Are any of you familiar with what I call the Chippewa incident in Arkansas? When starvation threatened Ft Smith late in the war, the commander of the Federal posts loaded refugees onto steamboats heading for Little Rock. As the flotilla neared a place in Johnson County about 18 miles from present day Clarksville, a group of Confederate cavalry fired on the ships. Some civilians, as well as the military escorts, were killed and wounded. The Chippewa, which held about 500 passengers, sank. Although the boat did make shore before sinking, several had panicked, jumped overboard, and were drowned in the frigid January waters of the Arkansas River. Troops armed with howitzers from the Federal post at Clarksville finally managed to drive the Rebel cavalry away.
Let me insert that although I don't have positive proof that what I am about to relate was directly linked to the sinking of the Chippewa, I think I can make a good case that it did. A few days after the ship sank, a group of riders, military and civilian, left Clarksville one night going on a rampage against loyal Confederates in Johnson County. In my research I found one report from a Yankee lieutenant stating that he counted 14 homes on fire along a ten mile stretch. Women were tortured and raped. Possibly because one of the women was the wife of a Confederate officer, the incident created a huge furor resulting in a large paper trail of official reports between Union and Confederates, as well as numerous newspaper articles. Men were arrested, soldiers and civilians, and taken in chains to Fort Smith. There the trail seemed to die. I looked and looked and could find no record of court martial or trials. Finally I did uncover military records showing all the soldiers were back on duty in Little Rock within a month. Perhaps they were found innocent in some official proceeding, but more than likely they were sent away to Little Rock to sweep the whole matter under the rug. Whatever the case, I personally think revenge for the loss of loyal Union civilians prompted the raid...and that is the way I portray it in my novels.
Let me insert that although I don't have positive proof that what I am about to relate was directly linked to the sinking of the Chippewa, I think I can make a good case that it did. A few days after the ship sank, a group of riders, military and civilian, left Clarksville one night going on a rampage against loyal Confederates in Johnson County. In my research I found one report from a Yankee lieutenant stating that he counted 14 homes on fire along a ten mile stretch. Women were tortured and raped. Possibly because one of the women was the wife of a Confederate officer, the incident created a huge furor resulting in a large paper trail of official reports between Union and Confederates, as well as numerous newspaper articles. Men were arrested, soldiers and civilians, and taken in chains to Fort Smith. There the trail seemed to die. I looked and looked and could find no record of court martial or trials. Finally I did uncover military records showing all the soldiers were back on duty in Little Rock within a month. Perhaps they were found innocent in some official proceeding, but more than likely they were sent away to Little Rock to sweep the whole matter under the rug. Whatever the case, I personally think revenge for the loss of loyal Union civilians prompted the raid...and that is the way I portray it in my novels.
Bringing the