"6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And
thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of
them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way,
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." -- Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Birthdays
this week include: Angela Wagnon (March 4), Sylvester Wright (March 7),
Meta Wright (March 9) and Casey Cargile (March 11).
Happy anniversary to Odus and Mabel Clary (March 3).
March
is here, with Spring right around the corner. It's really cold and
windy out there and, for you out-of-towner Eagles, we got some snow this
Monday morning..
The change to daylight savings time is this weekend, so be sure to set your clocks forward.
I
haven't yet heard the total raised in this weekend's BBQ and Auction
fundraiser at the community center, but there were a lot of people
present, so it was probably pretty good.
Part 2 of the Battle of Marks' Mills by James L. Boney: "Before
daylight, Fagan learned from his scouts that the supply train was
camped on Moro Creek. He was delighted by this information. They
had overtaken the train and he now made plans to attack it at Marks’
Mills. At this
place the roads went out in every direction: to Camden, to Mount Elba
and Pine Bluff, to Princeton, to More Landing, and to Warren and Long
View.
General
Fagan’s soldiers were also determined to capture this supply train
since many of them lived on or near the road the enemy was traveling.
It was known by all that the Federal soldiers were robbing every
house and barn they passed. They were desperate for food. Not only
did they take food, but robbed every house of its silverware,
jewelry, bedding and fine clothes, in fact every article of family
stores of any value including every horse and mule in sight.
At
dawn on the morning of the 25th,
Drake started the train on the road to Marks’ Mills. Earlier he
had ordered the 43rd
Indiana forward to the junction of the Warren and Pine Bluff roads.
Colonel Drake was two miles west of the junction when a courier
brought him word that Shelby’s entire force had been sighted about
three miles down the Warren road. He immediately sent orderlies to
the road to bring up his other two regiments. In the meantime the
43rd Indiana, 300
men strong, was forming a battle line covering the road junction with
a line of skirmishers well out in front.
The time: 8 a.m., April 25 1864.
By
daylight that morning, Fagan’s horsemen were in motion along the
road that would taken them to Marks’ Mills. When they were about
one and a half miles form the battlefield, Fagan’s escort was fired
into by the 75-man Union cavalry patrol sent down the Warren road.
General Fagan halted is column and ordered General Shelby to turn
right toward the east. This command, guided by William Marks, would
wind their way over the neighborhood roads and come upon the Pine
Bluff road five miles east of Marks’ Mills. He then ordered
General William Cabell to form a line of battle with his brigade
parallel to the Pine Bluff road. Colonel Monroe’s 1st
Arkansas cavalry, which was marching directly behind the escort, was
dismounted and formed on the right of the Warren road with two
companies sent forward as skirmishers. When about 80 yards from
their horses, they became engaged with the Union skirmishers and
drove them back to the main force.
In
the meantime, General Cabell had formed the rest of his brigade.
Colonel Thomas Gunter’s command, composed of his battalion and
Colonel Allen Pettus’ battalion of State troops, were placed on
Colonel Monroe’s right. Colonel Morgan’s 2nd
Arkansas Cavalry was placed on the left of the road. Captain William
Hughey’s four-gun battery of artillery was posted in the Warren
road with Colonel Gordon’s 4th
Arkansas as support.
General
Cabell then sent an aide to General Fagan informing him of his
position that was then across two roads leading into the road on
which the train was moving. General Cabell received orders to move
forward and attack the train. At the command from Cabell, the whole
line of skirmishers and all except two companies of skirmishers under
Colonel Monroe moved forward under a tremendous fire from the enemy
and attacked the train.
On
the right or east flank, Colonel Gunter’s command engaged a part of
the enemy that was trying to escape in the direction of the Mill or
Pine Bluff. Here they were successful in capturing the train and in
killing four men.
On
the left or west flank, Colonel Morgan’s 2nd
Arkansas also met with little resistance as they advanced. After
traveling about a mile, they came upon the train and, under heavy
fire, they assisted in killing a number of horses and mules. The
center regiment, Monroe’s 1st,
had advanced down the Warren road. After covering about 80 yards,
they came into contact with the 43rd
Indiana Infantry who were covering the road junction. Suddenly the
43rd launched a
counter-attack that caused the 1st
Arkansas to fall back.
When
Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Drake arrived at the scene of action, he
found the 43rd
Indiana engaged with Monroe’s 1st
Cavalry on the ridge known as the Red Lands. What he saw made his
blood run cold. All of the 43rd
Indiana was slowly falling back with the exception of three companies
that Major Norris had been holding back as reserves. With these
three companies, Drake decided to make a counterattack. While he was
forming his line, the 36th
Iowa arrived and was placed in line with the 43rd.
Behind this line he placed Lieutenant Peetz’ two 12-pounder James
rifles. While Major Hamilton was forming the 36th
Iowa, the Confederates on the left and right had changed fronts and
were now converging on the 43rd.
The
left and right regiments, after breaking through the train, realized
that the center had not advanced. They could hear heavy firing in
their rear. They immediately retraced their line of advance and came
upon a line with the 1st
Arkansas. As fast as each regiment came into position, it became
engaged with the enemy.
After
Morgan’s and Gunter’s regiments had been re-aligned with Monroe’s
1st, they moved
forward. The Confederates, after advancing some three hundred yards,
spotted the Union battle line. The Federal soldiers were posted in
the open woods along the ridge with a section of artillery in
position. The time: 9 a.m., April 25th
1864.
As
the Confederates slowly made their way toward the hill, Colonel Drake
calmly waited until they had closed to within 75 yards. He then
ordered Peetz to fire his artillery. The two James rifles shot
forth their smoke and flame sending a storm of grapeshot into the
advancing Confederates. At the same time, the 36th
Iowa and 43rd
Indiana began to fire volley after volley of minie balls into the
Confederate ranks. The flag went down only to be raised again. The
battle line staggered and fell back only to surge forward again. For
the next one and one-half hours the battle raged with a savage fury.
Cabell’s Arkansas cavalry, the 43rd
Indiana, and the 36th
Iowa fired thousands of rounds of ammunition. "
