The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1861-08-28
The Battle of Oak Hills, near Springfield, No.
We have been kindly furnished 4Fh heFolFs"lhs M
teressing letter fer publication;

The Battle Of Oak Hills, near Springfield no
We have been kindly furnished s-h thefoileNIng IN
teressing letter fer publication:
HEApeU.grzRs 81 REGIMENT La. ToLs-McCuL
loeh's Reigade-Caaap 1t Wilson's Springs, 2
miles seuth Of Springfield, No, Aug. III, lsel. J
RsusES WHrTE, Eso., Shreveport.
SIR and fiend:-kReviaE yolr deep interest IN the
cause Of the south, | take the advantage OF the depaf-
ture tomorrow from thiscsnp OF your felloW-townsnlen
Hon. Wnt. Robson and d.. Kendall, for their homes IN
Louisiana, to write to yeu. These gentlemen ie1Hed
our regiment as amateurs At Van Buren,, Ark, and con
tinued the march with Us to this place, a. attaches % 1he
duartermasterfs staff of the regiment and have rendered
very efficient aid. They were both in the tight OF the
0ak Hills. on the 10th inst, where Robson acted as aid
or orderly to Col. Hebert and wash the thickest OF Inc
FIRE, ralIying S~tragglers and conveying orders. HeshoRed
great coolness and bravery.
Or. Kendall was also in the fight and assisted the
wounded ana occasionally took a pass al the enemy, he
rendered great service as aid to the surgeons after the
battle.
The enemy surprised our camp at 6 O'Clock, a. N, and
attacked Us with three columns of infantry and artillery.
Their batteries opened and they charged and surprised
Col. ChurchilfS lst regiment Arkansas Rifles; we were
all soon under arms and the Louisiana BOYS moved out
cooHy and QUICKLY 10 face the enemy; wefound ourselves
in ambush. he enemy fred on us-we charged andaway
they fed, We pursued, firing, and drove them OF, killing
manY. uGIl crossing an open subtle he!d. 1heT eaIIe-
nv played en- Us With grape, round shot and she'll The
WhlStIfng OF these and the Minnie D&tls was rough music,
but the boys went on until ordered to ta4l back across
the oat patch, where We had again TO rePass the range of
their battery. WeWere then marched o~ffagainsta another
battery, which we charged. drove the enemy f ON their
guns and took FIVE cut of six guns; we were again
marched off 10 another point, 10 flank and take in their
rear another battery, bat We were dlSeerned by they
skirmishe-s, who fred Into Us, wereturned the fire, charged
theenefnF and drove them in. This revealed our position
and other troops Of the Confeder2cy being in front, the
enemy limbered up their guns and retreated, this
closed the fight at halfpast l P. N. The enenly were
completelT routed, their general. the celebrated LYON,
killed. AGO prisoners taken. about 1900 or 400 of them
Stained and wounded. The Missouri, Arkansas, Texas
and louisiana troops. ali fought well. feu msy we'll be
proud of our regiment and Of your Shreveport Rangers
and officers. Ia so>iort a letter It Is impossible TO par
ticularise; the published ana official reports viii furnish
al particulars. We lost . killed, 7badly and SO other
wise wounded, in cur regiment. We are in possession
of Springfield and have no certain knowledge where or
when the enemy have rallied.
Hecox, a corporal Of the Shreveport Rangers was dan
geroqsly wounded, he behaved with great Bravery.
When We meet IN Louisiana we viii drink TO the good
cause and talk over the incidents of the battle. We
hate TO part with Robson and Kendall, they have both
endeared themselves to those who know them, by cour-
tcsy and bravery in their short stay with Us.
Respectfully your friend,
SAM. HYAMS,
Lieut.. Col, 3dReg.. In. Vols.
The following Is q list OF the killed and wounded sus-
tanned by the Shreveport Rangers, Capt. Gilmore. in
the late battle near S~prinfeld:
KILLED-James Allen, J. 5. Brewnwe
DASGERouSLT WoUSDEp-J. n. Hecox, shot in the
left breast; Simpson, beth eyes shot eat.
SLIGHTLY WoUNDED.-Thos Bickham. shot through
the right arm beIos the elbow; Sd. Manning, shot across
the shoulders At.evay, a spent ball in the breast; Grow,
in the side touching the hip-bone; sergeant Ben. Da-
Wis, a severe confusion b. a bomb shelf on the arm:
Frank Davis, lit with a spent ball on the head; ". J.
Shelton, wounded and missing.
The sergeant-naior o. the regiment, Renuick, and
Placide Bossier, fell at the first fire.
The Little Rock State Gazette has a letter dated fort
Smith. August Is. in which the writer saws:
Accounts Of the battle won by our troops at Spring
field. Missouri, are coming III. ! need not repeat what
is in the paper this morning, but will add such particu-
as Icould gather from the messenger. whom I well
know a. q reliable man. He arrived about P. Y. with
direct from the battlefield. From hisstate-
nent, it appears that on the morning Of the 18th inst.
Lyon attacked Gen. IcCuIoch b. SUNRISE. He
our piekets without firing q gun. approaching our
army on three sides without being observed. They we're
Ia the midst Of Col Churchill regiment before the sleep
ing soldiers were aware Of any danger. Col Us men
lad barely time to snatch their arms and escane with
heir yves. That regiment Is said 10 have suffered terri
BY, aHd was So badly scattered that il Bas not able to
ally until late in the battle. Two Missouri regiments
led. Their officers rallied them three times. and three
lines they fed. The Arkansas regiments, theregimegt
rom Texas, and that from Louisiana, stood and fought
ike enraged tigers, with their bavoacts, their knives
md the butts of their mUskets, for six hours and a halt.
md finally compelled a retreat.
Capt. Tope4's battery opened q most destructive fire
u our forces. bat was soon taken at the point OF tho
,ay0net, by troops mostly from this vicinity.
Lieut. ]. Walton, a very popular merchant from this
,Iaee, fell, leading lis mon CALAMITY in the charge.
One hundred and fifty L0uisanians were surrounded
" over three hundred federal troops. but forced their
cut with the butts OF their muskets.
Capt, Woodruft7- artillery from Little Rock behaved
gallantly. They have to lament the loss of Lieut..
Weaver. who was struck III the breast by a cannon ball.
The report of our loss or that Of the enemy has not
rived yet, but the following persons from here are
noWn TO be killed: Joe Walton, LAWYER Thornton.
Wesley Clay, Mayer Levy, Goodchaux, and John Benck.
The Memphis Appeal, of the 10Th, has the following:
For the following additional details CT the battle at
lax Hill near Springfield, between tie Confederate
orces, under command Of Gen. McCuiloch, and the
an6ees, led By Gen. Lyon, we are indebted to the
ourtesy Of the attaches of the Office of the Arkansas
telegraph, in this city, to whom they were dis
atched BY the operator at Little Rock.
LITTLE Rock, Aug. I9.-The battle was fought at
Hill, ten miles south Of Springfield. Various letters
been received here, written from the field of battle
he day after the 6ght. They give many additional
articuia1s OF the engagement. One Of these, dated
.ugast IA, says:
Night before last we had orders to prepare for night
larch upon Springfield, but a rain coming on caused q
hange in Gen. AcCplloch's plan. The enemy got in
1rmation Of our intentions through a deserter, it is said.
iA oattEAA SPltASh1-I al . " tluGh 4 I4-Ll. 4E-|.
~ us a complete surprise.
son the morning of the 10th, the engagement com
being opened upon Col. Churehilrs regi-
rent, while the men were at breakfast. The regiment
as thrown into confusion, but the men saddled their
osses and fought bravely. They had eight killed, and
IS wounded. Totten's battery opened on Gen. McCul-
)ch's headquarters With six guns. The Little Rock
artillery soon returned their fire, keeping the
nemy in check till our men had time to form. Gen.
led the Sd and part of the 9TH regiments to Gen.
lcCulloch's aid and saved the day. Gen. McCulloch
forwards said to Pearce, you have saved me the battle.
"Churchilps regiment, Gretiots regiment and the
regiment are badly cut to pieces. After asevere
onfict of six hours and a half, the enemy we're com
letelv routed S-igel fed and reached Springfield with
a haif-dozen men. Gen. Lyon il skilled. The loss
n our side is 265 killed, 500 wounded, and 80 missing.
he enemy lost 500 killed, 1000 wounded. and 300
rsOners. We took from the enemy six pieces of can
on and several hnHdred stand Of small arms. About
men were engaged on.eaeh side. The victory
,as complete and decisive"
The St. Louis Republican Of the 10th. contains a
3ngthy letter from its correspondent at RoIla giving a
account of the Springfield battle.
The following extracts are taken from it:
We had been skirnishing with a view to find the
nemy for a week, when, on Thursday night. it was re-
orted by a party of our cavalry that his outposts were