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BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE.

moved toward the right to assist Colonel Carr, if necessary.

The day was fast wearing away, and, there being no indications of a disposition on the part of the Confederates to renew the fight, Davis's command bivouacked on the field they had so nobly assisted in winning.'

While the battle was raging in the center, Curtis's right wing was heavily pressed. Colonel Carr had moved up the main road toward Elkhorn Tavern; Colonel Dodge's brigade filing off to the road leading from that place to Bentonville, where Captain Jones, of the Iowa Battery, opened upon the Confederates, and a smart artillery fight ensued, in which infantry were engaged. Colonel Vandever's brigade passed about half a mile beyond the tavern, and Captain Hayden's Dubuque battery at about nine o'clock also opened upon the Confederates. Very soon there was fighting along the whole line of Carr's division, and one of the guns of the Dubuque battery was captured by the foe. So fierce and heavy was the work of the Confederates, that Carr was driven back a short distance after an hour's hard fighting. Still hard pressed, he fought on. I sent for re-enforcements, but all Curtis could spare were a few cavalry, his body-guard, and a little mountain howitzer, under Major Bowen. He told the gallant Colonel to stand firm, and he did so. Again, when Carr thought he could hold out no longer, Curtis sent him word to "persevere" and he should receive succor. He did so at a fearful cost - how fearful, the records of the sad havoc made in the ranks of the Fourth and Ninth Iowa, and Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Missouri, bear witness. A little later, when Curtis was satisfied that his left and center were safe, he sent first some artillery and a battalion of infantry to Carr's aid. Then he ordered General Asboth to move to the right with his division, by the Fayetteville road, and take position at the Elkhorn Tavern, while Sigel should re-enforce Davis, and, if proper, press toward the Elkhorn also. Asboth was accompanied by the Commanding General, who arrived at Carr's position at about five o'clock, and found him severely wounded in the arm, but fighting bravely. Many of his officers were disabled, and his dead and maimed, composing nearly one-fourth of his entire command, strewed the ground, over which he had been pushed back about a mile. For seven hours he had contested the field inch by inch, under a continuous fire.

The re-enforcements were timely, and prevented more severe disaster. General Asboth planted his cannon in the road and opened a heavy fire at short range, but was soon severely wounded, while his guns became silenced for want of ammunition. The fight, for a time, was very fierce. The Second Missouri regiment became hotly engaged; and the Fourth Iowa, who were falling back in good order, after exhausting their ammunition, quickly obeyed a command to make a bayonet charge, and so recovered the field they had abandoned. One of Curtis's body-guard was shot dead, and an orderly near the General was hit with a bullet. The pressure on his line was yet heavy

1 This has been called The Battle of Leetown, it having been fought near that village.

2 Colonel Vandever had been to Huntsville, in Madison County, for the purpose of capturing a regiment insurgents there. These had left two days before. On receiving a message from General Curtis, announcin the approach of Van Dorn, Vandever made a forced march of forty-one miles to the National camp, making only three halts, of fifteen minutes each, during the entire distance. The infantry consisted of the Ninth Iowa and Twenty-fifth Missouri. Vandever arrived on the evening of the 6th, and went into the fight refreshed. Another expedition under Major Conrad, consisting of about six hundred infantry, a section of artillery, and a battalion of cavalry which had been sent toward the borders of the Indian Nation, did not return in time to engage in the battle.

BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE.

257

and unabated, and Asboth had directed his now useless cannon to be taken back to a place of safety, when a courier came from Sigel to herald his near approach. Animated by these tidings, the Nationals stood firm until their ammunition was entirely exhausted and night fell. The Confederates fired the last shot, but the Nationals held the field.' The wearied Union troops slept that night on their arms. Their right had suffered disaster, but their center had driven the Confederates from the battle-ground, and their left was untouched. In such condition (the lacking being supplied with ammunition), they awaited the dawn to renew the conflict. Their foe, severely smitten

and disheartened by the loss of two generals and scores of maimed and slaughtered comrades, were quite willing to have an opportunity for repose. Both armies lay among the dead and dying during that gloomy night.

Van Dorn, who had been a greater part of the day in command of the troops that fought Carr, now concentrated his whole available force on Curtis's right. He lodged at the Elkhorn Tavern that night, and made preparations to open the battle in the morning. Curtis was vigilant, and easily penetrated his enemy's designs; so, notwithstanding the weariness of his troops, he effected a change of front during the darkness. At two o'clock in the morning he was joined by Sigel and his command, who had been compelled to make a wide circuit in order to reach that position, and at a little after sunrise the Nationals were almost ready for battle, the whole four divisions so posted as to fight Van Dorn with vigor.

Curtis and his troops were in fine spirits, and felt confident of victory. The silence of the Confederates so late in the morning seemed ominous of weakness, and when a stir was observed among them, the General, fearing they might be moving off, did not wait for Asboth and Sigel to get into position, but ordered Davis, who occupied the center in the new line, to open the battle. Davis at once deployed Colonel Pattison's brigade a few hundred yards to the right of the Fayetteville road, to support Klaus's First Indiana battery, which was placed at the edge of an open field, between the hills at Elkhorn Tavern and the National camp. Davidson's battery was placed in a similar position on the left of the road, supported by White's brigade. These batteries opened fire briskly, and were responded to with terrible energy from batteries which the Confederates had planted during the night, some of their heavy guns sending raking shot, and compelling the National right to fall back to avoid them.

The battle-line was soon perfected, with Asboth and Sigel a little to the rear of the remainder. Curtis well knew the ground and the relative position of his foe. He ordered his right to move forward to a position occupied the night before, while the left was so extended as to command Pea Ridge and make a flank movement on that wing almost impossible. Upon an elevation on the extreme right, which commanded Van Dorn's center and left, he planted the Dubuque battery, with orders for the right wing to support it, and very soon its commander, Hayden, opened a galling fire on the Confederates. Captain Davidson, with his First Iowa battery, also opened fire on their center, and thus skirmishing was kept up until Sigel's command on the left was in perfect readiness, when the decisive action commenced.

1 This was called by the Confederates the Battle of Elkhorn. VOL. II.-17

258

NATIONAL VICTORY AT PEA RIDGE.

Sigel first ordered Colonel Coler to post his Twenty-fifth Illinois along a fence in open view of the Confederate batteries, which immediately opened fire on them. At the same time, Sigel placed a battery of six guns on a rise of ground in their rear. Then the Twelfth Missouri wheeled into line on the right of Coler's regiment, and another battery of heavy guns was planted in a similar position behind these. Then other regiments and other batteries were brought into line; and, when all were in readiness, the infantry lay down in front of the heavy guns, and a terrible cannonade was opened. Battery after battery of the Confederates was silenced in the course of two hours, and so horrible was the tempest of iron that fell upon Van Dorn and his followers that they were compelled to fly to the shelter of the ravines of

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Cross-Timber Hollow. Sigel's infantry at the same time crept steadily forward, and the troops of the center and right pressed onward and joined in the fight. When the Confederates fled, Sigel's whole division were seen climbing up and occupying the rugged hills from which the insurgents had been driven.'

The flight of Van Dorn's troops was so sudden, rapid, and scattering, that it was dif ficult for Curtis to determine which way to follow them with the best effect.2 General Sigel pushed forward along the main road toward Keitsville, where General Price had been posted. He too had fled, and the Confederate army, so strong and so confident of victory twenty-four hours before, was broken into fragments.3

1 The upward movement of the gallant Thirty-sixth Illinois," said Curtis, in his report, "with its darkblue line of men and its gleaming bayonets, steadily rose from base to summit, when it dashed forward into the forest, driving and scattering the rebels from these commanding heights. The Twelfth Missouri, far in advance of others, rushed into the enemy's lines, bearing off a flag and two pieces of artillery. Everywhere our line moved forward and the foe as gradually withdrew. The roar of cannon and small arms was continuous, and no force could then withstand the converging line and concentrated cross-fire of our gallant troops. Our guns continued some time after the rebel fire ceased, and the rebels had gone down into the deep caverns through which they had begun their precipitate flight. Finally, our firing ceased. The enemy suddenly vanished."

2" Following down the main road, which enters a deep cañon, I saw some straggling teams and men running in great trepidation through the gorges of the mountain. I directed a battery to move forward, which threw a few shots at them, followed by a pursuit of cavalry, comprised of the Benton Hussars, and my escort from Bowen's battalion, which was all the cavalry convenient at the time. General Sigel also followed in pursuit toward Keitsville, while I returned, trying to check a movement which led my forces north, where I was confident a frightened foe was not likely to go. I soon found the rebel forces had divided and gone in every direc tion, but it was several hours before I learned that the main force, after entering the cañon, had turned short to the right, following ravines which led into the Huntsville road in a due south direction. General Sigel followed, some miles north, toward Keitsville, firing on the retreating force that ran away; Colonel Bussy, with cavalry and the little howitzers, followed beyond Bentonville; I camped on the field, and made provision for burying the dead and care of the wounded."-General Curtis, in his official report.

3 Reports of General Curtis and his subordinate officers; also of Generals Van Dorn and Price.

THE RESULT OF THE BATTLE.

259

a March 6, 7, 8,

The hard struggle during those early days of Spring," in the extreme northwestern corner of Arkansas, called by the general name of the BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE,' notwithstanding its magnitude, was 1862. not of very great importance in its bearing upon the results of the war. There was heavy loss incurred by both parties. Although victory was awarded to the Nationals, the spoils that fell into their hands were of inconsiderable consequence, for Van Dorn managed very skillfully in carrying away nearly all of his artillery and baggage. Indeed, his whole design in giving battle on the morning of the 8th was to blind Curtis to the fact that he was withdrawing his troops and materials of war. His army was not captured, nor was it more than temporarily dispersed. There was great gallantry displayed on both sides, sufficient to receive the highest praise from, and give the greatest satisfaction to, the friends of each,3 but a stain that cannot be effaced tarnishes the glory of all the achievements of the Confederates on that occasion, because of their employment of Indians in that campaign, whose savage atrocities on the field of Pea Ridge are too well authenticated to be denied."

Both parties tacitly agreed to fight no more in that exhausted section of the State, and both soon disappeared from the scene of this conflict. Van Dorn collected his scattered forces on the road between the Elkhorn Tavern and Bentonville, about eight miles from the battle-field, made an arrange

1 The Confederates gave it the general title of Battle of Elkhorn.

2 General Curtis reported his loss at 1.851 killed, wounded, and missing, of whom more than one-half (701) were of Colonel Carr's division. Among the slain was Colonel Hendricks. The loss of the Confederates was never reported. It could not have been less than that of the Nationals. Pollard (i. 277) says Van Dorn estimated his entire loss at "about 600,"

3 Van Dorn wrote to his superiors at Richmond, saying, "During the whole of this engagement I was with the Missourians under Price, and I have never seen better fighters than these Missouri troops, or more gallant leaders than General Price and his officers. From the first to the last shot, they continually rushed on, and never yielded an inch they had won; and when at last they had orders to fall back, they retired steadily and with cheers."

In a stirring address to his troops from "Camp Pea Ridge,” a week after the battle, Sigel said: "You may look with pride on the few days just passed, during which you have so gloriously defended the flag of the Union. From two o'clock on the morning of the sixth, when you left McKissick's farm, until four o'clock in the afternoon of the ninth, when you arrived from Keitsville in the common encampment, you marched fifty miles, fought three battles, took not only a battery and a flag from the enemy, but more than one hundred and fifty prisoners. You have done your duty, and you can justly claim your share in the common glory of this victory. But let us not be partial, unjust, or haughty. Let us not forget that alone we were too weak to perform the great work before us. Let us acknowledge the great services done by all the brave soldiers of the Third and Fourth divisions, and always keep in mind that united we stand, divided we fall. Let us hold out and push the work through—not by mere words and great clamor-but by good marches, by hardships and fatigues, by strict discipline and effective battles.

"Columbus has fallen, Memphis will follow, and if you do in future as you have done in these days of trial, the time will soon come when you will pitch your tents on the beautiful shores of the Arkansas River, and there meet our own iron-clad propellers at Little Rock and Fort Smith. Therefore keep alert, my friends, and look forward with confidence."

4 According to the statement of eye-witnesses, and a correspondence between Generals Curtis and Van Dorn, commenced when the latter asked (March 9th) the privilege of burying his dead, the Indians, under Pike and Ross, tomahawked, scalped, and shamefully mangled the bodies of National soldiers. These Indians, many of whom claimed to be civilized, were maddened with liquor, it is said, before the battle of the 7th, that they might allow the savage nature of their race to have unchecked development. In their fury they respected none of the usages of war, but scalped the helpless wounded, and committed atrocities too horrible to mention. When Curtis made the charge against these allies of the insurgents, Van Dorn did not deny it, but sought to break its force by accusing the Germans in Curtis's army of murdering prisoners of war.

We have already observed (pages 474 to 477, inclusive, volume I.) how the conspirators had tampered with the civilized and half-civilized Indians in the regions bordering on Kansas and Texas, and how in August, 1861, the Cherokees tendered their support to the Confederate cause. That was after the battle of Wilson's Creek, which the emissaries of the Confederates made the Indians believe was an overwhelming defeat to the Unionists, and utter destruction of the National power in Missouri. The battle of Bull's Run was represented as a com

plete discomfiture of the Government; and the flight of the Union army from that field, and the death of Lyon,

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INDIANS EMPLOYED BY THE CONFEDERATES.

ment with Curtis for burying the Confederate dead, and, after accomplishing that humane object, withdrew; Curtis gave his army ample rest on the field. of his victory, and finding no foe to fight in that section of Arkansas, he marched in a southeasterly direction to Batesville, the capital of Independence County, on the White River, where he arrived on the 6th of May.

and the falling back of the Union troops in Missouri after the battle of Wilson's Creek, fixed the impression on the minds of the Indians that henceforth the Confederate "Government" would be the only legitimate and powerful one on which they could rely.

While Chief Ross and his associates were perplexed by indecision, Ben. McCulloch and his Texans, who, as we have seen, abandoned Price in Missouri, marched to the Indian border, and required the Creeks and Cherokees to decide immediately to which cause they would adhere, on penalty of having their country ravaged by 20,000 Texas and Arkansas troops. This produced the council at Tahlequah on the 20th of August, and the message of Chief Ross, printed on page 476, volume I. A large minority of both nations, led by the Creek Chief Opothleyolo, resisted the Confederates and their Indian adherents. Between these and the Indian insurgents a battle was fought on the 9th of December, 1861, on Bushy Creek, 180 miles west of Fort Smith, when Opothleyolo and his followers, as we have observed, were driven into Kansas. The Indian Territory was then left in the undisputed possession of the Confederates; and there it was that Pike collected about 4,000 warriors, who appeared in the Battle of Pea Ridge. This was the only battle in the war in which any considerable number of Indians were engaged; and it was agreed by the Confederate officers that they damaged their cause more than they aided it. Pike and his Indians soon afterward disappeared from the stage, and were not again summoned to action. In his official report, General Van Dorn does not mention that any assistance was derived from the plumed Pike and his dusky followers. That degenerate Bostonian (see note 1, page 475, volume I.) soon took off his Indian costume and was hidden in the shadows of obscurity until the close of the war, when he re-appeared for a moment as a suppliant for mercy, and was granted a full pardon by President Johnson.

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