Report of Lieut. Col. Henry C. Caldwell, Third Iowa Cavalry,
commanding First Brigade, Cavalry Division
Headquarters First Brigade, Cavalry Division, Benton, Ark., November
18, 1863
Lieutenant : I have the honor to report the results of the
recent cavalry expedition undertaken in pursuance of orders from Major General Steele.
I left this post with my command on the morning if the 10th
instant; halted that night near Hot Springs. The next day I marched by the way of
Hot Springs, on the Murfreesborough road, through Clark Country, to a point with 18 miles
of Murfreesborough. At this point a prisoner was captured, who informed me the Major
Witherspoon, of the rebel cavalry, with a detachment of his command, was encamped 12 miles
from me on the Fort Smith and Washington Road.
Although I had already marched 40 miles, I determined to
strike this force at once, lest they might get information of my presence in the country
and escape me.
I accordingly selected 125 men, under command of Captain
[J.] Baird, of the first Missouri Calvary, accompanied by my adjutant, Lieutenant [W.T.]
Hamilton, and sent them forward rapidly, guide by the prisoner whom we had taken, with
orders to charge into the rebel camp and give them no time to form or make any
resistance.
My orders were obeyed; the rebel pickets were run down, and the first intimation
the rebels had of the presence of my men was when they charged right into their camp,
guided by the light of their camp fires, and opened a volley on them. The rebels,
wild with fright, fled into the woods, in some instances without other covering than their
shirts. The underbrush and woods and the darkness of the night prevented any
successful pursuit of the fugitives.
Major
[J.L.] Witherspoon himself, 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, together with 10 privates, and
all their horses, horses equipments, arms, camp equipage, and transportation, were
captured. The transportation and camp equipage were burned. The firing in the
camp caused many horses to break loose, and in the darkness of the night they could not be
found, but not a single rebel got away with his horse.
At this point I sent out all the loyal men of that region
then with me to notify the loyal men who were in the mountains to meet me at Caddo Gap,
which point I determined to take procession of and hold till these people join me.
Accordingly, on the 12th instant, I marched up to the gap, where I left part of my command
to hold that position, and with the balance I hurried forward to Mount Ida, expecting to
surprise and capture a small rebel force garrisoned at that place. When near the
place, I learned that that a Federal force from Waldron, being part of a column which had
come from Fort Smith to Waldron, had on the day previous been in Mount Ida, and that the
rebels, learning of their approach, had fled precipitately, abandoning their camp equipage
and transportation, which, together with the house in which the rebels barracked, our
forces burned. I remained in Mount Ida until the evening of the 14th instant.
While at Mount Ida I caused the roads leading to Fort
Smith, Waldron, Dardanelle, and Little Rock to be patrolled for a distance of 15 miles,
and scoured the country in every direction for a like distance, and in this way picked up
a good many straggling rebel soldiers, and succeeded in capturing several leading
guerrillas of that country, who have been prominent and taken an active part in robbing,
persecuting, imprisoning, and hanging Union men. I have caused the names of these
guerrillas, with a statement of their crimes and the witnesses by whom the facts can be
proved, to be forwarded to the provost-marshal-general ; and on behalf of the loyal men be
not treated as prisoners of war and exchanged, but that they be turned over to a military
commission, and tried, convicted, and executed for the many inhuman and horrid crimes they
have committed.
On the evening of the 14th instant, that part of my command
left at Caddo Gap reached me, together with nearly 300 loyal men, who had come from the
surrounding mountains to join the Federal Army. It is true that in this number there
are a few who did not enter the service, but they are old, gray headed men, who are
compelled to flee their homes to save themselves from being hanged by the rebels.
These people who came out with me are hardy, vigorous, and resolute men; they represent
every trade, pursuit, and profession of life, and in intelligence and appearance are equal
to the same number of men in any country.
As soon as these loyal men reached my camp, they were
furnished with arms, which had been taken along for that purpose, and put under the
command of Colonel Arnold, a resident of that region, and whom I understand has been
commissioned to raise a regiment from the loyal men of that country. Colonel Arnold
and his men were on duty day and nigh. Every part of that country was visited by
Colonel Arnold in person or by his scouts. While out one night gathering in loyal
men, Colonel Arnold, with 17 men, came upon 23 rebels in camp, charged on them, killed 4,
captured 7, and drove the rest in confusion to the woods, capturing all their camp
equipage and arms and 10 horses and retook 8 Union men whom the rebels held as prisoners,
and some of whom they were about to hang.
From Mount Ida I marched on the direct road to this place,
halting one night at Cedar Glades and one night at Cunninghams's, the point where Hot
Springs, Danville, and Perryville roads intersect the Mount Ida and Little Rock road.
ten miles east of Cedar Glades my advance guard came upon a rebel company, charged
them, killed 2, wounded others, and captured 30 horses and horse equipments and 20 guns.
In a mountain pass, 1 mile east of Cunningham's,
bushwhackers, concealed behind rocks in the mountains, fired on the head of my column, and
then fled rapidly over the mountains and escaped.
My casualties on the expedition were 3 men of the First
Missouri Volunteer Cavalry seriously wounded.
My line of march took me through the counties of Hot
Springs, Clark, Pike, Polk, and Montgomery. My scouts, under command and direction of
Colonel Arnold, went into Hempstead and Sevier Counties.
The great majority of the inhabitants of the district of
country through which I marched were soundly loyal. They occupy the mountainous districts
in the counties named, and from commencement of the rebellion that have never faltered in
their devotion to the old flag.
Every conceivable means has been used to force these loyal
men into the rebel service; they have been hung by scores; they have been hunted down with
bloodhounds by the slaveholding rebels of Red River Valley; they have been robbed of their
property, chained and imprisoned, yet amidst all this persecution and suffering these
people stood out, and everywhere I went through their country they greeted my column with
shouts of joy. There are several hundred more loyal men in the same region of country, but
farther south, who, who are anxiously waiting for an opportunity to get out of the rebel
lines and enlist in our service.
I cheerfully acknowledge my indebtedness to Colonel Arnold.
His perfect knowledge of the country, intimate acquaintance with the people, energy and
courage, enabled him, with the assistance of his men, to keep me constantly advised of the
movements and position of the enemy...
I subsisted my men, as far as practicable, on the country,
and supplied myself liberally with forage, horses, and mules whenever wanted, but I was
always careful to say that secessionists supplied me with these wants, and that they were
taken in a orderly manner.
It is due to my command to say that not a single private
house was entered by a soldier on the whole trip except for a legitimate purpose, under
direction of a commissioned officer or upon invitation of the occupant, and not a cent's
worth of property was taken which it was not legitimate or proper to take.
Reference: The War of the Rebellion: a
Compilation of the Official records of the Union and Confederate armies. Prepared
under the direction of the Secretary of War by Robert N. Scott. Washington, Govt. Print.
Off., 1880-1900. 70 Vol. / 128 books. Series I, Vol. 22. Part 1. Pages 752-754
& 756
Otago Witness 6 March 1875, Page 19
Consider the "Office."
It is related that the secretary of an insurance company, being in command
of a platoon during the late unpleasantness in Arkansas, struck up the gun
of one of his men who was about to fire at a staff officer, with the
explanation, "Don't fire � we've got a policy on him !"
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Montgomery County ARGenWeb Project
November 10 -18, 1863 - Expedition from Benton to Mount Ida, Ark., and
skirmish (11th) at Caddo Gap