Steele and Prices raid

[archieclement]

A seldom mentioned or discussed aspect of the raid, Price had to advance through Steeles District of Arkansas. In Prices Lost Campaign it says "Remarkably, General Frederick Steele of the Federal District of Arkansas contributed almost nothing to understanding the enemy force that had passed through his chain of garrisons. Although Steele had an army several times larger then either Price or the threatened Unionists in Missouri, he diverted 4000 men of AJ Smiths men to his own purpose on Sept 8th. Until Sept 17th, Steele used General Joseph A Mower's division of Smith's Corps not to probe the forces to his north but to bolster his own position on the Arkansas River. When Steele finally did send Mower's men looking for Price, they moved as infantry in pursuit of a largely mounted confederate column and never got within 100 miles of Price."

Considering on Sept 7th The Union forces had intercepted a letter from Col Gordon to his wife with an accurate assessment of the confederate force, but it falsely asserted the confederate movement was to be Rolla, the information most needed was its line of march...…..and its remarkable nothing was detected until they are in Missouri.

the first detection is Sept 22nd from a scout towards Doniphan Mo, and even then "Wilson In turn, had been dutifully telegraphing the news to Ewing a Confederate force had reentered Missouri. He passed on the rumors that thousands had been foraging near the state line accumulating rations for five days, but could not resist adding I cannot believe the report to be true. Protected by rugged terrain and official incredulity in the Union command the Confederate advance moved north"

Edit-Added- There was 35,000 Union Soldiers in Arkansas, a force of 12,000 passed through undetected then even spent sept 16th-18th organizing into the Army Of Missouri behind the lines at Powhatan Ark while remaining undetected

 

[Frank Watson]

Based on his pattern of behaviors, I feel Steele became a completely timid general after Vicksburg (and the assault of May 22). He never attacked during the drive on Little Rock. All his offensive movements in that campaign were with Davidson's cavalry.

Similarly, he wouldn't attack at Prairie D'Ane and happily moved toward Camden instead of Price's army at Washington.

He never initiated a significant independent attack.

That seems consistent with his determination to avoid Price and not interfere with him.

 

[archieclement]

Based on his pattern of behaviors, I feel Steele became a completely timid general after Vicksburg (and the assault of May 22). He never attacked during the drive on Little Rock. All his offensive movements in that campaign were with Davidson's cavalry.

Similarly, he wouldn't attack at Prairie D'Ane and happily moved toward Camden instead of Price's army at Washington.

He never initiated a significant independent attack.

That seems consistent with his determination to avoid Price and not interfere with him.

The part that surprised me a little, is I thought they would have had token garrisons close enough to receive word from civilian informers if forces passed between...….guess either they didn't, or the civilian population wasnt very sympathetic to the Union cause

Account I have says Price skirted right around Little Rock, not sure line of march Shelby took, he joins for the army to be organized at Powhatan

 

[Frank Watson]

Federal scouts observed Price crossing the Arkansas at Dardanelle.

I believe the major Union outpost was at Lewisburg (maybe the 3rd Arkansas Cav?), about halfway upriver toward Dardanelle from Little Rock. My suspicions would be that by the time the report made it up the chain to Lewisburg to Little Rock, nobody seemed to understand the scope of the move and considered it a move to reinforce Shelby. Don't forget that Shelby already controlled much of north-central Arkansas and had been raising hell on the DeVall's Bluff railroad and on the White River. The Federal garrison at Fort Smith had just gotten their nose bloodied at Massard Prairie so there wasn't a lot of patrol activity from there.

After Price crossed the Arkansas he just disappeared into northern Arkansas, where no Federals were.

But it is very hard to tell exactly what Steele was thinking. He seems to have stayed pretty quiet on the matter.

 

[mofederal]

I have understood that Steele did nothing to stop Price. I would think he would have to have known about any movement by Price, and it is hard to believe he did not know anything of Price's proposed movement into Missouri. It seems like he simply choose to ignore it and let Missouri take care of it.

 

[danny]

The part that surprised me a little, is I thought they would have had token garrisons close enough to receive word from civilian informers if forces passed between...….guess either they didn't, or the civilian population wasnt very sympathetic to the Union cause

Account I have says Price skirted right around Little Rock, not sure line of march Shelby took, he joins for the army to be organized at Powhatan

Shelby was in NE Arkansas organizing troops and collecting recruits and deserters. Price moved up to join Shelby

Hqs with Gen Fagan's Div moved from Batesville, fourteen miles, to Powhatan, Ark., which point it reached on the 15th Sept, 1864, where it was joined by Generals Marmaduke & Shelby. Moved from Powhatan to Pocahontas on the 16th, a distance of eighteen miles

 

[Gerald Moses]

The 7th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry was part of a Union force that to intercept Price's forces in Missouri beginning in October, 1864. A day-by-day account of Co. D of the 7th is recorded by Sgt. Webster W. Moses. The forces met at the Battle of Osage on Oct. 24 when Rebel Brig Gens. Marmaduke and Cabell were captured, plus 500 more of Price's force. The 7th, on horses spent after more than three weeks chasing Price, tried to make a saber charge. The charge was "about five miles on a dead run, but our horses were so exhausted from lack of feed and fatigue we could overtake but a few who fell victim to our sabers. . . . my horse gave out before night and I could only move at slow walk." Other Union troops continued the chase to the Arkansas border. Source: "Civil War Treasures from the Attic" by Gerald Moses, an account of Webster W. Moses' letters and journal of four years of the war.