We Are The Eagles

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." -- 1st Peter 3:15

Happy Birthday to: Hayden Cathey - Feb. 22,  Matt Cathey and Barbara Reaves - Feb. 25
Happy anniversary to Michael and Christi Russell (March 1).

With a lack of news in this area for the moment, I'll populate this column by printing my father's old article about the Battle of Marks' Mills.  This article appeared in the Herald and other local papers sometime back in the 1980s. I thought it appropriate since 2014 is the 150th anniversary of that battle.  Here is part 1:

"The Battle of Marks’ Mills was fought on April 25^th 1864 around the junction of the Camden-to-Pine Bluff and Warren-to-Princeton roads. The mills from which the battle takes its name were located in the vicinity of the road junction. These mills were owned and operated by John Harvie Marks who had moved from Alabama to this area in 1834 and settled on what is now known as the Red land Ridge.

This battle was the fourth in a series of engagements fought in South Arkansas in the spring of 1864. These battles are known in the Official Records as the Camden Expedition. The expedition started in late March when the Union Army in Little Rock moved south on its ill-fated journey towards Camden and ended the following May with the retreat of the Union Army across the Saline River at Jenkins’ Ferry and back to Little Rock. 

By the 15^th of April, the Union Army, commanded by Major-General Frederick Steele, had reached and occupied Camden. Although his army was inside the well-fortified city of Camden, he was still in a critical situation. His main concern was where to find supplies for his army of 12,000 men and 12,000 horses and mules. Earlier, Steele had sent several dispatches to his superiors suggesting that his army by supplied by boat on the Ouachita River. For some reason this suggestion was not carried out. Steele was now left with the choice of either securing his supplies from the countryside or by wagon train from Pine Bluff. 

The capture of one of his supply trains on the 18^th of April at the Battle of Poison Springs left Steele in a more critical situation than before. But just when it seemed his state of affairs was at its worst, he received an answer from his earlier dispatches sent to Pine Bluff. This came in the form of a large wagon train loaded with five days rations for his army. Somehow this train of 150 wagons had managed to slip past the Confederate scouts and travel 80 miles through enemy-held territory. As soon as it reached Camden on the 20^th, it was unloaded and made ready to return to Pine Bluff for additional supplies. 

On the 17^th of April, Lieutenant-General E. Kirby Smith, the Commanding General for the Trans-Mississippi Department, reached Woodlawn, which was west of Camden. Upon his arrival, he ordered General Sterling Price, the Commanding General for the Arkansas forces, to follow through with a plan he had suggested earlier. This called for a cavalry force to be placed east of the Ouachita River. Their mission would be to interrupt the Union supply line that covered the 80 miles from Camden to Pine Bluff. ⁴

General Price immediately organized a large cavalry force that was to be commanded by Brigadier-General James Fagan. On the 22^nd, Fagan’s Arkansas cavalry moved out from their headquarters at Woodlawn and marched to El Dorado Landing on the Ouachita River. Here they would be joined by Brigadier-General Joe Shelby’s command of Missouri cavalry. This would be the cavalry force to operate east of the Ouachita.

During the afternoon of the 22^nd, Shelby’s scouts had learned that a large wagon train was making ready to leave Camden. This information was reported to their commander. When Fagan learned of this train, he began making preparations to capture or destroy it.

The Union supply train that left Camden on the morning of the 23^rd was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Drake of the 36^th Iowa Infantry. The train consisted of 240 government wagons, a number of sutler’s wagons and other private wagons along with cotton buyers and Arkansas refugees. Drake’s escort consisted of: 300 men from the 43^rd Indiana Infantry, 500 men from the 36^th Iowa Infantry, 400 men from the 77^th Ohio Infantry, 240 cavalry and four pieces of artillery from the famous Second Missouri Light Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant Charles Peetz, a total of 1440 men. ⁵ The train reached the western edge of the Moro Bottom without much difficulty where they camped on the night of the 24^th. 

After crossing the Ouachita River, Fagan with his force of 4,000 cavalry and eight pieces of artillery traveled rapidly to intercept the train that they knew was one day ahead of them. After they had traveled 45 long and hard miles, Fagan halted his column for a much-needed rest. It was only 8 miles to Marks’ Mills. The time was midnight April 24^th."

Please feel free to share items of interest for this column: birthdays, anniversaries, events, historical items of note, pictures, or whatever you feel moved to send.  This column will appear on the internet at http://WeAreTheEagles.blogspot.com. Go Eagles.