60 



AEMY OPERATIONS. 



villo with two thousand more. Small forces 

 were also at Arkansas, Crystal Hill, and Arka- 

 delphia. The latter post had heen made the 

 seat of government. These forces were esti- 

 mated at twenty thousand men with a deficient 

 outfit. In the northwestern part of Arkansas, 

 near Cross Hollows, twelve miles south of Fay- 

 etteville, Gen. Herron had a severe conflict 

 with a Confederate force near the end of Octo- 

 ber. Again on the 28th of November Gen. 

 Blunt made an attack on Gen. Marmaduke with 

 about eight thousand men, at Cane Hill, forty- 

 five miles north of Van Buren, which caused 

 the Confederate force to retreat to Van Buren. 

 Again, on the 7th of December, the combined 

 Confederate forces under the command of Gen. 

 Hindman, estimated at fifteen thousand men, 

 made an attempt to cut off reinforcements for 

 Gen. Blunt, ten miles south of Fayetteville. 

 The Confederate forces advanced on the flank 

 of Gen. Blunt's position, and attacked Gen. 

 Herron with thereenforcements, who held them 

 in check until they were attacked in the rear 

 by Gen. Blunt at Crawford's Prairie. The fight 

 continued obstinate until dark, when the Con- 

 federate forces retreated across Boston Moun- 

 tains. The loss was severe on both sides, and 

 the advance of the Confederate troops into 

 Missouri was checked. 



The campaign in the West was now pushed 

 through. The evacuation of Columbus, and 

 the flanking of other Confederate positions 

 on the Mississippi river by the force on the 

 advance up the Tennessee river, led to the fit- 

 ting out of an expedition to move down the 

 Mississippi. On the 4th of March an armed 

 reconnoissance, commanded by Flag Officer 

 Foote and General Cullum, was made as far as 

 Columbus. This consisted of six gunboats, four 

 mortar boats, and three transports having on 

 board two regiments and two battalions of 

 infantry under Gen. Sherman. On arriving 

 at Columbus, it was found to have been 

 evacuated and subsequently occupied by two 

 hundred and fifty of the 2d Illinois on a scout- 

 ing expedition. The Confederate troops had 

 chiefly retired down the river to Island No. 10 

 and New Madrid. The evacuation was a con- 

 sequence of the position being flanked on both 

 sides of the river. The distances to various 

 points down the river are as follows: Cairo 

 to Columbus, 20 miles ; Hickman, 37" ; Island 

 No. 10, 45 ; New Madrid, 55 ; Point Pleasant, 

 87; Plumb Point, 154; Island No. 33, 164; 

 Fort Wright, 167; Fulton Landing, 168; Hat- 

 che River, 170 ; Island No. 34, 170 ; Fort Ran- 

 dolph, 175 ; Fort Pillow, 238 ; Memphis, 242 ; 



This force returned to Cairo, and on the 14th 

 a formidable expedition left to move down the 

 river. The following vessels formed the fleet : 

 flag ship Benton, Lieut. Phelps acting flag 

 captain ; gunboats Cincinnati, Commander R. 

 N. Stembel ; Carondelet, Commander Walke ; 

 Mound City, Commander Kelly; Louisville, 

 Commander Dove ; Pittsburgh, Lieut. Thomp- 

 son commanding; St. Louis, Lieut. Paulding 



commanding ; Conestoga, Lieut. Blodgett com- 

 manding the only boat in the fleet not iron- 

 clad. 



The mortar boats assigned to the expedition 

 were designated numerically. Each had a 

 mortar of 13-inch calibre and discharging a 

 round shell weighing two hundred and fifteen 

 pounds without its contents. The " sailing " 

 or " running" crews of these mortar boats con- 

 sisted of one captain and two men. The force 

 to fire the mortars in action was one captain to 

 each brace of mortars, and one lieutenant and 

 twelve men to each boat. The Nos. of the 

 vessels were, 5, 7, 11, 19, 22, 23, 27, 29, 30, 38, 

 under command in chief of Capt. H. E. Mayna- 

 dier, U. S. Army. The steamers Hammit and 

 Wilson, lashed together, towed four ; the Pike 

 and Wisconsin four others ; Lake Erie, No. 2, 

 towed two others. Then followed a steamer 

 with a barge laden with coal in tow, after which 

 came the two ordnance steamers, and two 

 transports with the 27th Illinois, Col. Buford, 

 and 15th Wisconsin, Col. Hey, infantry the 

 latter regiment being composed exclusively of 

 Norwegians and also a battery of the 2d Illi- 

 nois artillery. With the gunboats on the right, 

 followed by the mortar fleet, ordnance boats, 

 and transports with troops, the gunboat Con- 

 estoga brought up the rear, protecting the 

 transports, while eight or ten little screw pro- 

 pellers, used for conveying orders and despatch- 

 es from the flag ship to the fleet, were busily 

 darting in all directions. 



The expedition reached Columbus at 1 p. M., 

 and at 3 o'clock left for Hickman, where it 

 arrived between five and six o'clock. A 

 small force of Confederate cavalry left upon, 

 its approach. The town was partly deserted ; 

 a few Union flags, however, were waved. The 

 next morning it proceeded down the river to 

 within half a mile of the Missouri point above 

 Island No. 10, which by an air line was two and 

 a half miles distant, while by the river, owing 

 to the bend, it was four miles distant. In this 

 position the flagship opened fire upon a Con- 

 federate battery discovered on the Kentucky 

 shore, but, owing to the distance, without ef- 

 fect. Two of the mortar boats then, having got 

 into position, opened upon and soon silenced it. 

 A large Confederate force appeared to be en- 

 camped on that side. 



Island No. 10 is situated in the corner 

 of that bend of the Mississippi river which 

 touches the border of Tennessee, a few miles 

 further up the river than New Madrid, although 

 nearly southwest of that point. It is situated 

 about two hundred and forty miles from St. 

 Louis, and nine hundred and fifty from New 

 Orleans. The average depth of the water at 

 this point is from ninety to one hundred and 

 twenty feet, and the breadth of the stream 

 from mainland to mainland about nine hun- 

 dred yards. The current runs by the island at 

 a moderately fast rate, and with the power of 

 three rivers Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio- 

 combined. The island is near the southern, or 



