"On the 24th day of March, 1864, with the Kansas Division of the Frontier Army under the command of General Thayer, I moved south and joined the 7th Army Corps under the command of Major-General Fred. Steele, in an expedition against the rebel armies under Generals Price, Kirby Smith and Dick Taylor, then encamped in the vicinity of Shreveport, La.
"While Steele was advancing from the North, General Banks was at the same time moving up the Red river from the East. Price, Smith and Taylor, seeing the two armies of Steele and Banks, closing in upon them, concentrated their forces, first upon Banks, and after defeating and routing his forces, turned upon Steele, who was then near Red river, in south-western Arkansas.
"Steele hearing of the Banks disaster, changed his course and moved eastward, to Camden, a strongly fortified town on the Washita river. From the point at which he turned eastward, to Camden, a distance of about sixty miles, the march was almost continuous, except when it became necessary to skirmish with the enemy's cavalry, which hovered unpleasantly close during the greater part of the distance.
"In each of the light engagements which took place on this march from Red river to Camden, the 2nd Regiment participated, and behaved in a manner creditable to itself and the army.
"After remaining at Camden about three days (so as to give the victorious rebel armies full time to concentrate upon him) General Steele crossed the Washita to the North and commenced a disgraceful retreat or run back toward Little Rock.
"The enemy, under Price and Kirby Smith, followed in close pursuit, and within a few hours were again upon our flank and rear. The march or retreat was continuous, night and day, until the village of Princeton was reached, where Steele's army encamped one night, and received a full ration of fresh beef and New Orleans sugar, the latter of which had been captured, or rather found in Camden. Early on the following morning the army resumed its onward march, towards the North Pole as the apparent objective point.
"Now mind you this was an army (the 7th Army Corps) about thirty thousand strong; mostly Western troops, and splendidly armed and equipped. Better soldiers never wore spurs or carried muskets. Yet under the command of a tenor singing dog fancier, that magnificent army was thus retreating before an army in every way its inferior save, and except, the Commanding General.
"Thus things went, disgracefully, until the afternoon of the day on which we left Princeton, April 29, 1864. Then, for the first time after turning our backs to the enemy, in the vicinity of Red river, there seemed to be a bare possibility of escape,—not from the enemy, but from absolute disgrace and humiliation.
"At no time during that disgraceful retreat, was there a moment when the whole army corps, except the Commanding General, would not have welcomed a battle, with one universal shout.
"About 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the day mentioned, the rebel Cavalry appeared in force and commenced skirmishing with our forces in the rear, which continued, more or less, until darkness set in. Meantime our distinguished leader, the Major-General Commanding, had arrived at the crossing of the Saline river, thrown a pontoon bridge over that swollen stream, and made good his escape to the north side, taking with him the whole army, except one Section of artillery and two brigades of infantry of which the 2nd Kansas colored formed a part.