BEGUN.
|Van Dorn had learned through his spies and the country people about the
strong front presented by General Curtis on the northern bank of Sugar
Creek and the hills that bordered it. He therefore made his plans for
attacking on the other side, going completely around to the rear and
placing himself between the union army and its base. With his great
superiority of numbers he felt sure of winning the battle, and in case
he did so the whole union force would be compelled to surrender, as it
would have no line of retreat. Possibly some of the cavalry and horse
artillery might get away, but this would be a small matter compared with
the capture of the whole of the infantry and the immense wagon-train.
In carrying out this plan Van Dorn left the main road about half-way
between Sugar Creek and Fayetteville, and moved by a side road which
is nearly parallel to the main one. This side road passes through Osage
Springs and Benton ville, branching at the latter place in the direction
of Pineville, and connects with the main road near the Missouri state
line about eight miles further north. The men carried rations for four
days, and all were confident that by the end of that time they would be
living on the stores they were to capture from the union army.
At Bentonville, ten miles from the main camp at Sugar Creek, Van Dorn's
advance encountered General Sigel's command on the sixth of March, and
had a sharply-contested battle, though not a very destructive one on
either side. At first General Sigel supposed it was only a scouting
party that had advanced, but very soon the numbers increased so rapidly
that he saw it necessary to retreat. And just as the attack began he
received orders from General Curtis to fall back to Sugar Creek, and
consequently his movements had the double stimulus of obedience to his
superior and overwhelming numbers of the enemy.
The retreat was skilfully conducted, and was pronounced by impartial
students of the war a splendid display of military ability. Sigel sent
his train ahead and got it away safely; then he put the rest of his
forces in motion, holding the enemy at bay with a single battery of
artillery and about one thousand of his best infantry. As the enemy
advanced it was met with a vigorous fire of shot and shell from the
rapidly-worked guns, supported by the infantry. Half the battery was
used for this purpose, and while the advancing forces of the rebels were
thus checked and thrown into confusion, the rest of the battery was sent
ahead to take up a good position.
As soon as the report came that the other section was in position the
first would be limbered up and rapidly rushed on, the infantry fell back
to the support of the guns which were ready for their work, and then as
the enemy advanced the reception of a few minutes before was repeated.
Meantime the first section had taken up a new position; and, fighting
in this way, the retreat was brilliantly successful, and Sigel's forces
joined those of Curtis before nightfall.
What made Sigel's success all the greater was that the roads were in sad
condition, being cut up by recent rains, and all of them narrow. Much
of the country was wooded, and in some places densely so; but this
circumstance, while a disadvantage to the retreating force, was also
a hindrance to the assailing one, as they were liable to fall into
ambuscades unless they exercised great caution. Sigel's loss in this
retreat was less than one hundred men altogether, and a good part of
these were captured by going on a wrong road and marching directly into
the enemy's lines. During the night a battery of four pieces met the
same fate, and the incident was thus humorously described by one of the
rebel officers:
“It was a little after dark,” said he, “when our pickets heard and soon
saw a battery coming leisurely along the road. The sergeant in charge of
the picket took in the situation at once, and when the battery came up
to him he promptly challenged it. In the gloom of the night the captain
did not observe the gray uniforms, and thought himself among friends.
“'We want to find General Asboth's Division,' said the captain.
“'All right,' replied the sergeant. 'Keep along this road, and you 'll
find it on the left. I 'll send a man along to show you.'
“The captain thanked the sergeant and accepted the guide, who took the
battery into camp and quietly told the boys what was up. They gathered
around, and before they knew where they were the artillerymen were
snaked off their horses and told to surrender. The poor devil of a
captain was awfully down in the mouth when he found what a trap he'd
walked into.”
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.”
Pea Ridge would seem to have been the scene of more barbaric fighting
than any other battle of the war, when we include the performances of
Texans and Indians; but in defense of the Texans it may be said that the
bowie-knife is really no more barbaric a weapon than the sword in
its mode of operation, whatever may be urged against the practice
of carrying it habitually. The wounds described by the writer in the
Richmond _Whig_ could easily be attributed to a cavalry saber and nobody
would think it out of the ordinary modes of warfare.
With the increase of civilization in Texas and the Southwest generally
since the war the bowie-knife seems to have gone out of fashion. Little
is heard of it nowadays, and as the state of Texas has a law imposing
a heavy fine for the carrying of concealed weapons, it is probable that
this famous implement will soon be forgotten altogether, and be seen
only in museums by the side of the tomahawk and scalping-knife.
“Why is it called the bowie-knife?” a youthful reader asks.
It is so called after Colonel Bowie, its inventor. His name has clung to
his knife just as that of Doctor Guillotin has adhered to the beheading
machine which he designed, and that of Colonel Colt to his revolving
pistol.