upon their foe. That regiment and the Twenty-second (Colonel II. D. Washburn), from the same State, were conspicuous for their gallantry on the occasion. The latter had engaged a large force of Arkansas troops and Indians, and put them to flight. The Confederates had now become fugitives in turn. In their flight they left their dead and wounded on the field, among whom were Generals McCulloch and McIntosh, mortally hurt. The insurgents tried to re-form at their former position on the Bentonville road, but the arrival, at about this time, of Sigel with two batteries of heavy artillery (18-pounders) settled the issue of the day. After a brief but sharp artillery duel, the Confederates were driven back, and Sigel's heavy guns, with Osterhaus's command, were 1 See sub-note, page 252. |