273   Steele's force, some 15,000 strong, left Little Rock and Fort Smith (4) during the last week in March, 1864 and moved toward the southern part of the state, taking Arkadelphia on April 1 (5). The federal advance was made easier by the fact that Major-General Sterling Price, the Confederate Commander in Arkansas, had sent all Confederate infantry forces to northern Louisiana to aid Kirby Smith in checking Banks' drive up the Red River (6). Indeed, Steele's only serious problems were Rebel guerrilla forces operating on his supply line and the small Confederate cavalry divisions under Major-Generals John S. Marmaduke and James F. Fagan operating in the Ouachita River area south of Arkadelphia (7). Although pestered constantly by Confederate cavalry under energetic brigade commanders such as William L. Cabell, Jo Shelby, and Colton Green, Steele made steady progress. He feinted toward Washington, Arkansas, fought minor engagements at Elkins Ford and Prairie D'Ane, then turned eastward to capture the fortified but undefended town of Camden on April 15 (8). In the midst of these successful operations Steele received some depressing news. On April 18 a Federal foraging party under Colonel James M. Williams of his command was surprised and badly beaten by Marmaduke and Major-General Samuel B. Maxey at Poison Springs some ten miles west of Camden. Over 200 wagons loaded with supplies were lost and 301 of his men killed or wounded (9). _______________________ 4. The Fort Smith detachment known as the Frontier Division, was commanded by Brigadier-General John M. Thayer. 5. Thayer's Fort Smith troops did not join Steele until April 10. On that date Steele's main force was in the vicinity of the Little Missouri a few miles north of Washington. 6. Price's Arkansas command was a part of Kirby Smith's Trans-Missouri Department. Therefore when Smith asked that troops be sent to Louisiana Price complied with the order in spite of the seriousness of the situation in Arkansas. 7. Richards, "Camden Expedition," 1-19. See also Report of Major-General John S. Marmaduke, May 28, 1864, The War of the Rebellions A Compilation of the Official Reports of the Union and Confederate Armies (70 vols. in 128, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901) Series 1, Vol. XXXIV, pt. 1, 821. All further references in this Article are to Series I. 8. A recent study of this campaign advances the theory that the Federal drive at Washington was simply a maneuver to pull Price out of the heavily fortified town of Camden and that Steele had no intentions of taking Washington. See Richards, "The Camden Expedition," 40. 9. Most of the reports of Union officers engaged in the fighting mention the fact that wounded Negro troops (chiefly from the First Kansas Regiment) were shot down without mercy. See Report of Colonel James M. Williams, April 24, 1864, Official Records, Vol XXXIV, pt. 1, 746; Report of Major Richard G. Ward, April 20, 1864, Ibid., 753.           Contents  Words  Study Questions  Related Sites Next