Pea Ridge #14 - Gen. Albert Pike prepares to move to Arkansas

Fort Gibson Historic Site

On February 15, 1862, 150 years ago today, Brigadier General Albert Pike began his efforts to bring reinforcements to the Confederate troops in the Boston Mountains from the Indian Territory of what is now Oklahoma.

Pike was then in command of Confederate forces in the Nations and had been instrumental in organizing a significant force there and pushing pro-Union Indian troops into Kansas. As the call for help went out from Northwest Arkansas, he prepared to move to the support of Price and McCulloch:

Gen. Albert Pike, CSA

...On February 25 I reached Cantonment Davis, near Fort Gibson, with Colonel Cooper's Choctaw and Chickasaw battalion, which had been encamped near the mouth of the Canadian. The same evening Col. D.N. McIntosh's regiment of Creeks arrived at the same point. I had in charge a large amount of coin and other moneys for the different Indian tribes, and found delegations of the Osages, Comanches, and Reserve Indians awaiting me, and the disposition of the moneys left unexpectedly in my hands, together with the dealings with the Indian tribes, detained me there three days. - Gen. Albert Pike, CSA, March 14, 1862.

Fort Gibson had long been an important landmark of the western frontier. Established in 1824, it was the "end point" of the Train of Tears and as such was the place where thousands of Native American families ended their long forced march to new land west of the Mississippi. It was occupied by Confederate troops early in the war and was the setting for several important councils with the various Indian nations.

Fort Gibson Historic Site

The Indians had entered the service of the Confederacy on the condition that they not be expected to cross the borders of their territory. In asking them to do so, Pike was making a major request. They were willing to do so, but insisted they receive their disbursements from the Confederate government first:

The Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks refused to march until they were paid off, and as by their treaties with us they could not be taken out of the Indian country without their consent, I had no alternative but to submit. The payment of the Choctaws and Chickasaws occupied three days. - Gen. Albert Pike, CSA, March 14, 1862.


Pike and his men would play a significant role in the coming Battle of Pea Ridge. I will continue to post on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign, with attention on the role of the Indian troops in it, over coming days, so be sure to check back often.  You can also read more at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

You can learn more about historic Fort Gibson at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okfortgibson.
 
 

Pea Ridge #12 - The Union Army rests at Sugar Creek

Map showing Pea Ridge Battlefield and Sugar Creek (at top)

News reports the front in Northwest Arkansas began to appear in regional newspapers on February 21, 1862, 150 years ago today.

 A special correspondent to the St. Louis Democrat got a message out from Springfield the previous evening. He reported that the main army was continuing to rest at Sugar Creek, near what would soon become the Pea Ridge Battlefield:

A messenger left our army at 10 o'clock A.M. yesterday, and reached here at 4 P.M. to-day. The army retsed at Sugar Creek, eight miles beyond the Arkansas State line.

Since the skirmish on Monday fourteen of the enemy were ascertained to be killed and three wounded. Capt. Switzler received a severe wound int he neck. Adjutant-General McKinney is wounded, though not dangerously. Our troops were bivouacking about eight miles from Cross Hollow, where Price had taken up his quarters. Cross Hollow is a deep ravine, through which runs the Fayetteville road, and is crossed by two other ravines, forming a level area in the valley between the salient point of six promontories. - Report to St. Louis Democrat dated Springfield, Missouri, February 20, 1862.

Topographic Map. Camps were along Creek at bottom.

The reports indicated that a battle was soon expected between General Curtis' Union Army and the Confederate force under Generals Price and McCulloch.

Later in the day a second report came in, describing the Battle of Dunigan's Farm which had taken place four days earlier (see: Pea Ridge #9 - The Battle of Dunigan's Farm).

Second Dispatch - Springfield, Mo., Feb. 20 - From the escort which accompanied the messenger from General Curtis to this place I have gathered some additional particulars of the skirmish at Sugar Creek on Monday. The enemy were concealed in the woods which line both sides of the road. The country is broken, hilly woodland. The First Missouri Cavalry, while charging up the hill, were fired upon by the ambushed foe concealed beyind the trees. After receiving a murderous fire, inw hich thirteen of our men fell and five were wounded, the cavalry fell back and formed in line. Major Brown came up and shelled the woods with his mountain howitzers. The enemy replied with their artillery. The latter ceased firing, and our advance fell back to their camp. Major Brown was wounded in the wrist. Capt. Switzler, of Wright's Battalion, Fourth Cavalry, and Major T.C. McKinney, assistant adjutant-general, are also reported among the wounded. - Report to St. Louis Democrat, dated Springfield, Missouri, February 20, 1862.

The report indicated that a number of Confederates had been captured but otherwise noted that details were meager.

Contrary to the first report, there was no real prospect of an immediate battle. Both armies took advantage of the lull to rest and and reorganize after the first phase of the campaign. Both had been in constant motion for weeks and the rest was needed.

I will continue posting on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign in coming days, so check back often. You can read more about the Battle of Pea Ridge anytime at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

Pea Ridge #11 - The Burning of Camp Benjamin

Gen. Ben McCulloch, CSA

Aware now that his camps at Cross Hollow could not be defended, Confederate General Ben McCulloch ordered them destroyed.

Some of the finest winter quarters of the Civil War went up in smoke and flame as McCulloch's men pulled out to withdraw into the Boston Mountains. General Sterling Price's Missouri State Guard had already pushed into the mountains.

To protect the rear of his withdrawing column and carry out the destruction, McCulloch had cavalry cross the mountains from their winter camps in the Arkansas River Valley. Among the units that came over was the Sixth Texas, which reached Camp Benjamin 150 years ago today. The troopers saw to the destruction of the solid cabins that had once sheltered Colonel Louis Hebert's men:

...I was detailed to destroy the winter quarters in the vicinity of Cross Hollow and to bring up and protect the rear of the army, which was then falling back on Boston Mountains. As the thick, curling volumes of smoke and lurid glare of flame arose from Camp Benjamin my troops doggedly turned to the duty of rear guard for the army, and maintained this position until we were encamped upon the mountain. - Unidentified Member of Sixth Texas Cavalry, 1862.

Dripping Springs, Arkansas

Following the Wire and other roads south through the mountains, the Confederates fell back to the area around Dripping Springs in Crawford County. The cavalry blocked the passes into the mountains.

The movement put the forces under McCulloch and Price into positions they could easily defend. This gave them time to halt, rest, resupply and organize. McCulloch and Price had feuded quite a bit the previous year, but now they were forced to come together for the sake of their common cause. 

The Federals did not try to follow the Confederates into the mountains, but would advance as far south as Fayetteville in coming days. Their long advance, however, was all but over. The initiative would now turn to the Southern army and its new commander, General Earl Van Dorn.

I will continue to post on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over the next few weeks, so be sure to check back regularly. You can also learn more about the Battle of Pea Ridge at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.
 

Pea Ridge #10 - The Action near Bentonville, Arkansas

Gen. Alexander Asboth, USA

Having concentrated his main army behind Sugar Creek and pushed back Hebert's men the previous day (see Pea Ridge #9 -The Battle of Dunagin's Farm), Union General Samuel Curtis ordered Brigadier General Alexander Asboth to push forward to Bentonville on February 18, 1862, 150 years ago today.

A former Hungarian freedom fighter and the Chief of Staff who had helped General John C. Fremont organize the Union army to defend Missouri the previous year, Asboth was at his best when operating with cavalry in advance of an army. He moved quickly and efficiently at 9:30 a.m.:

...Following Sugar Creek 4 1/2 miles, I struck the Cassville and Springfield Road (which leaves the Wire road at a point 6 miles behind Sugar Creek Crossing, where the First and Second Divisions were last encamped), and after surprising a dismounted rebel cavalry picket 4 miles this side of Bentonville and taking some of their horses and all their saddles and bridles, I occupied Bentonville at 20 minutes past 12 o'clock. - Gen. Alexander Asboth, USA, February 19, 1862.

Fremont Hussars (Civil War Drawing)

The Action near Bentonville was a quick skirmish. The Union force consisted of the Benton and Fremont Hussars from the Fourth and Fifth Missouri Cavalry Regiments (US) and two pieces of light artillery under Captain Elbert of the First Missouri Flying Battery. Sweeping aside the cavalry picket outside of town, Asboth rolled into Bentonville on horseback to find the town occupied by part of Colonel Frank Rector's Seventeenth Arkansas Infantry (CS).

General Asboth (foreground) and his dog

The Confederates were removing equipment and supplies from Bentonville. There are two versions of what happened next. Major C. Schaeffer Bornstein, Chief of Staff, reported that there was a brief battle::

...After a short engagement the rebels were driven to flight, leaving behind a large amount of provisions, arms, wagons and horses. Besides that, our forces captured a number of prisoners, and took possession of their regimental flag, which they found hoisted at the courthouse. - Major C. Schaeffer Bornstein, USA, March 4, 1862.

 General Asboth reported, however, that there was no resistance in the town:

Civil War map showing Bentonville, Arkansas

...Bentonville was entirely deserted upon our taking possession of it. In a short time, however, we collected from the bushes in its vicinity about 60 men, 32 of whom, being rebel soldiers or taken with arms, I brought in as prisoners.... To the others, sick and wounded and non-combatant inhabitants of the town, I administered the oath of allegiance. - Gen. Alexander Asboth, USA, February 19, 1864.

Asboth reported that the Confederate troops from Bentonville had evacuated their camp there to reinforce the main Southern position at Cross Hollows. After doing some scouting of the area, he returned to the primary Union camps at 7:30 p.m. and presented the captured flag to General Curtis.

The taking of Bentonville with such relative ease convinced General Curtis that he could move a flanking force around to the west from his position at Sugar Creek to force Confederate General Ben McCulloch's main body from its camps at Cross Hollows. McCulloch realized this as well and immediately prepared to evacuate that position and its comfortable winter quarters.

I will continue to post on the 150th anniversary of the  Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days and weeks, so be sure to check back regularly. You can always read more about the Battle of Pea Ridge at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

Pea Ridge #9 - The Battle of Dunagin's Farm, Arkansas

Old Wire Road passes Elkhorn Tavern

The Union army continued to push south down the Wire Road on the morning of February 17, 1862, passing through Cassville and into the rolling mountain country south of that city.

The route of Curtis's cavalry took it across the Arkansas state line just north of Elkhorn Tavern and then through the fields and woods that would soon be the scene of the Battle of Pea Ridge. As the mounted forces reached Sugar Creek, they once again encountered stiff resistance from the Confederates, this time under the command of Colonel Louis Hebert of Louisiana.

Col. Louis Hebert, CSA

Pushing up to the creek and forming for the attack, Wright's Battalion of Missouri Cavalry and McConnell's Battalion of the 3rd Illinois Cavalry drove forward on the Wire Road and into the teeth of a Confederate crossfire:

...Colonel Ellis, leading the charge, took the road and received a heavy cross-fire from the enemy. As I approached, I discovered a heavy column of the enemy on either side of the road. I at once deployed my battalion to the right and charged their lines. Major McConnell went to the left. For a few minutes the fight was well contested on the right, the heavy timber and dense underbrush affording good coverage for the enemy. I ordered a saber charge after firing our carbines and pistols, but soon found that the brush was too dense to make it rapid enough. - Lt. Col. Clark Wright, Clark's Battalion, February 17, 1862.

Aerial View of Dunigan's Farm Battlefield

 

Unable to cut through the Confederate resistance with sabers, Lt. Col. Wright ordered his men to return sabers and shift to their carbines. This tactic work and his battalion pushed forward, focing the Southern left from its position in the brush and into open ground beyond. This accomplished, Wright's Missourians fell back about 200 yards and reformed. Their loss was 1 killed and 3 wounded.

Curtis reported that the battle had been opened with artillery fire by the Confederates, to which his own cannon had replied, but that the cavalry charge succeeded in driving the Southern defenders from their high ground. He did not attempt to estimate Southern losses, but reported his own total losses in the fight as 13 killed and 15-20 wounded:

USGS Topo Map of Dunigan's Farm Battlefield

...My advance encamped on the battle ground. General Sigel's command is 4 miles back and will reach me this morning. Have sent cavalry forward to annoy and explore. Cross Hollow is their next point, 12 miles ahead. I shall also await the arrive of the First and Second Divisions, as this is their great boasted trap for the Federal Army. - Samuel R. Curtis, February 18, 1862.

The Battle of Dunigan's Farm is also known as the Battle of Battle of Little Sugar Creek. The Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas named it one of its Most Endangered Places for 2011. Please click here to read their comments.

 An important delaying action of the Pea Ridge Campaign, the stand by Hebert at Dunigan's Farm gave Price time to fully extract his Missouri State Guard from danger and reach the reinforcements waiting in Northwest Arkansas under General Ben McCulloch.

I will continue posting on the 150th Anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days, so be sure to check back regularly. You can read more about the Battle of Pea Ridge anytime at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.
 

Pea Ridge #8 - Skirmish at Flat Creek, Missouri

Gen. Sterling Price, CSA
National Park Service

February 15, 1862 (150 years ago today) found the Union army poised and ready for battle at Crane Creek in Southwest Missouri. The heavy fight that General Samuel Curtis hoped for did not develop, however, and the Confederates continued what he called a "precipitate flight."

The truth was that General Sterling Price was unwilling to sacrifice the lives of the men in the Missouri State Guard (CSA) in a battle he knew he could not win. As a result, he continued to move his army south down the Wire Road for Arkansas, but kept a strong rear guard in place to hold back any sudden move by the pursuing Federals.

Flat Creek, Missouri
USGS Photo

Having passed Crane Creek, Curtis ordered his cavalry forward to "overtake and charge the enemy." The horsemen moved forward rapidly and soon approached Flat Creek, a mountain stream that flows west to east and eventually feeds the White River (today's Table Rock Lake).

 They reached the crossing of Flat Creek to find that the fight was definitely not out of Price's Missourians:
...When they arrived here [i.e. Flat Creek] they were fired on by artillery and therefore made a stand until other forces came up. The little howitzers returned the fire of the enemy, and kept them at bay till I got heavier batteries in position and drove the enemy forward. The valley is very strong for the enemy, and I wonder he did not make a better stand. I am taking the straggling cattle for rations to-night, and will move on to Cassville at 4. - Gen. Samuel Curtis, USA, February 1862.

Gen. Franz Sigel, USA
National Archives

Curtis was still having difficulty making contact with the second main column of his army led by General Franz Sigel. With little practical knowledge of that general's location and movements, Curtis expressed hope that they would meet soon:

I hope the force of your command is near me to-night. My men are living on meat, and have hardly time to cook it; but they seem eager to push forward, either to take Price or drive him out of the State. - Gen. Samuel Curtis to Gen. Franz Sigel, February 15, 1862.

Flat Creek township, it is interesting to note, was the childhood home of actor Don Johnson, famed for his roles in "Miami Vice" and numerous movies. On February 15, 1862, however, it was home to a sharp skirmish as General Sterling Price continued to fight delaying actions so his army could safely withdraw from Missouri into Northwest Arkansas.

I will continue to post on the 150th Anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days, so be sure to check back often. You can read more about the Battle of Pea Ridge anytime you like at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

Pea Ridge #7 - Exchanging Valentines of lead at Crane Creek, Missouri

Valentine's Day of 1862 (150 years ago today) found the Union army pushing closer and closer to Northwest Arkansas.

General Curtis and General Franz Sigel were advancing south along roughly parallel routes, hoping to trap Price before he could escape across the Ozark Plateau and into the Boston Mountains of Arkansas. As was often the case in such movements, howevever, Curtis and Sigel had difficulty communicating.

Map showing Crane Creek, McDowell's and Cassville
Notice the route of the Wire Road connecting all three.

At 7 p.m. on February 14, 1862, Curtis dispatched a message to Sigel from McCullah's Store that his cavalry had engaged Confederate troops at Crane Creek:

...Whether he will stand there or not is very uncertain, but I think it will be hard for his train and heavy artillery. He will probably move on through. I will try to attack him in rear to-morrow, but will delay if he stops until you can reach him. I regret that I can get no report from you, but hope you got my reply to yours this morning. I find one or two companies of Benton Hussars here, and will take them with me, as the nearest and best way for them to rejoin you. I hope you are able to reach the enemy or strike his flank at McDowell's since he is now probably passing Crane Creek. - Gen. Samuel Curtis, USA, February 14, 1862.

Gen. Franz Sigel, USA

Crane Creek is located in Southwest Missouri about half-way between Springfield and the Arkansas line. The modern town of Crane sits on the creek, which is a trout-fishing draw for anglers from throughout the region.

The Union cavalry by February 14th had penetrated the country 30 miles below Springfield and the Missouri State Guard was on the verge of being forced entirely from its home state. By road Curtis and the advance elements of his army were now 49 miles from Arkansas.

McDowell's, where Curtis hoped that Sigel would be able to strike Price from the flank, was about 20 miles southwest of Crane Creek between the modern cities of Cassville and Aurora.

General Sterling Price, meanwhile, was moving rapidly hoping to escape the attempt by Curtis and Sigel to trap him with their pincer movement. His main body spent the day pushing south on the old Wire Road, aiming for the Arkansas border and the support of General Ben McCulloch's forces in Washington and Benton Counties.

I will continue to post on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days, so be sure to check back often. You can read more about the Battle of Pea Ridge anytime at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

Pea Ridge #6 - Skirmish at Springfield, Missouri

Gen. Samuel Curtis, USA
National Archives

On February 12, 1862 (150 years ago), Union General Samuel R. Curtis achieved the first major objective of the Pea Ridge Campaign, the capture of Springfield, Missouri.
The city that had been held so long by General Sterling Price and the Missouri State Guard fell to Federal troops after only minor skirmishing:

The flag of the Union floats over the court-house of Springfield, Mo. The enemy attacked us with small parties at 10.30 o'clock, 12 miles out, and my front guards had a running fire with them most of the afternoon [i.e. of the 11th]. At dusk a regument of the Confederate cavalry attacked the outer picket, but did not move it. A few shots from a howitzer killed 2 and wounded several. The regiment retreated to this place, and the enemy immediately commenced the evacuation of the city. I entered the city at 10 a.m. - Gen. Samuel Curtis, USA, February 12, 1864.


Cannon at Wilson's Creek
National Park Service

Upon taking Springfield on the morning of February 12th, Curtis ordered his cavalry to continue to press Price's retreating Confederates:

...My cavalry is in full pursuit. They say the enemy is making at stand at Wilson's Creek. Forage, flour, and other stores in large quantities taken. Shall pursue as fast as the strength of the men will allow.- Gen. Samuel Curtis, USA, February 12, 1864.

Elkhorn Tavern

The capture of Springfield was a pivotal moment in the developing Pea Ridge Campaign. The city was the last major Confederate defensive point between Curtis and the Arkansas border. His push south down the Wire or Telegraph Road would soon bring him across the line near a tavern known for the antlers of an elk that adorned it: Elkhorn Tavern.

The final advance on Springfield had pushed the Confederate forces under Sterling Price into full retreat. With insufficient manpower to make a stand against the oncoming Federals, Price had no choice but to retreat south for Arkansas. His objective now became the Boston Mountains and the thousands of Confederate troops in winter quarters in Northwest Arkansas. The men there under General Ben McCulloch offered not only supplies and safety, but the chance to form a large enough army to go back on the offensive.

I will continue to post on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days and weeks, so be sure to check back often. You can read more about the Battle of Pea Ridge anytime at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

Pea Ridge #5 - Skirmish at Marshfield, Missouri

Union Approach to Springfield
Springfield at lower left, Marshfield in middle right, Bolivar at upper left.

The afternoon of February 9, 1862,150 years ago today, found General Samuel Curtis 18 miles in advance of Lebanon, pushing for Springfield, Missouri. The Pea Ridge Campaign was picking up speed.

Curtis's immediate objective was Springfield, Missouri, where Confederate General Sterling Price's Missouri State Guard lay in wait. All signs were that Price was preparing to retreat into Northwest Arkansas where he would be reinforced by thousands of men under Generals Ben McCulloch and James McIntosh, but there was no way for Curtis to know for sure.

One thing was for certain, his cavalry was getting closer and closer to Springfield. The First Missouri Cavalry (US), for example, had driven to Bolivar just 30 miles north of Price's headquarters. There they had captured a few stragglers, a heard of 125 cattle while "carrying terror and astonishment due north of Springfield."

Gen. Samuel Curtis, USA
National Archives

At Marshfield, 26 miles northeast of Springfield, a sharp skirmish took place when another Federal cavalry force entered the town:

...[A]t 4 o'clock a cavalry battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Wright, entered Marshfield, routing and pursuing a small party of the enemy's force that was running the mill. Pursuit was made, and Captain Montgomery overtook them, killing 2, wounding 3, taking 3 prisoners, several slaves, 3 Government mule teams, 2 common teams, all loaded with wheat designed for the enemy. None of our men were hurt. - Gen. Samuel Curtis, CSA, February 10, 1862.

Curtis reported that he was pleased with his march so far and that the latest intelligence indicated that Price was still in Springfield. Firing could be heard from that direction.

What that firing was is unclear. The presence of Union cavalry in both Bolivar and Marshfield told General Price that he was being approached from both the North and Northeast and that Federal troops were now within a single day's ride of his position at Springfield. Curtis's infantry, he knew, could not be far behind.

The time was coming when Price would have to either retreat or fight. And it was coming fast.

I will continue to post on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days and weeks, so check back often. You can learn more about the Battle of Pea Ridge anytime at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

Pea Ridge #4 - Signs of a Retreat into Arkansas

Gen. Sterling Price, CSA

A report from a war correspondent in Rolla, Missouri, 150 years ago today included information that indicated General Sterling Price was preparing to evacuate Springfield, Missouri.

The Union army was clearly about to descend upon him and, while the writer does not seem to have fully understood what he was reporting, his dispatch clearly indicated that Price was getting ready to withdraw his Confederate forces into Northwest Arkansas.

While first noting claims that Price had told the Confederate soldiers of the Missouri State Guard that they were surrounded and must must, the reporter went on to note clear intelligence that a retreat might be in the works. The Confederate general, he reported, was collecting "large supplies of provisions ont he road leading from Springfield to Fayetteville."

Old Wire Road between Springfield and Fayetteville
National Park Service

The pro-Union writer seems to have interpreted this as an indication that Price was receiving large reinforcements from Arkansas, but in reality he appears to have been positioning supplies in anticipation of a retreat by his men from Springfield south into Benton County, Arkansas.

The journalist's interpretation of what the Union army was up to was much more accurate:



Gen. Franz Sigel, USA
National Archives

...The news from the West indicates that the preparations against the enemy are nearly completed. The forces for this movement are nearly all concentrated at the point where it is intended to move against the Rebels. In a few days the whole command will probably be on the march Westward. Generals SIGEL and ASBOTH'S divisions have reached Lebanon, and Major WRIGHT'S battalion of cavalry has moved thirteen miles west of that point. - Unnamed Correspondent reporting from Rolla, Misosuri, February 8, 1862.

The division of Colonel Jefferson C. Davis, meanwhile, was reported to be nearing Lebanon.

The leading cavalry of the Union army was now within 40 miles of Springfield and the first significant skirmishing of the Pea Ridge Campaign would take place the next day.

I will continue to post on the campaign over coming days and weeks, so be sure to check back often. You can also read more about the Battle of Pea Ridge at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

Pea Ridge #2 - Brigadier General Alexander Asboth

Brig. Gen. Alexander Asboth, USA
National Park Service

This is part two of a six week series on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. To read part one first, please click here: http://civilwararkansas.blogspot.com/2012/02/pea-ridge-1-brigadier-general-albert.html.

Among the Union generals preparing to advance on Springfield and the Northwest Arkansas, Brigadier General Alexander Asboth is perhaps the least known. And yet, his life was one of the most remarkable of all.

His name is often given as Alexander Sandor Asboth, but this is a misnomer. "Sandor" is the Hungarian equivalent of "Alexander" so using both is an unnecessary but common duplication.

Born in Hungary in 1811, Asboth was an educated soldier and engineer who allied with Governor Lajos Kossuth in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. In the movement, which attempted to establish an American style democracy in Hungary, Asboth became a close ally and friend of Kossuth and fought at the Battles of Kapolna and Nagysallo.

Brady Photo of Gen. Asboth
National Archives

When the revolution collapsed before an assault by the allied forces of Austria and Russia, Asboth joined Kossuth and other Hungarian leaders in fleeing to the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Congress authorized a relief expedition to save them and President Millard Fillmore dispatched the USS Mississippi for that purpose.

The Hungarian revolutionaries arrived in the United States to a hero's welcome. Asboth settled in New York where he engaged in surveying and engineering and by 1861 had become a naturalized U.S. citizen. His most noteworthy achievement during his New York years was his role in conducting the survey for what became Central Park.

When the Southern states left the Union, Alexander Asboth was appalled. A true Unionist, he considered the U.S. government to be, as he later told a delegation of Southerners in Florida, "the best in the world." He offered his services to President Abraham Lincoln.

Leaving New York for Missouri, Asboth served as chief of staff (or as he termed it, adlatus) for General John C. Fremont and participated significantly in the effort to raise and organize an army to preserve the state for the Union. He was nominated by President Lincoln to the rank of brigadier general, but the commission was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate until well after the Battle of Pea Ridge.

Wartime Sketch of Asboth in Missouri
Notice his dog. It always accompanied him.

During his Missouri years, General Asboth was well known to two other officers who would go on to assume much greater roles in the war: William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant. Sherman later described him as a personally courageous man whose only real fault as an officer was that he sometimes doubted his own abilities.

When Fremont began his push into southwestern Missouri, Asboth functioned as a major general, leading the 4th Division. He continued this role when General Samuel C. Curtis rose to the command of the army. A noted cavalry leader, even though his division was primarily infantry, Asboth often operated ahead of the main army and would lead the advance to Bentonville and Fayetteville in February of 1862.

His role in the Pea Ridge Campaign will be discussed in coming days and weeks. After the battle, he served in Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee before finally being assigned to the command of the District of West Florida as Sherman was planning his March to the Sea. For a time it was thought that Sherman might have to cut his way through to the Gulf Coast and it was expected that Asboth would be able to move rapidly to his relief should the necessity arise.

Battlefield at Marianna, Florida

He was severely wounded at the Battle of Marianna, Florida, on September 27, 1864, while carrying out the deepest penetration of Florida by Union forces during the entire Civil War. To learn more, please visit www.battleofmarianna.com.

Awarded the brevet rank of major general after the war, Asboth was appointed U.S. Minister to Argentina and Uraguay by President Andrew Johnson. He died in Buenos Aires in 1868 from the effects of the wounds he had received in Florida, in particular a wound to his jaw that had never healed.

Buried in Argentina, his body remained there for 122 years until it was returned to the United States in 1990. The general was reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony that included a eulogy written by President George H.W. Bush. Asboth is revered as a hero in his native Hungary to this day.

If you would like to learn more about his service in Florida after the Battle of Pea Ridge, please consider my book: The Battle of Marianna, Florida: Expanded Edition. (Also available in Kindle format).

I will continue to post on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days and weeks, so be sure to check back often. You can read more about the Battle of Pea Ridge itself at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

February 2, 1862 - "The snow here has been a foot deep"

Col. Louis Hebert, C.S.A.

The letter that follows was written by a Confederate soldier stationed at Camp Benjamin in Northwest Arkansas on February 2, 1862 (150 years ago today).
The man identified himself only as "T" and was probably a member of Colonel Louis Hebert's brigade.

Camp Benjamin, according to an account by Surgeon Washington L. Gammage of the Fourth Arkansas Infantry, was two miles southeast of Cross Hollows and two miles east of the main road connecting Fayetteville and Springfield in Benton County, Arkansas. Gamage described the camp as being in a "narrow, level valley, bounded on the north and south by a high range of hills, and supplied with an abundance of pure sparkling water by a mountain stream, which was of sufficient size to support a grist mill where the corn and wheat which the neighboring farms supplied in abundance."

The soldier's letter provides good insight to the mindset of Confederate soldiers in Northwest Arkansas during the early days of the Pea Ridge Campaign:

Thinking perhaps a line from this section might be acceptable, I write you a line from our lonely winter quarters. We are situated twenty miles east of Fayetteville, in a hollow, surrounded on all sides by high hills, and as freefrom any society except our own forces as we would be in the deserts of Arabia. The daily routine of camp duties is all there is to relieve our monotonous life. My duties confine me very close to my quarters.

We look for stirring times, however, on the opening of the spring campaign. Our General, McCulloch, has returned to command us, which gives universal satisfaction. It would have beeen a great misfortune to this brigade if Price's newspaper friends had succeeded in displacing our General. I fear our brigade would ahve been completely demoralized. McCulloch is beloved by officers and men, here, as a prudent, careful and brave officer, and those who know him best love him most.

Our regiment is looking forward with much interest to the time (17th May,) when we are to be permitted to see our friends at home once more. We are willing to "fight on, fight ever," as long as the war and life last; but we would like, if possible, to go home first.

The snow here has been a foot deep on a level the past week, and the weather intensely cold. To-day it is sleeting and raining by turns, while icicles hang from the eaves of our houses four feet long. We are in comfortable quarters. Three regiments being quartered here it looks like quite a village. The houses are built uniform, 18 by 36, two rooms in each, and about one hundred and fifty houses in all, laid out in regular streets and avenues, in military style, the regimental and staff forming a square at the head of each regiment.

The entire regiment is well clothed and healthy.

A marker for the Confederate camps at Cross Hollows is located at the corner of Cross Hollow Road and Old Wire Road, near Rogers and between Fayetteville and Bentonville. The actual hollow runs from just north of Lowell east into what is now Beaver Lake.

I will continue posting on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days, so be sure to check back often. You can learn more about the Battle of Pea Ridge at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

The map below shows you the Cross Hollows area as it appears today.

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February 2, 1862 - Curtis reported at Lebanon, Missouri

Gen. Samuel Curtis, U.S.A.
National Archives

As the initial movements of the Pea Ridge Campaign continued to take shape, a report datelined Rolla 150 years ago today indicated that Union General Samuel Curtis had reached Lebanon, Missouri.
Lebanon was a midpoint between the previous Union headquarters in Rolla and the position of Confederate General Sterling Price's Missouri State Guard in Springfield. The Union army was now reported to be within 55 miles of the latter city:

...Reliable information from Lebanon says that Gen. Curtis is now in that place, and the number of troops there is constantly increasing. It is doubtless his intention to remain at that place till all his forces arrive, which will be several days yet, as some of them have not started. A considerable number of them are under orders to march this morning, and probably within two or three days all that are going will have departed. - Unidentified Correspondent writing from Rolla, Missouri, February 2, 1862.

Rumors continued to drift north through Missouri that Price's command at Springfield had been reinforced by 12,000 Confederate troops from Arkansas. Some believed such reports, but the correspondent writing from Rolla on February 2nd noted that most did not.

A much bigger concern was caused by high water in the rivers flowing through Southwest Missouri. Flood conditions were causing delays in the movement of both supplies and men:

...The roads between this place [i.e. Rolla] and Lebanon are almost impassable. Fifty teams are said to be on this side of the Gasconade river, waiting for the water to subside.

The report concluded with a note that the main body of the Third Missouri Cavalry (U.S.) had reached Rolla. A couple of companies were still coming up. The regiment, it was noted, would be attached to the division of General Franz Sigel.

I will continue to post on the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days and weeks, so be sure to check back often. You can read more about the Battle of Pea Ridge anytime at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

January 30, 1862 - The Union Army Begins its long slow march to Pea Ridge

Historic Photograph of the Missouri Ozarks
Library of Congress

Newspaper readers across the Midwest learned 150 years ago today that the long anticipated southward movement of the Union army in Missouri was underway.
The positioning of Colonel Jefferson C. Davis and his Division (not to be confused with the Confederate President) was a sign that General Samuel Curtis was beginning a slow drift to the south that would pick up speed over the coming days and weeks:

The movement foreshadowed by the preparations at Otterville of the past week has taken place. One division under the command of Jeff C. Davis has already taken up its march for the South. They left Versailles Tuesday morning. Their destiantion is supposed to be Springfield. The division consists of five regiments, the 8th and 22nd Indiana, the 37th Illinois, and the 9th Missouri, accompanied by two batteries of twenty-four pieces, and three companies of cavalry, under the command of Major Hubbard. From the skill and energy of Gen. Davis, important results are confidently predicted. The next division under Gen. Turner is expected to leave Thursday or Friday. - Springfield Republican, January 30, 1862.

Colonel Jefferson C. Davis, U.S.A.
National Park Service

It seems remarkable today that such detailed reports were printed in newspapers in 1862, but it was a common practice. The generals of both sides learned a great deal from the newspapers of the other side.

The article also made reference to an interesting report that seemed to indicate General Sterling Price and his Confederates might not might for Springfield:

A gentleman from Green county, a few miles from Springfield, who arrived at Rolla on the 24th, says no entrenchments are being built at Springfield, and but little uneasiness is manifested by Price or his officers. There is a general cry for reinforcements, and the rebels say they are on the way, but vary as to the number.... Price expects his appointment [i.e. as a regular general] will be confirmed within two weeks, when he will be reinforced from Arkansas. Unless he can take command of the whole force, he may be obliged to retreat. He has a large number of wagons, and is putting everything in readiness to decamp. - Springfield Republican, January 30, 1862.

The article predicted the future quite well. Price would retreat from Springfield, Missouri, without a major fight and fall back into Arkansas where he linked up with the divisions of Generals Ben McCulloch and James McIntosh. Together their combined forces would form General Earl Van Dorn's new Army of the West. The long road to the Battle of Pea Ridge had begun.

I will continue posting on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days and weeks, so check back often. You can also read more on the Battle of Pea Ridge at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

January 23, 1862 - Ben McCulloch's Proclamation to His Men

Brig. Gen. Ben McCulloch, C.S.A.
National Park Service

As he made his way back west to Arkansas from meetings with Confederate officials in Richmond, Virginia, Brigadier General Ben McCulloch of Texas issued a call to his troops to reenlist at the end of their 12 months service.
When the Southern states seceded in 1860-1861, few people believed that war - if it came - would last longer than one year. As a result, most of the initial regiments were formed for one year's service. As McCulloch returned to Arkansas in anticipation of renewed fighting, he realized that many of his men were approaching the end of their service.

As a result, on January 23, 1862 (150 years ago today), he issued a proclamation to the men in his ranks calling upon them to re-enlist. Keeping his experienced regiments in the field was vital to McCulloch and he made no bones about the need for his men to keep fighting:

PROCLAMATION.
Soldiers of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas!

Your country calls on you for further service. Will she call in vain? Will the gallant men who have braved death in all its forms, now shrink from peril? Never! Never will it be said of them, they deserted their country in the hour of danger! We must re-enlist, or all the blood spilt is as water poured upon the ground. Let it not be said, our brave comrades have fallen in vain. Let us try by our acts to immortalize their memories. Their spirits look down upon our deeds and demand of us, that their names be handed down to future generations as martyers in a glorious and successful cause. Our cause is just; it will succeed. Let those who doubt it go seek a home in the North. They are unfit to live among freemen. This war cannot last. Before two years will have passed we will be a free and happy people. Then, who will not be proud to say, I was a soldier in the army that won our Independence!

BEN. McCULLOCH,
Brigadier General.
January 23d, 1862.

General McCulloch himself would soon become a martyer to his cause. He was killed at the Battle of Pea Ridge in early March.

I will continue posting on the 150th anniversary of the Pea Ridge Campaign over coming days and weeks, so be sure to check back often. You can also read more on the Battle of Pea Ridge at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

January 1862 - Prelude to Pea Ridge

Pea Ridge National Military Park

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, not just one of the largest battles west of the Mississippi, but one of the most significant actions of the entire Civil War.
As part of the commemoration of this battle that preserved Missouri for the Union, I will be posting throughout January, February and March on the Pea Ridge campaign, using as often as possible the words of the soldiers, generals and civilians that witnessed it. Be sure to check back regularly for the latest posts.

Curtis

To try to set the stage as well as I can, the Pea Ridge Campaign began to develop in January of 1862 as two armies began to assemble for battle. The Union army, commanded by Gen. Samuel Curtis, was centered at Rolla, Missouri, a town about 112 miles northeast of Springfield. Curtis was determined to drive Confederate forces, particularly the Missouri State Guard under Gen. Sterling Price, from Missouri and fully establish control over the state, which was very divided in its loyalties.

The Confederates, in turn, were equally determined not only to hold at least part of Missouri if possible, but to stop Curtis from advancing into Arkansas. In mid-January of 1862, however, their forces were scattered and had yet to assemble for battle. The Missouri State Guard, under Price, was clinging to its position at Springfield, Missouri. Gen. Price knew, however, that he could not hold there against Curtis's much larger army.

Price

The Missouri general for more than one month had been begging for help from Arkansas. A force of 3,000-4,000 Confederates were centered around Fayetteville in Northwest Arkansas under Gen. Ben McCulloch. Unfortunately, Price and McCulloch did not get along. Not only would the latter general not reinforce Price, he had gone to Richmond to discuss the situation with officials there, leaving Col. Louis Hebert of Louisiana in command. Hebert promised Price that he would reinforce him in an emergency and did his best to get supplies through to the State Guard, but otherwise maintained his force in its winter quarters around Fayetteville.

To the south in the Arkansas River valley, Gen. James McIntosh commanded a large cavalry force that was wintering around Van Burn and Fort Smith. He had declined a request from Price for help in December and gone instead to support Col. D.H. Cooper in the Cherokee Nation where he had won the Battle of Chustenahlah several weeks earlier.

Van Dorn

To try to end the confusion and bickering in the West, President Jefferson Davis appointed Major General Earl Van Dorn as head of what he would style the "Army of the West." Van Dorn was not yet on the scene in mid-January, but was heading that way. He was not thinking of just halting Curtis, he had dreams of a major offensive campaign. He told his wife on the day of his appointment that he "must have St. Louis."

To Van Dorn would fall the task of pulling together the three major Confederate forces then assembled in Missouri and Arkansas and leading them into battle. He would receive support from Gen. Albert Pike's brigade of Southern-allied Indian troops.

I will continue to post on the Pea Ridge Campaign throughout the coming weeks. To read more about the battle itself, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

January 17, 1862 - "The prospect of a fight improves"

Ozarks of Southern Missouri

As the Union army continued to consolidate its position at Rolla, 112 miles northeast of Springfield in Missouri, it send forward raiding and scouting parties to gather provisions and intelligence on the position and condition of General Sterling Price and the Missouri State Guard.
Some of the intelligence brought in by these parties was accurate and some what not, but it is surprising today to read how much of it made its way into newspapers of the time. The Memphis Daily Appeal, for example, republished a letter 150 years ago today (January 17, 1862) that correctly prophesied the coming Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas.

Detailing information sent back to Union headquarters by Colonel Eugene Carr, the unnamed writer detailed a minor raid in Missouri then provided more solid information about the forces gathering for battle:

…This same messenger brings further information that General Price has been reinforced by three thousand men and ten pieces of cannon from Arkansas, under Gen. McIntosh. It is the opinion of my informant that price intends to make another stand at Springfield. As an on dit in this connection, Gen. Price is reported to have said, if he had an army equal to the Federal army at Rolla, he would run the last Fed. From the State in ten days. - Memphis Daily Appeal, January 17, 1862.

 Brig. Gen. James McIntosh, C.S.A.
National Park Service Photo

The General McIntosh mentioned in the account was Brigadier General James McIntosh. A Florida native, he was the great-great nephew of the famed General Lachlan McIntosh of the American Revolution. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he resigned his commission in 1861 and offered his services to the Confederacy and became colonel of the 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles.

McIntosh fought at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, in 1861 before leading Confederate forces in the stunning rout of Opothleyahola's Union-allied Creek and Seminole warriors at the Battle of Chustenahlah in what is now Osage County, Oklahoma, on December 26, 1861. The latter victory was so impressive that McIntosh was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

The intelligence on McIntosh was inaccurate. Instead of moving to Price's support in Missouri, the general had just returned from the Battle of Chustenahlah and his men were back in their winter camps in Arkansas.

Despite such inaccuracies in intelligence, it was clear to both sides than forces were forming in Missouri and Northwest Arkansas for a major battle. In view of this, it was easy for the pro-Union writer of the newspaper account to forecast the coming Battle of Pea Ridge:

Upon the whole, the prospect of a fight improves for surely nothing can be wanting to secure so desirable thing except the willingness of the enemy. - Memphis Daily Appeal, January 17, 1862

While the battle was still seven weeks away, things would soon begin happening very fast as the Pea Ridge Campaign began to take shape.

I will continue to post on the campaign over coming days and weeks, so be sure to check back often. You can also learn more about the Battle of Pea Ridge at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.

Ben McCulloch's Command in Arkansas

Gen. Ben McCulloch, C.S.A.

January of 1862 (150 years ago) found Brigadier General Ben McCulloch's command in winter camp in Northwest Arkansas.
McCulloch was already a hero in Texas, where he had gone from Tennessee in 1835 to link up with David Crockett's men. A case of the measles kept Ben and his brother from reaching their planned rendezvous with Crockett in time and actually saved the future general's life by preventing him from being one of the men who died with the famed Tennessean at the Alamo. He did go on to command a cannon at the Battle of San Jacinto, where Texas won its independence in 1836.

Over the next 25 years, Ben McCulloch developed a reputation as a Texas Ranger, soldier and political leader. Commissioned a colonel by Southern president Jefferson Davis, he accepted the surrender of U.S. forces in Texas on February 16, 1861. Sent almost immediately to serve in Arkansas and the Indian Nations of what is now Oklahoma, he was given his general's star on May 11th.

McCulloch defeated the Union forces at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, in August of 1861 and by that winter had his men in position in the hills and valleys of the Ozark plateau of Northwest Arkansas. He left his camps there and went to Richmond to meet with authorities in the Confederate capital about the situation west of the Mississippi, the condition of his men and his ongoing disagreements with Missouri general Sterling Price.  The two men did not get along.

Cannon at Pea Ridge National Military Park

An account of this trip appeared in Southern newspapers in January:

...The purpose of Gen. Ben McCulloch's visit to Richmond is to superintend the procuring of arms for his command, now performing the duty assigned by Government of protecting the Indian territory and the northwestern border of Arkansas from incursions of the enemy from Kansas. Although injurious criticisms have been made by journalists who write without a knowledge of the facts, his movements and objects are well understood and appreciated by his troops and approved by the Government. He has co-operated with Gen. Price in Missouri, as far as he could do so consistently with the duty assigned him of guarding the frontier, and, so far from his army remaining inactive at present, the recent fight of a portion of it under Col. McIntosh bespeaks anything but indifference to the cause or a disposition to shrink from the dangers of the campaign.

McCulloch returned to Arkansas following his trip to Richmond and both he and Price, along with General Albert Pike, would serve under General Earl Van Dorn's command in the coming Pea Ridge Campaign and at the Battle of Pea Ridge.

You can read more about Pea Ridge at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pearidgeindex.