14 



ANTHROPOLOGY. 



ARKANSAS. 



truths of Christianity by a mind trained to the 

 examination of evidence and the detection 

 of error. His principal published works are 

 "Analysis of Blackstone's Commentaries," 

 "Nisi Prius Reports," "Anthon's Law Stu- 

 dent," and several minor works on the practice 

 of law. 



ANTHROPOLOGY. (See ETHNOLOGY.) 

 ARKADELPHIA, the capital of Clark co., 

 Arkansas, is situated on the right bank of the 

 Washita river, seventy-five miles south-west 

 of Little Rock. Selected on account of its re- 

 mote position in the interior and south of the 

 Arkansas river, it was made the principal de- 

 pot of the enemy in the States of Arkansas, 

 Missouri, and Louisiana. Military workshops 

 were also established there; but on the ap- 

 proach of Gen. Steele they were removed to 

 Marshall, Texas. 



ARKANSAS. The military operations and 

 their consequences comprise all that is really 

 important in the history of this sparsely 

 settled State, during 1863. The battles in the 

 north-western part of the State, at the close 

 of the previous year, resulted in causing the 

 enemy to fall back upon the Arkansas river. 

 Their forces were so reduced that only desul- 

 tory operations took place, until the attack up- 

 on Helena, on the 4th of July, when the Con- 

 federate General Holmes, with about fifteen 

 thousand men, was defeated by Gen. Prentiss. 

 Vicksburg having now surrendered, Gen. Steele 

 was detached from Gen. Grant's army and or- 

 dered to Helena. On the 31st of July, Gen. 

 Steele reported to Gen. Hurlbut, commanding 

 the sixteenth army corps, and was placed in 

 command of all the troops at Helena, and the 

 cavalry division under Brig. Gen. Davidson, 

 then operating in Arkansas, making an aggre- 

 gate of about twelve thousand men, for the 

 purpose of making an expedition, the object of 

 which was the possession of the State. Not- 

 withstanding the reduction of his force by sick- 

 ness and leaves of absence, and resignations by 

 which only Gen. Davidson was left as a gen- 

 eral officer, he completed his organization and 

 pushed his entire force on to Clarendon, about 

 forty miles from Helena, and began crossing 

 the White river, on the lYth of August. Here 

 Gen. Steele found that the number who were 

 sick had increased to a thousand, and he order- 

 ed them to be sent to Duvall's Bluff, a very 

 healthy location on the White river. On the 

 23d the rest of his command followed. From 

 this point a successful advance was made, and 

 after skirmishing with Marmaduke's cavalry 

 all along the way, Gen. Steele's whole avail- 

 able force, on the 2d of September, was con- 

 centrated at Brownsville. After a two days' re- 

 connoissance the army again reached the Ar- 

 kansas river on the 7th. The 8th and 9th 

 were occupied in a reconnoissance, and the 

 10th saw the two columns of the Union army, 

 numbering not more than seven thousand men, 

 marching nearly abreast on either side of the 

 Arkansas toward the capital. The panic and 



confusion which this sudden approach caused 

 in Little Rock are indescribable. The streets 

 were filled with women and children and 

 knots of citizens, listening to the sound of can- 

 non constantly growing nearer and nearer, and 

 the shells from Gen. Steele's batteries, which 

 had now been planted almost opposite the city, 

 shrieking and howling over their heads and 

 breaking in the woods beyond them. Officers, 

 of the enemy, thinking themselves secure, were 

 eating their suppers in the houses. The rapid 

 rush of flying horsemen, the clouds of dust, the 

 glad hurrahs, and gleaming sabres of others 

 dashing through the dusty streets in hot pursuit, 

 were the first intimations of danger. Women 

 and children ran in panic to their homes, the 

 crowd of citizens quickly dispersed, and Con- 

 federate officers mounting their horses were 

 captured while endeavoring to escape. A little 

 later, windows were thrown up and handker- 

 chiefs waved, and curious throngs gathered in 

 the door yards, closely scrutinizing each squad- 

 ron as it passed. 



A squadron of cavalry dashed up to the 

 United States Arsenal as soon as the forces en- 

 tered the city, and arrived just in time to pre- 

 vent its being blown up by the enemy. There 

 was over a ton of powder in the magazine, and 

 two or three thousand rounds of fixed ammu- 

 nition in the various buildings. The public 

 records of the city had been removed to Wash- 

 ington, and the machinery in the machine shops 

 to Arkadelphia. 



The mayor of the city at once sent the fol- 

 lowing communication to Gen. Davidson : 



MAYOR'S OFFICE, LITTLE ROCK, Sept. 10th, 1663. 

 To the Officer Commanding Federal Army : 



The army of Gen. Price has retreated and abandon- 

 ed the defence of this city. We are now powerless 

 and ask your mercy. The city is now occupied alone 

 by women and children and non-combatants, with 

 perhaps a few stragglers from the Confederate forces. 

 May I ask of you protection for persons and property ? 

 I have been ill for some days, and am unable to visit 

 you in person. 



Very respectfully, C. P. BERTRAND, Mayor. 



Gen. Davidson caused guards to be placed 

 upon every street corner of the city, and, to 

 the credit of his division, it is said that, al- 

 though they beheld their comrades shot from 

 their saddles from houses in the suburbs, and 

 entered the city amid the gathering shades 

 of night, which would have concealed all man- 

 ner of crimes, not a single act of violence or 

 injustice was done to the citizens of the place, 

 or any article of private property disturbed. 



Gen. Steele and staff crossed the Arkansas in 

 a skiff, as the bridges were not passable, and 

 entered Little Rock soon after Gen. David- 

 son. He immediately appointed Gen. David- 

 son military commander of the capital and 

 vicinity. Upon assuming this command, he 

 adopted several regulations, among which was 

 one allowing the municipal authorities of the 

 city to temporarily continue the exercise of 

 their functions. Another inVited citizens of the 

 surrounding country to bring in their produce 



