Van Buren raid
Van Buren raid | |||||||
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Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Confederate States | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
James G. Blunt Francis J. Herron |
Theophilus Holmes Thomas C. Hindman | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Army of the Frontier |
First Corps, Army of the Trans-Mississippi | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
8,000 | 5,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 killed and 5 wounded or 2 killed and 6 wounded | Unknown, roughly 12 killed, 24 wounded, and several hundred captured | ||||||
The Van Buren raid occurred in Crawford County, Arkansas, on December 28, 1862, during the American Civil War. After defeating Confederate forces led by Major General Thomas C. Hindman at the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, 1862, Union forces under Brigadiers General James G. Blunt and Francis J. Herron prepared for a raid against the Confederate positions at Van Buren and Fort Smith. Disease, lack of supplies, and desertion had previously forced Hindman to begin withdrawing most of his force from the area. Setting out on December 27, the Union troops struck an outlying Confederate cavalry unit near Drippings Spring, north of Van Buren, on the morning of December 28. The Confederate cavalry fled to Van Buren, which was then overrun by Union troops.
The Union pursued and captured three steamboats on the Arkansas River, and captured some Confederate troops and many supplies in Van Buren. Across the river in Fort Smith, the Confederates destroyed supplies and also burned two steamboats trapped upriver. An artillery duel took place at Van Buren, and after nightfall a minor skirmish was fought downriver at Strain's Landing. After the raid, Hindman withdrew his men to Little Rock and the Union force returned from the raid, unable to maintain a supply line to Van Buren across the Boston Mountains. The battle of Prairie Grove and the Van Buren raid broke Confederate strength in the region.
Background
After the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States in 1860, several southern states considered seceding from the union. In the southern state of Arkansas, anti-secessionists were initially strong, slavery being considered a key issue.[1] The successful bombardment of Fort Sumter by Confederate troops in seceded territory on April 12[2] swung political opinion toward secession. The state convention voted to secede on May 6, and Arkansas joined the Confederate States of America.[1]
After significant military activity in
Hindman retained a field command under Holmes and pushed the troops under his command into northern Arkansas and southwestern Missouri.[9] His command was known as the First Corps of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi.[10] Holmes had Hindman return to Little Rock in September, leaving his troops where they were.[11] A militia officer, Brigadier General James S. Rains of the Missouri State Guard, commanded in Hindman's absence.[10] Despite winning the First Battle of Newtonia under the command of Colonel Douglas H. Cooper and Joseph O. Shelby, the Confederates in southwestern Missouri withdrew in early October as Union troops commanded by Brigadier Generals James G. Blunt and John Schofield approached.[12] The Union commands were then combined by Schofield into the Army of the Frontier.[13] Hindman returned from Little Rock on October 15.[13] Some of Schofield's men had entered Arkansas, but in early November, Schofield withdrew all of them except for Blunt's division to Springfield, Missouri. Hindman decided to attack with the Union forces divided, and after his cavalry fought with Blunt in the Battle of Cane Hill, began moving north across the Boston Mountains on December 3.[14] The mountains were high, rugged, and brushy.[15] Union troops commanded by Brigadier General Francis J. Herron began a long movement from Springfield on December 4 to reinforce Blunt.[16]
Late on December 6, Hindman learned that Herron had arrived to reinforce Blunt and would be in the area the next day. In response, Hindman changed his plan to strike Herron first at Prairie Grove and then attack Blunt.[17] Instead of acting aggressively against Herron as planned on December 7, Hindman took up a defensive position and awaited Herron's assault.[18] Hindman's men fought with Herron's until Blunt's men arrived and turned the tide for the Union. Hindman realized that his battered army did not have enough food or ammunition to fight again, and with the Union having been reinforced, fell back to Van Buren beginning the night after the battle.[19] Forage for horses was scarce in the Van Buren area,[20] and Hindman sent some of his cavalry, commanded by Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke, 100 mi (160 km) to the south to Lewisburg.[21] While at Van Buren, Hindman's force also suffered greatly from disease and desertion.[20] Van Buren was located on the north bank of the Arkansas River, with Fort Smith to the southwest on the south bank of the river.[22] The Arkansas River provided a key communication and transportation pathway in a state largely devoid of infrastructure and the Arkansas River Valley was an agricultural area important for feeding the Confederate army.[23] North of the river were the Boston Mountains.[24]
Early maneuvers
Hindman decided that it would be impractical to keep the majority of his force north of the Arkansas River in Van Buren given the condition of his army, and pulled most of his men south of the Arkansas to Fort Smith. Hindman left one
After resting for three days following Prairie Grove, Herron and Blunt decided to move south against Hindman with 8,000 men, although this movement was delayed by a heavy snowstorm. The weather eventually broke, and late on December 25, the two Union officers decided it was time to resume the advance. After spreading disinformation on December 26, that the Union thrust was headed for Huntsville, the movement began the next morning,[34] with 8,000 men and 30 cannons.[35][36] The Union troops traveled during cold weather and over ground that was in places covered with snow.[34] Artillery and wagons had difficulty moving through thick mud.[37] The commands of Blunt and Herron traveled separately, taking different routes.[38]
Raid
On the morning of the 28th, Blunt's cavalry was at the head of his force. The cavalry halted at Oliver's Store on the
The pursuing cavalry, led by Cloud, halted at a hill overlooking the Arkansas River, allowing Blunt and Herron to personally catch up to the force.[44] When the Union troops charged down the hill, Herron sent part of the 1st Missouri Cavalry Regiment to the east to cut off a road that the Confederates could use to retreat. By the time the Union troops entered Van Buren, most of the Confederates had already boarded steamboats on the Arkansas River or were using a ferry to cross the river.[45] Some convalescent soldiers and men from the commissary and quartermaster departments were captured by the Union soldiers in Van Buren. The steamboats withdrawing down the river had been loaded with some of Hindman's supplies before the Union attack struck, and to speed their escape, some of the cargo was thrown overboard.[46]
Scouts informed Blunt that there was a bend in the river 2 mi (3 km) below Van Buren, and Cloud was sent there with a brigade and two cannons to try to intercept the steamboats.[47] The rearmost ship, Frederick Notrebe, was caught by the 2nd Kansas Cavalry. According to Shea, the Kansans fired into the ship, forcing its crew's surrender;[46] Bearss states that the ship's crew intentionally ran the ship aground and abandoned the vessel. Two more steamers, Rose Douglass[a] and Key West continued downriver. Rose Douglass was fired on and then boarded by Union cavalry,[48] and Key West surrendered at Strain's Landing 6 mi (10 km)[46] or 10 mi (16 km) below Van Buren. The vessel had stopped at the landing for unknown reasons and was then caught up to by Union cavalry.[48]
One of the Union mountain howitzers fired on the ferry at Van Buren, killing the horse powering it, although the soldiers on board were able to escape across the river.[49] Union troops also captured the steamer Violet in Van Buren, and took three ammunition wagons and twenty-seven wagons with supplies during the chase of the other steamboats.[50] Rose Douglass, Key West, and Frederick Notrebe were returned to Van Buren[49] by the early afternoon.[51] While Blunt and Herron discussed the prospects of making an attack across the river to Fort Smith, the Confederates brought up troops on the far side of the river.[51] At Fort Smith, Hindman had learned of the Union attack at about 10:00 am. He ordered Shaver's brigade, which was 2 mi (3 km) away, to go to Fort Smith, and ordered Brigadier General Daniel M. Frost, who was with his division 10 mi (16 km) toward Little Rock, to send a detachment of infantry and artillery to Strain's Landing and the rest of his force to Fort Smith. By the time Shaver reached Fort Smith, Union troops had already held Van Buren for about two and a half hours. Shaver had West's Arkansas Battery fire on the town[52] with four 6-pounder smoothbore cannons.[53] Herron viewed this as an outrage, as the town sheltered many civilians as well as the Union troops.[52] The Confederates fired for two hours, and Union artillery was brought up to support the infantry. The 1st Kansas Battery deployed on the hill overlooking the river and fired into Shaver's position at about 4:00 pm[54] with four 10-pounder Parrott rifles.[53] Shaver had not expected to encounter Union artillery, and with Union overshots landing among Shaler's Arkansas Infantry Regiment, ordered a withdrawal. The Union artillery did not detect the retreat and continued firing, while the Union infantry completed its march to Van Buren at about 7:00 pm.[54]
An hour after dark, Cloud sent the 2nd Kansas Cavalry and 1st Kansas Battery back down to Strain's Landing, where he had noticed a Confederate camp during the chase after the steamboats. When the Union units arrived, the position was held by
Aftermath
Convinced that he could not hold Fort Smith against a Union assault,[56] and with everything worth protecting destroyed,[55] Hindman decided to withdraw, leaving only Cooper's brigade and two cavalry regiments in the general area[57] to harass the Union troops.[58] On the morning of December 29, Blunt sent a scouting party across the river, which found that the only Confederates remaining at Fort Smith were 600 sick and wounded. A Union patrol was sent to burn the two transports upriver, but found that the Confederates had already done so.[57] After plundering the town the night after the raid,[59] the Union forces held a military parade that day to impress the local civilians.[60] The Union troops freed several hundred slaves.[61] Supplies that could be sent northward were carried off,[62] and anything they could not carry,[63] including a large quantity of corn, the ferry, and the steamboats, was burned.[62] Blunt, Herron, Colonel Daniel Huston Jr., and 14 men from the 1st Missouri Cavalry briefly crossed the Arkansas river, apparently so that Blunt, Herron, and Huston could claim that they were the first Union officers to cross it. Union troops found Confederate messages in a telegraph office, garnering a significant amount of military intelligence.[64] Overall, the Confederates had lost 25,000 bushels of grain, 42 wagons, and quantities of equipment and ammunition.[63]
Blunt could not operate a supply line across the Boston Mountains, and decided to withdraw that day.[62] Herron led the withdrawal with the infantry and artillery, leaving after sunset. Schofield caught up with the expedition during Herron's withdrawal, but allowed Blunt to remain in command despite Schofield being the senior officer. Blunt left Van Buren with the cavalry on December 30, and the raid was over by the next day,[65] when the Union troops arrived at Rhea's Mill.[66] According to Shea, Union losses were two killed and six wounded;[67] the Encyclopedia of Arkansas reports Union losses of one man killed and five wounded.[53] Confederate losses are not known, but Shea estimates about a dozen were killed, two dozen wounded, and a few hundred captured and then paroled.[67] By January 8, 1863, only parts of two Confederate cavalry regiments and one infantry regiment remained at Fort Smith.[68] Holmes ordered Hindman to abandon the Fort Smith area, and the Confederates spent the beginning of 1863 retreating to Little Rock.[69] Cooper's men went to the Indian Territory,[68] and a small force led by William Steele remained at Forth Smith;[70] Union troops captured the post on September 1, 1863.[71] The battle of Prairie Grove and the Van Buren raid had broken Confederate strength in the region;[59] the historian Shelby Foote wrote that "practically speaking, [Hindman] had no army".[72] Cavalry raids and guerrilla warfare continued in the area, but fighting between large-scale armies did not occur in the region after Prairie Grove and Van Buren.[61]
Notes
References
- ^ a b Dougan, Michael B. (May 13, 2022). "Secession Convention". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- ^ McPherson 1998, pp. 1–4.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1998, pp. 34–38.
- ^ Christ 2010, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Christ 2010, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 7.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Christ 2010, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Bearss 1967, pp. 123–124.
- ^ a b Christ 2010, p. 31.
- ^ Bearss 1967, pp. 124–125.
- ^ Bearss 1967, pp. 125–126.
- ^ a b Bearss 1967, p. 126.
- ^ Christ 2010, pp. 31–34.
- ^ Foote 1986, p. 48.
- ^ Christ 2010, p. 34.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 125–127.
- ^ Neal & Kremm 1993, pp. 149–150.
- ^ Christ 2010, pp. 35–36.
- ^ a b Bearss 1967, p. 131.
- ^ a b c Piston & Rutherford 2021, p. 95.
- ^ Bearss 1967, Map following p. 132.
- ^ Christ 2010, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Christ 2010, p. 22.
- ^ a b c Bearss 1967, pp. 131–132.
- ^ Bearss 1967, p. 132.
- ^ a b Shea 2009, p. 271.
- ^ a b c Bearss 1967, pp. 132–133.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 250.
- ^ Official Records 1888, p. 172.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 252.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 251–252.
- ^ Shea 1994, p. 57.
- ^ a b Bearss 1967, pp. 133–134.
- ^ Christ 2010, p. 36.
- ^ Piston & Rutherford 2021, p. 94.
- ^ Bearss 1967, p. 135.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 269.
- ^ Bearss 1967, pp. 135–136.
- ^ a b Shea 2009, p. 270.
- ^ a b Bearss 1967, p. 136.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 270–271.
- ^ Bearss 1967, pp. 136–137.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 272–273.
- ^ Bearss 1967, p. 137.
- ^ a b c d Shea 2009, p. 273.
- ^ Bearss 1967, pp. 137–138.
- ^ a b Bearss 1967, p. 138.
- ^ a b Bearss 1967, p. 139.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 273–274.
- ^ a b Shea 2009, p. 274.
- ^ a b Bearss 1967, pp. 139–140.
- ^ a b c Kent, Carolyn Yancey (October 18, 2021). "Capture of Van Buren". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ^ a b Shea 2009, pp. 275–276.
- ^ a b c Shea 2009, p. 277.
- ^ a b Bearss 1967, p. 141.
- ^ a b Bearss 1967, pp. 141–142.
- ^ Bearss & Gibson 1969, p. 261.
- ^ a b Castel 1997, p. 100.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 278.
- ^ a b Hess et al. 2006, p. 174.
- ^ a b c Bearss 1967, p. 142.
- ^ a b Neal & Kremm 1993, p. 154.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 279.
- ^ Shea 2009, pp. 279–281.
- ^ Christ 2010, pp. 36–37.
- ^ a b Shea 2009, p. 281.
- ^ a b Bearss & Gibson 1969, p. 262.
- ^ Shea 2009, p. 283.
- ^ Bearss & Gibson 1969, pp. 262–264.
- ^ Bearss & Gibson 1969, pp. 268–269.
- ^ Foote 1986, p. 51.
Sources
- JSTOR 40027605.
- Bearss, Edwin C.; Gibson, Arrell Morgan (1969). Fort Smith: Little Gibraltar on the Arkansas. Norman, Oklahoma: OCLC 248031029.
- ISBN 978-0-7006-0872-0.
- Christ, Mark K. (2010). Civil War Arkansas 1863: The Battle for a State. Norman, Oklahoma: ISBN 978-0-8061-4433-7.
- ISBN 0-394-74621-X.
- Hess, Earl J.; Hatcher, Richard W.; Piston, William Garrett; Shea, William L. (2006). Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove: A Battlefield Guide with a Section on Wire Road. Lincoln, Nebraska: ISBN 978-0-8032-7366-5.
- ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- Neal, Diane; Kremm, Thomas W. (1993). Lion of the South: General Thomas C. Hindman. Macon, Georgia: ISBN 0-86554-422-0.
- Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 22. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1888.
- Piston, William Garrett; Rutherford, John C. (2021). "We Gave Them Thunder": Marmaduke's Raid and the Civil War in Missouri and Arkansas. Springfield, Missouri: Ozarks Studies Institute. ISBN 978-1-7346290-1-9.
- Shea, William L. (1994). "1862: "A Continual Thunder"". In Christ, Mark K. (ed.). Rugged and Sublime: The Civil War in Arkansas. Fayetteville, Arkansas: ISBN 1-55728-356-7.
- Shea, William L. (2009). Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: ISBN 978-0-8078-3315-5.
- Shea, William L.; Hess, Earl J. (1998). "Pea Ridge, Arkansas". In Kennedy, Frances H. (ed.). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
Further reading
- Baxter, William (2000) [1864]. Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1-55-728591-1.