_Hand-fought Battle.--Bravery of the Kansas Colored Troops.--They
die but will not yield.--Outnumbered by the Rebels.--Another severe
Battle.--The heroic Negro, after being wounded, fights till he dies._
The battle of Poison Springs, Ark., between one thousand Union and
eight thousand rebel troops, was one of the most severe conflicts of the
war. Six hundred of the Union forces were colored, and from Kansas, some
of them having served under old John Brown during the great struggle in
that territory. These black men, as it will be seen, bore the brunt
of the fight, and never did men show more determined bravery than
was exhibited on this occasion. They went into the battle singing the
following characteristic song:--
“Old John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave,
While weep the sons of bondage, whom he ventured to save;
But though he lost his life in struggling for the slave,
His soul is marching on.
Glory, glory, Hallelujah!
Glory, glory, Hallelujah!
Glory, glory, Hallelujah!
His soul is marching on!
John Brown was a hero, undaunted, true, and brave,
And Kansas knew his valor, when he fought her rights to save;
And now, though the grass grows green above his grave,
His soul is marching on.
He captured Harper’s Ferry with his nineteen men so few,
And he frightened ‘Old Virginny’ till she trembled through and
through:
They hung him for a traitor, themselves a traitor crew,
For his soul is marching on, &c.
John Brown was John the Baptist, of the Christ we are to see,--
Christ, who of the bondman shall the Liberator be;
And soon throughout the sunny South the slaves shall all be free,
For his soul is marching on, &c.
The conflict that he heralded, he looks from heaven to view,
On the army of the Union, with its flag, red, white, and blue;
And heaven shall ring with anthems o’er the deed they mean to do,
For his soul is marching on, &c.
Ye soldiers of freedom then strike, while strike ye may,
The death-blow of oppression in a better time and way;
For the dawn of old John Brown has brightened into day,
And his soul is marching on.
Glory, glory, Hallelujah!
Glory, glory, Hallelujah!
Glory, glory, Hallelujah!
And his soul is marching on.”
The following graphic description of the battle will be read with
thrilling interest:--
“_Official Report of Major Richard G. Ward, commanding First Kansas
Colored Regiment at the battle of Poison Springs._
“_Headquarters First Kansas Colored Vols.,_ _Camden, Ark., April 20,
1864._
“_Col. J. M. Williams, commanding Escort to Forage-train._
“_Colonel_,--In conformity with the requirements of the circular issued
by you, April 19, 1864, I submit the following report of the conduct of
that portion of the escort which I had the honor to command, and of the
part taken by them in the action of the 18th inst:--
“I marched from the camp on White-Oak Creek, with the six companies left
with me as rear-guard, about seven o’clock, a.m. When I arrived at the
junction of the Washington Road, I found the Eighteenth Iowa Infantry
and a detachment of cavalry waiting to relieve me as rear-guard. At
this moment I received your order to press forward to the front, as your
advance was skirmishing with the enemy. Upon arriving, agreeably to your
order, I placed one wing of this regiment on each side of the section of
Rabb’s Battery, to support it, and awaited further developments.
“After your cavalry had ascertained the position of the enemy’s force
on our right flank, and Lieut. Haines had planted one of his pieces in
a favorable position, I placed Companies A, B, E, and H in position to
support it. We had hardly got into position here, before our cavalry
were forced back upon our line by an overwhelming force of the enemy.
Lieut. Henderson, commanding detachment Sixth Kansas (than whom a
braver officer never existed), was severely wounded, and I ordered Corp.
Wallahan, Company M, Sixth Kansas, to form his men on my right. He had
scarcely formed them, ere Lieut. Mitchell, commanding detachment Second
Kansas Cavalry, was also driven in, when he was placed upon the extreme
right under your personal supervision.
“The line of battle was now nearly in the form of the segment, of a
circle, the convex side being outward, or toward the enemy. Companies
C and I being on the north side of the road facing toward the east;
Companies D and F on the south side of the road, facing in the same
direction, whilst on my extreme right the men were drawn up in line
facing due south. It was now about half past eleven o’clock, a.m.
These dispositions were scarcely made ere the enemy opened a severe and
well-directed fire from a six-gun battery, at the distance of about one
thousand yards. This battery was near the road, due east of our line.
At the same time a howitzer battery, reported to me as having four guns,
opened on the south opposite my right, at a distance of six or seven
hundred yards. Although this was much the severest artillery fire that
any of the men had ever before been subjected to, and many of the
men were thus under fire for the _first time_, they were as cool as
veterans, and patiently awaited the onset of the enemy’s infantry.
“Just after twelve o’clock, the enemy’s batteries slackened their fire,
and their infantry advanced to the attack. From the position of the
ground, it was useless to deliver a fire until the enemy were within one
hundred yards. I therefore reserved my fire until their first line was
within that distance, when I gave the order to fire. For about a quarter
of an hour, it seemed as though the enemy were determined to break my
lines, and capture the guns; but their attempts were fruitless, and they
were compelled to fall precipitately back, not, however, before they
had disabled more than half of the gunners belonging to the gun on the
right.
“Again they opened their infernal cross-fires with their batteries, and
through the smoke I could see them massing their infantry for another
attack. I immediately applied to you for more men.
“Companies G and K were sent me. I placed Company K upon the extreme
right (where the cavalry had rested, but which had now retired), and
Company G upon the left of Company B. Shortly after these dispositions
were made, the enemy again advanced, this time in two columns yelling
like fiends. Lieut. Macy, of Company C, whom you had sent out with
skirmishers from the left, was driven in; and I placed him, with his
small command, between Companies G and B. At this moment, yourself and
Lieut. Haines arrived on the right, and I reported to you the condition
of the gun, only two men being left to man it, when you ordered it to
the rear. Just as the boys were preparing to limber, a large body of the
enemy was observed making for the gun in close column, whereupon private
Alonzo Hendshaw, of the Second Indiana Battery, himself double-loaded
the piece with canister, and poured into the advancing column a parting
salute at the distance of about three hundred yards, and then limbered.
The effect was terrific. Our infantry redoubled their fire, and again
the massed columns sullenly retired.
“Three different times the enemy were thus repulsed; and, as they were
massing for the fourth charge, I informed you that I believed it would
be impossible to hold my position without more men on my right and
centre. You replied that I should have them if they could be spared from
other points. I held my position until you returned; when, seeing your
horse fall, I gave you mine for the purpose of going to the Eighteenth
Iowa to form them in a favorable position for my line to fall back upon.
Agreeably to your order to hold the ground at any and all events until
this could be done, I encouraged the men to renew their exertions,
and repel the coming charge, intending, if I succeeded, to take that
opportunity of falling back, instead of being compelled to do so under
fire. My right succeeded in checking the advance; but, my left being
outflanked at the same time that my left-centre was sustaining the
attack of ten times their number, I ordered to fall back slowly toward
the train, changing front toward the left, to prevent the enemy from
coming up in my rear. We here made a stand of about ten minutes, when I
perceived that the enemy had succeeded in flanking my extreme right, and
that I was placed in a position to receive a cross-fire from their two
lines. I was then compelled, in order to save even a fragment of the
gallant regiment which for nearly two hours had, unaided, sustained
itself against Price’s whole army, to order a retreat.
“Although a portion retired precipitately, the greater portion of them
kept up a continued fire the whole length of the train. I ordered the
men to retire behind the line of the Iowa Eighteenth, and form; but,
alas! four companies had lost their gallant commanders, and were
without an officer. By your aid, and the assistance of the few unharmed
officers, I succeeded in collecting a few of the command, and placing
them on the left of the Iowa Eighteenth. As they were slowly forced
backward, others took position in the line, and did all that could be
done to check the advance of the overwhelming forces of the enemy. I
sent a small force to assist Lieut. Haines in his gallant and manly
efforts to save his guns; and, had it not been for the worn condition of
the horses, I believe he would have succeeded. Accompanying this, I
send the reports of company commanders of the losses sustained by their
respective companies. It will be noticed that the heaviest punishment
was inflicted upon Company G, from the fact that it was more exposed to
the galling cross-fires of the enemy.
“You will see that I went into action with about four hundred and fifty
enlisted men, and thirteen officers of the line. Seven out of that
gallant thirteen were killed or wounded. Five are reported dead on the
field: Capt. A. J. Armstrong, Company D; Lieut. B. Hitchcock, Company G;
Lieuts. Charles J. Coleman and Joseph B. Samuels, Company H; and Lieut.
John Topping, Company B. The cheerful offering of the lives of such
noble men needs not the assistance of any studied panegyric to bespeak
for it that spirit of lasting admiration with which their memories will
ever be enshrined.
“Four companies fought their way to the rear, without a commissioned
officer. One hundred and thirteen men are killed, and sixty-nine
wounded,--some of them mortally. I cannot refrain from mentioning the
names of Capt. B. W. Welch, Company K, and Lieut. E. Q. Macy, Company
C. both of whom were wounded, as among the number of sufferers who
have earned the thanks and merit the sympathy of the loyal and
generous everywhere. Any attempt to mention the names of any soldier in
particular would be unjust, unless I mentioned all; for every one, as
far as I could see, did his duty coolly, nobly, and bravely. On the
right, where the enemy made so many repeated attempts to break my line,
I saw officers and men engaged in taking the cartridges from the bodies
of the dead; and, upon inquiring, found that their ammunition was nearly
expended.
“The brave and soldier-like Topping was killed in the first charge; and
the gallant young Coleman, commanding Company H, was shot down in the
second charge. At what particular period of the engagement the other
officers fell, I am unable to state. To Capt. John R, Gratton, Company
C; Capt. William H. Smallwood, Company G; Lieut. R. L. Harris, Company
I: Lieut. B. G. Jones, Company A; Lieut. John Overdier, Company E;
Lieut. S. S. Crepps, Company F; and Adjutant William C. Gibbons, I
would tender my heartfelt thanks, for the faithful, efficient, and manly
performance of the most arduous duties, while subjected to the hottest
fire.
“The loss in arms and clothing is quite serious; but, from the exhausted
state of the men, it is strange that as many of them brought in their
arms and accoutrements as did. Out of seventy-eight hours preceding
the action, sixty-three hours were spent by the entire command on duty,
besides a heavy picket-guard having been furnished for the remaining
fifteen hours. You are also reminded that the rations were of necessity
exceedingly short for more than a week previous to the battle.
“We were obliged to bring our wounded away the best we could, as the
rebels were seen shooting those who fell into their hands. The men who
brought in the wounded were obliged to throw away their arms; but the
most who did so waited till they reached the swamps, and then sunk them
in the bayous.
“I am, colonel, very respectfully,
“Your obedient servant,
“_R. G. WARD,_
“_Major First Kansas Colored Volunteers._‘’’
“Since this Report was published, official information has been received
at Fort Smith, that Capt. Armstrong and Lieut. Hitchcock are prisoners
of war in Arkansas, and not killed as reported.
“Yours,
“J. BOWLES,
“Lieutenant-Colonel First Kansas Volunteers.”
Eight days later, the same colored regiment had a fight with a superior
force in numbers of the rebels; and the subjoined account of the
engagement will show with what determination they fought.
“On the 29th, we skirmished in the forenoon. In the afternoon, the
venturing-out of a detachment beyond the distance ordered brought on a
severe though short general engagement. At least one hundred and twenty
of the rebel cavalry made a charge upon this detachment of twenty-four
men. Before we could bring up re-enforcements, these fearfully
disproportioned parties were engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand
encounter. I was on the field, doing, with the other officers, the
best we could to bring up re-enforcements. There was no flinching, no
hesitation, or trembling limbs among the men; but fierce determination
flashing in their eyes, and exhibiting an eager, passionate haste to
aid their comrades, and vindicate the manhood of their race. The air was
rent with their yells, as they rushed on, and the difficulty manifested
was in holding them well in rather than in faltering. Among the
detachment cut off, of whom only six escaped unhurt, nothing I have
ever seen, read, or heard in the annals of war, surpasses the desperate
personal valor exhibited by each and every man. Bayonets came in bloody,
as did the stocks of guns; and the last charge was found gone from
cartridge-boxes.
“During the fight, one poor fellow received a mortal wound, but would
not go to the rear. He told his officer that he could not live, but
would die fighting for the flag of liberty; and continued to load and
discharge his rifle until he fell dead on the field of glory.
“The ball had crushed a vital part,--
He could not long survive;
But, with a brave and loyal heart,
For victory still would strive;
His rifle ‘gainst the traitor foe
With deadly aim would ply;
And, till his life-blood ceased to flow,
Fight on for liberty.
His skin was of the ebon hue,
His heart was nobly brave:
To country, flag, and freedom true,
He would not live a slave.
His rifle flashed,--a traitor falls:
While death is in his eye,
He bravely to his comrades calls,
‘Fight on for liberty!’
He looked upon his bannered sign,
He bowed his noble head,--
‘Farewell, beloved flag of mine!’--
Then fell among the dead.
His comrades will remember well
The hero’s battle-cry,
As in the arms of death he fell,--
‘Fight on for liberty!’
And still for liberty and laws
His comrades will contend,
Till victory crowns the righteous cause,
And tyrant power shall end.
Though low in earth the martyr lies,
Still rings his battle-cry:
From hill to hill the echo flies,--
‘Fight on for liberty!’