in that part of the coast of Georgia. Leaving a garrison to man it, the fleet sailed to Fernandina, Florida, but that also was found abandoned. Commodore Dupont wrote to Washington: "We captured Port Royal, but Fernandina and Fort Clinch have been given to us."

While the fleet was approaching Fernandina, a contraband was picked up in a small boat, in which he had ventured out to sea to tell that the place had been deserted. While questioning him one of the officers said:

"You ought to have brought up some newspapers to let us know what is going on."

"I thought of that," replied the contraband, "and fotched a Charleston paper wid me."

He took a paper from his bosom and handed it out with the air of a man who thinks he is doing an important service. The officers grasped it eagerly and gathered in a knot to look at it, but after one glance everybody, to the darky's astonishment, burst into a loud fit of laughter. Poor Cuffy, who could not read, supposing one paper to be as good as another, had brought one dated 1822.

Commodore Gordon and several gunboats were sent to take possession of Brunswick, Georgia, the terminus of the railroad from Pensacola. It was found to be fortified, and the gunboats were reconnoitring to find a position to shell the works, when a boat was observed, rowing off from the shore. On coming near it was seen to contain two contrabands, who rowed for the nearest gunboat, yelling as loud as they could: "Hold on, Mars' Yankee, don't shoot! Soldiers all gone to Serwarner! Dase leff us all alone!" Sure enough, the forts were evacuated, and Brunswick was taken possession of without a fight.

St. Augustine and Jacksonville were soon after occupied, and, leaving soldiers enough to hold the different places recovered, Commodore Dupont returned with his fleet to Port Royal at the end of March. All the Atlantic coast from Cape Hatteras southward was now in possession of the government, excepting Charleston, and preparations were soon made to attack that place. In June an expedition under General Hunter landed on James's Island and attacked the little town of Secessionville, a few miles from Charleston, but was defeated and had to fall back, and this ended operations against Charleston for the year.

CHAPTER XVI.

PEA RIDGE.-ISLAND NUMBER TEN.

PRICE IN SPRINGFIELD.-RETREATS BEFORE CURTIS.-SUGAR CREEK.-CURTIS FALLS BACK TO PEA RIDGE-ALBERT PIKE AND HIS INDIANS.-EARL VAN DORN.-BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE.-ELKHORN TAVERN.-A NIGHT OF ANXIETY.-DEATH OF BEN. MCCULLOCH.--THE CONFEDERATES RETREAT.-INDIAN ATROCITIES.-BEAUREGARD IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.--A NEW LINE OF DEFENCE.-ISLAND NUMBER TEN.-GENERAL POPE ATTACKS NEW MADRID.-THE CONFEDERATES ABANDON THE FORTS.-COMMODORE FOOTE AND HIS FLEET.-BOMBARDMENT OF ISLAND NUMBER TEN.-DIGGING A CANAL.-GUNBOATS RUNNING THE BATTERIES.-THE LITTLE GIBRALTAR SURRENDERS.

E left General Price in Springfield, Missouri, in the fall

WB01 1861, while the Union army had fallen back to pre

pare for another campaign. Price, who had about ten thousand men, had built comfortable huts for them, expecting to remain there all winter. But early in February, 1862, General Halleck, determined to drive him from his position, ordered the army, then under command of General Samuel R. Curtis, to advance. The Union troops, about twelve thousand in number, after a severe march over muddy roads and streams swollen by rains, reached Springfield on the morning of February 13, but found the enemy's camp deserted. Price had left in haste the night before, and retreated southward. Curtis followed him across the border of Arkansas, defeated him in a small fight at Sugar Creek (February 20), and finally drove him. over what is called the Boston Mountains.

Curtis, fearing that he had gone too far into the country of the enemy, who was almost as strong as he, thought it prudent to fall back to Sugar Creek Valley, where it would be easy for him to get into Missouri again, if he found it necessary to retreat. On the north of this valley is a spur of the Ozark Mountains, called Pea Ridge, a good place for defence, with plenty of water. While there he heard that the Confederates, strongly reinforced, were marching to attack him. Price had been joined by Generals McCulloch and McIntosh with a large body of Confederate troops, and by General Albert Pike, of Arkansas, at the head of about four thousand Indians, mostly Choctaws, Cherokees, and Chickasaws, who had joined the Confederate cause. The whole force, numbering about twenty

thousand men, was under the command of Major-General Earl Van Dorn, who had been sent in January to take charge of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department. To meet this large army Curtis had only about eleven thousand men, with fortynine pieces of artillery.

Van Dorn, who was marching towards the Union position on the Fayetteville road, shown in the map, encamped on the night of March 5 near Cross Hollows. The day had been cold and blustering, and snow enough to cover the ground had fallen. The next morning he turned to the north

CROSSTIMBER HOLL

PEA

SIGEL
ATTACKED

TABENTONSVILLE

AA

SIGEL'S CAMP

OSAGE
SPRINGS

PRICES RETREAT

10 KEITT'SVILLE

RIDGE

CRO
HOLL

CONFEDERATE CAMP

ELKHORN
TAVERN

MOTTSVILLE

NATIONAL CAMP

NATIONAL S

CONFEDERATES

-a M9 CULLOCH FELL
-b MINTOSH FELL

BATTLE-FIELD OF PEA RIDGE.

west and marched to Bentonville, nearly cutting off General Sigel, who had encamped near that place to get forage for his horses more easily. But Sigel succeeded in fighting his way through the Confederate cavalry, which had surrounded him, and reached the main army in safety, with a loss of about eighty men, fifty of

whom were taken prisoners. On the next night Van Dorn, who knew that he largely outnumbered Curtis, marched entirely around the Union position until he reached its rear at a place called Elkhorn Tavern, on the road to Keitsville. By this movement he hoped to capture the whole Union army, for Curtis, in case of defeat, was thus cut off from his supplies and from all chance of retreating into Missouri. Curtis, who had expected Van Dorn to attack him in front, had fortified that

1862.]

BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE.

199

part of his line with felled trees and earthworks; but when he found out that the enemy was marching to his rear, he had to give up his strong position and turn so as to fight him behind. The map shows the positions of the two armies after these changes had been made. In Van Dorn's army Price and his Missourians were on the Confederate left, near Elkhorn Tavern, while McCulloch and McIntosh's Arkansas troops and Pike's Indians held the other end of the line. In the Union army General Carr was on the right, opposite Price, General Jefferson C. Davis in the centre, and Generals Sigel and Asboth on the left, near Sugar Creek. The Union line, though it looks short on the map, was really between three and four miles long, while the Confederate line was still longer.

Van Dorn began the attack about half-past ten o'clock in the morning of Friday, March 7, near Elkhorn Tavern. The Confederates pressed on, firing shot and shell and supported by heavy masses of infantry. General Carr defended his lines as well as he could, but, overpowered by superior numbers, his cavalry was repulsed, a battery was lost, and he was gradually forced back more than half a mile. About the same time the centre was attacked, and the battle soon raged there with great fury. General Davis succeeded in holding his own, his troops standing firmly against all the efforts of McCulloch and McIntosh to break his lines. The left of the Union line had not been attacked, and about five o'clock in the afternoon General Curtis ordered General Sigel to go to the aid of Davis, and General Asboth to reinforce Carr. Carr had then been seven hours under fire, many of his officers had been killed and he himself wounded, and the remnant of his men were nearly tired out. Asboth at once opened fire and continued the fight until night put an end to it.

That night was one of great anxiety to both parties, and Confederates and Unionists slept on their arms almost within reach of each other. The Confederates had been successful against Carr, but they had won the ground at a great loss, and General Price had been seriously wounded. In the centre, however, they had been repulsed, and both Generals McCulloch and McIntosh had been killed. The Arkansas troops, who had had great faith in these leaders, felt their loss very seriously, and being unused to strict discipline, were unwilling to obey new

commanders. But they were rallied by Van Dorn, and joined to Price's troops near Elkhorn Tavern. The Union troops still had their leaders, but they had met with serious losses. After a long day's fight they had not been able to hold the ground on their right, and there was a prospect that the enemy, with his superior numbers, would be able to complete the victory on the morrow. Yet every man felt when he lay down to sleep on the field among the dead and the dying that the battle must be won, for if the army was defeated there was no escape from captivity.

When day broke the Confederate attack was anxiously awaited, but all was quiet. Curtis at last opened fire against the positions near Elkhorn Tavern, where he had reason to believe Van Dorn had massed his troops during the night. The Confederate artillery replied, and the battle soon became general again. The attacks of the Union troops were repulsed several times, but soon Sigel moved around on the left and Asboth on the right, and at last the Confederates, thus threatened with a cross-fire, fell back through Cross Timber Hollow and gave up the battle. Part of them fled south through Bentonville, on the route shown in the map, and part, under Price, went north toward Keitsville. Pursuit was kept up but a short time, and the wearied Union soldiers encamped on the field of battle. Their loss had been more than thirteen hundred in killed, wounded, and missing, and that of the Confederates much greater, though there was never any correct report of it. The Indians are said to have committed many atrocities on the battle-field, tomakawking and scalping the Union wounded. without mercy. A soldier of the Ninth Missouri, seeing his brother scalped by a savage, vowed vengeance and devoted himself all day long to shooting Indians. He was a good marksman, and at night returned to camp with nine of their scalps. as trophies of his day's work.

Van Dorn succeeded in carrying off nearly all his artillery and baggage, so that Curtis won little more than a bare victory. But it resulted in freeing Missouri for some time to come from all danger of Confederate invasion, and enabled both parties to send their armies to engage in the struggle about to take place in Tennessee. The battle was called by the Unionists Pea Ridge, but by the Confederates Elkhorn.