The Lost Army

by Thomas Wallace Knox

During the night of the sixth Van Dorn kept most of his men in motion, so that by daylight he had stretched his line completely across the road between the union army and its base at Springfield. General Curtis at the same time was not idle, and changed his position, as we have before stated, converting into the front what had formerly been his rear. This compelled him to move all his wagons, excepting such as had already fallen into the hands of the enemy, which, happily, were not numerous; but it also compelled him to fight on ground that had no advantages for him, as would have been the case on the Sugar Creek front; besides, it was even better known to the rebels than to himself, as they had nearly all the people of the country on their side.

This was the state of affairs when Harry and Jack returned from their expedition with General Vandever. From a resident of the country they learned that the ground where the union army was encamped was known as Pea Ridge. Here was the force of General Curtis that was to fight with nearly three times its number. It was a wooded table-land with occasional openings, where the timber had been cleared away to make room for fields. There was hardly any water upon it, and for the two entire days of the battle few of the animals had an opportunity to drink. The men also suffered severely, but as a supply could be taken from Sugar Creek, at the rear of the camp, they were less badly off than the horses and mules.

We will let Harry tell the story of the battle, which he did in an account that he sent home, and was afterward delighted to see in print.

“Neither Jack nor I got much sleep last night, as we were all eagerness to see how the next day was going to turn out; and even if we had been sleepy, the noises that kept up all night long would have interfered with us a good deal. Our men that had walked so far were allowed to rest, but most of the other regiments were moved about so as to have them in a good position for the day's work, that was sure to be very lively.

“Very soon after daylight the scouts came in and told General Curtis that the country to the north, right along our road to Springfield, was full of rebels, and they were advancing to attack us. The general thought it would be a good thing to attack them first, or at all events to meet them before they got close up to where we were.

“General Sigel was on our left with the divisions of Generals Osterhaus and Asboth. It was reported that a heavy force of rebels were coming in that direction, and so Sigel was ordered to meet them. He sent General Osterhaus out for that purpose, and he reached the line on the road running north from Bentonville without opposition. Just beyond the road he encountered what was supposed to be a small body of rebels, who were posted in a wood, and in order to drive them out he opened fire upon them with three cannon. After a few rounds had been fired he ordered the artillery to stop, and sent some cavalry to finish the fighting and clear the wood.

“Well, the wood was cleared; but it was cleared the other way from what had been expected. Instead of a few rebels there, it turned out that 'the woods were full of 'em,' the place being held by Pike's division of white and Indian troops. The cavalry met a heavy fire of rifles, shotguns and small arms of every kind, and the charge was completely broken up; and not only was the charge broken up, but the rebels followed the retreating cavalry, and in the confusion they managed to capture the three cannon that had been shelling them.

“But they did n't keep the cannon very long, for General Osterhaus brought up his infantry and drove the rebels away. The white and red rebels were busy plundering and scalping the men they had captured, and were quarreling over the possession of the horses and saddles, and while their attention was thus drawn away they were attacked and defeated. The Indians and whites were all mixed up in this fight, and several of the Indians were left dead on the ground, along with some Texans, who were armed with big bowie-knives in addition to their firearms. The Texans fought with these knives, and several of our soldiers were killed by them.”

This statement was made at the time, and has been denied by the rebels. In proof of the correctness of the assertion the following quotation from a rebel account in the Richmond Whig of April 9, 1862, ought to suffice:

“About forty-five men lay in the space of two or three hundred yards to the rear of the battery; all save one entirely dead, and all but three Dutchmen. One was gasping in the agonies of dissolution; three were our comrades. Here was a sterner feature of the war than any I had yet seen. The Texans, with their large, heavy knives, had riven skulls in twain, mingling blood and brains and hair. The sight was a sad one, but not devoid of satisfaction to our own exiles from home and wife.”