Perryville In The Indian Territory

The Battle of Perryville, fought August 26^th 1863 in the Indian Territory, was an attempt to make a final defeat of the Confederates in the area.

Following the Union victory at Battle of Honey Springs in July 1863 Union Major General James Blunt of the Army of the Frontier marched out of Fort Gibson looking for Confederate Brigadier General William Steele’s force.  They found each other as Steele’s men were crossing the Canadian River.  The Confederates did not want to stand and fight, their defeat at Honey Springs had dispirited the men, there was a lack of supplies and they deserting en masse.

Steele made the decision to split his troops up.  He sent Confederate Brigadier General William Cabell’s Arkansas men to Fort Smith to hold a defensive position where he could be reinforced, Brigadier General Douglas Cooper’s Indian soldiers moved south to Perryville where they could be resupplied, and Colonel Chilly McIntosh was sent to the west to cover Cooper’s flanks.  Steele hoped that Blunt would pursue Cabell to Fort Smith, where he could be caught out in the open, but Blunt pursued Cooper’s men instead.

Perryville was a major Confederate supply depot located on the Texas Road.  Blunt hoped to attack and destroy Cooper’s 5,000 men and take their supply depot, and then he would turn on Cabell and Fort Smith.  Cooper posted a strong picket line that included two howitzers blocking the road into town.  The Union troops arrived near town and engaged the Confederates on the night of August 26^th 1863.  Cooper had his men behind some barricades with artillery aimed on the road.  Blunt had his men deployed on either side of the road and brought up his own artillery.  The firing went on for a short time in the dark.  The Union hit so fast that there was no time to call in reinforcements, Cooper thought he might be surrounded and so retreated leaving the supplies behind for the Union troops.

Blunt took what supplies he could use and then had rest of things, along with the town burned.  The loss of the supply depot crippled the Confederate forces in the Indian Territory.

They Withdrew In The Night

A tactical stalemate, the Battle of Prairie Grover which was fought December 7^th 1862 ensured the Union hold on northwest Arkansas.

Confederate Major General Thomas C Hindman moved his Army of the Trans Mississippi between two Union forces under the command of Brigadier Generals James Blunt and Francis Herron.  At dawn on December 7^th 1862 Hindman moved first on Herron’s cavalry, however running into the Union infantry he lost ground.  The Confederates established a line northeast of Prairie Grove Church on a high wooded ridge.  Union artillery opened on Hindman’s line, setting up two failed Union attacks.  Confederate attacks were halted in the face of Union canister fire.  At the moment it looked as though Hindman would be successful in his attack against Harron’s troops, Blunt arrived on his left flank.

With the coming darkness of night, both side still held their part of the field.  They called a truce so that the dead could be gathered and the wounded tended to.  Hindman had blankets wrapped around the wheels of his cannon and silently withdrew during the night, giving control of northwest Arkansas to the Union troops.  The battle ended with about 1,250 Union casualties, and 1,300 Confederate.

A Running Battle In Arkansas

The Battle of Cane Hill was fought in Washington County Arkansas on November 28th 1862.

As part of the Confederate strategy to push the Union troops back into Missouri, the Battle of Cane Hill was fought to gain back ground lost during the Pea Ridge campaign. Confederate Major General Thomas C Hindman with about 11,000 soldiers moved into Fort Smith, Arkansas and got ready to move across the Boston Mountains located in the northwestern part of the state. About 5,000 Union troops under the command of Brigadier General James Blunt, were waiting for them. Trying to hold the Union force in place, Hindman sent 2,000 cavalry under the command of Brigadier General John S Marmaduke to keep Blunt’s men busy while the rest of the Confederates moved through mountains.

Union troops learned of the Marmaduke’s cavalry and moved south about 35 miles, surprising the Confederate cavalry by suddenly attacking them on November 28th 1862. Marmaduke ordered a retreat with Colonel Joseph Shelby’s cavalry covering as the rest of the Confederates headed for the mountains. Blunt’s force pursued the retreating Confederates for 12 miles, with a running fight going on all the way. The battle lasted for about nine hours, with the Union loosing about 41 men and the Confederates about 435.

The Second Time

Major General James G Blunt’s Union cavalry caught up to Major General Sterling Price’s Confederate cavalry at about three pm on the October 28th 1864 in Newtonia,MO. The rebel force was retreating after its foray into Missouri, when it made a rest stop about two mile south of the town. The Federal army spotted Price’s supply train on the Cassville road. This would become the second battle of Newtonia.

The Union’s 16th Kansas and 2nd Colorado formed two lines and charged the fleeing supply train. The skirmishers that the Confederate sent out were in no condition at this point of the war to put up much of a resistance, and were soon push back. General Joseph Shelby brought in his “Iron Brigade”, he road to the front, dismounted and lead the attack that flanked the smaller number of Union troops, pushing them back into a cornfield on the Matthew H Ritchey property. The fighting continued here until Federal reinforcements and cannon under General John B Sanborn showed up, causing the Rebels to retreat at nightfall. By the next morning Price and his men had retreated across the prairie and into Indian Territory.

Although this was a ruff fight the casualties were light. The Union side lost about 400 soldier and the Confederates 250.