The Cane Hill Campaign
(Page 100) The evacuation of Newtonia by the Confederates left the offensive entirely in the hands of the Federal forces and ended the campaign in Southwest Missouri; but it was the design of General Curtis, the new Department Commander, to push the operations in Northwest Arkansas until the enemy were driven south of the Boston Mountains and into the Arkansas Valley.
General Hindman was not in immediate command of the Confederate forces at Newtonia, being detained at Little Rock in connection with the defense of that place, which was being threatened by the Federal forces of General Steele, operating in Northeastern Arkansas. It was known to the Federal commander that General Hindman was making every possible effort to raise new levies under the conscription act, from Arkansas, Missouri and Texas and bring them to the support of his forces just driven out of Southwest Missouri into Northwestern Arkansas and Indian Territory in a demoralized condition.
While his cavalry were pursuing the broken forces of the enemy into the rough, hilly region of McDonald county, Missouri, and into Arkansas, General Schofield ordered his infantry, artillery, cavalry and baggage and supply trains forward to convenient places for encampment. The divisions of Generals Totten and Brown moved to positions southeast of Newtonia near the Wire Road from Spring field to Fayetteville, and General Blunt’s First Division moved to Indian Springs on Indian Creek, southwest of Newtonia, where it remained several days on account of rainy weather, but kept out scouting detachments on his front and right well in the direction of the Indian Territory, to look out for and give notice of any raiding force of the enemy attempting to move north around his right flank, (Page 150) passing to the rear of the army the advanced teams reached Fayetteville early the next morning. In the fighting in the afternoon about three thousand of General Blunt’s cavalry were not brought into action. The force sent out under Colonel Judson, Sixth Kansas Cavalry, to attack the rear of the Confederate army, did not reach the field until nearly dark. In the rapid movements of the Federal troops from Cane Hill to the battle field, quite a number of men of the infantry regiments were obliged to drop out of the ranks from exhaustion. The strength of the infantry regiments of General Herron’s divisions was also greatly reduced during the three days marches by the men who were unable to endure the prolonged exertion by dropping out of the ranks.
The stragglers and men who had thus fallen out of ranks were collected, as far as practicable, and brought to the front during the night to join their proper regiments. In General Blunt’s division not one of the regiments had sustained a heavy loss, and in General Herron’s second and third divisions, only three regiments had suffered severely. By dismounting part of his cavalry to fight on foot, General Blunt could therefore go into battle next morning much stronger than he had gone into the conflict just closed. It would be easier now to properly coordinate the movements of the troops than it was in the recent struggle. General Hindman had been permitted to throw the weight of his army first against General Herron’s two divisions, and then engage General Blunt’s first division.
He would not likely have an opportunity of doing this again, for General Blunt determined to have his three divisions next morning make a simultaneous attack upon the Confederate position, and placed his troops and artillery in position during the night, well supplied with ammunition.
To satisfy the pinch of hunger, provisions, consisting of hard bread and bacon, were supplied by the commissariat to the Federal troops to prepare them for battle. The (Page 151) Federal wounded had also, as far as practicable, been taken up and properly cared by the surgeons and their corps of assistants.
On the Confederate side, General Hindman held a council with his generals, and, after considering the situation, decided to withdraw his army from the field without further struggle, and to fall back to Van Buren. His troops commenced to withdraw about midnight, and on retiring kindled numerous fires along his front and left them burning for the purpose of deceiving the Federal army. To get his artillery off the field with as little noise as possible, the wheels of the carriages and limbers were muffled with torn blankets of the soldiers. Having started his infantry and artillery on the retreat to Van Buren, General Hindman remained near the field with two brigades of cavalry, and sent General Marmaduke, accompanied by several members of his staff, under a flag of truce, with a communication to General Blunt, requesting a personal interview for the purpose of making provisions for burying the dead and caring for the wounded of the Confederate army left on the field. General Marmaduke and his party approached the Federal line on the Fayetteville road, and being halted by the vigilant picket guards, on whose eye-lids sweet sleep sat not, were conducted by the officer of the day to General Herron’s headquarters, and held until General Blunt, whose headquarters were about a mile distant, could be communicated with. General Blunt granted the interview, and the next morning, shortly after sunrise, accompanied by General Herron and several officers of their respective staffs and escorts, rode forward to meet Generals Hindman and Marmaduke and members of their staffs.
The interview lasted until ten o clock, during which time the commanding generals of the opposing forces entered into a mutual agreement in regard to the exchange of prisoners and disposition of the wounded left on the field. General Hindman was given six hours to bury his dead, but the two regiments of cavalry left for the purpose, instead (Page 152) of attending to that duty commenced gathering up arms from the field. Their conduct was reported to General Herron, who went in person to the Confederate Colonels and informed them that any of their men found doing anything else than burying the dead would be held as prisoners of war. This firmness of the Federal General had the effect of stopping them from gathering up any more arms, and the Confederate cavalry soon afterward retired to overtake General Hindman, leaving the Confederate dead to be buried by the Federal forces.
General Blunt reported his losses in the three divisions of his army during the engagement, 167 men killed, 798 wounded, and 183 missing. On the Confederate side General Hindman reported his casualties at 164 men killed, 817 wounded, and 336 missing. A considerable proportion of the Confederate missing were probably among the wounded, from the fact that the day after the battle General Blunt furnished five thousand rations for one thousand Confederate wounded to keep them from starving.
There were many of General Hindman’s recently organized Arkansas regiments made up largely of conscripts, most of whom probably were Union men at heart and determined they would not fight for the Confederacy, and when forced to the front could not be made to perform effective service. In the course of a week or two after the battle, hundreds of these men who had been forced to march to the front, deserted and threw away their arms and came into the Federal lines and gave themselves up, and soon afterwards enlisted in the First Arkansas Union Infantry regiment, which had just commenced its organization.
Tags: Arkansas, Cane Hill Campaign, Colonel Judson, conscription act, First Arkansas Union Infantry, General Blunt, General Brown, General Curtis, General Herron, General Hindman, General Mamarduke, General Schofield, General Steele, General Totten, McDonald County, Missouri, Newtonia, Van Buren
Source: The Union Indian Brigade in the Civil War, By Wiley Britton, published 1922, Franklin Hudson Publishing Co., Kansas City, Missouri.
