New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1862-03-29
The Battle lin Arkansas.
we take the follo,wiag fren.t s7iekaburg Whig

ID
We take the following fronstk sVicksburg Wing
of the 18th: II e., eS7
S FROM ARKANsAs.-We had an interview yester-
day with Lieut.. G. AZ Thornton, 81 McCulloch's
Etaff, who is on hisway to Richmond under ORDERS
He left Fort Smith on the 18th, and Bring some in
terestiDg particulars of thsabattle of Elkhorn.
Ldent: Thornton is young .yirginian and went to
Arkansas with Gen. Mcintosh after the battle of
Oak Hills, and was Immediately appsisted on Gen
AeGuloeh's staff He parficipa teds in the late
battle, andof course his statements in regard to it
maybe set down as reliable. ~
On the night of the 9th, the division Of the army
sundeS McGuiloch made q forced Inarehof fifteen
milesnp the Bentonyiae road to meet Sigel, who
was NJ Sugar Greek. On the 7th;;@ eInAosh ad-
vaneed with some of his cavalry, when skirsaishing
commenced, which resulted 10 q loss of three on
our side and six on tllatrof the enemy. He then
advanced in90rce and charged the enemy, Messing
entirely through their lines and coming again
to his former position, bringing with him three
pieces lot the enemy's artillery. Met qIlochs then
started 9Th Mcintosh to show him where to
charge thesenemy again, but Wtile riding thraugh
sthe woaaas ball from the enemy antared bis heart
and she fell Mcintosh then re turned to his mon
and while trying to get an Arkansas regiment to
charge the enemy and recover MeGa.ioch's body,
be himself McIntosh) was shot dead through the
heart. Rectors Arkansas Regiment then made d
successful attsek, driving the enemy from their
position, and overing the body Of McCuIoch..
That OF Mcl1teEh was not recovered unit. the neg
day the 8th. par troops succeeded in driving the
enemy back under both Curtis and Sigel, and siept
on their arms during the night ofthe 7th =
n The next morning Gen. Van Dorm discovered
that they shad gained much stronger saosition,
sWhereHponqhe feGolyed not to attack them, But
only make a feint, in order to retreat down the
Huntsville road.
stones Regiment was sent to protectsthe train,
which was in dagger Of being cut off. The train
was son what id known as the telegraph road.
while thearmy Waaon the Huntsville road, east. Of
4 ay ettevile, and the Federal army between the
army and the train, thus reducing our men to
gEeat straits they havipg nothing Is eat except
what they could kill In the retreat our troans5
sssgea off on roads, and for several DAYS it
WGs thought our loss WAS much greater than it
really is. Goods Texas Battery, which did much
good service, was tholght to be lost, but Capt.
Goos came np to the away three orfour days after
the FIGHT. Rector's Az ansas Regiment, which wac
LETT behind 70 cover the retreat took the wrong
road, aeft all their arms, great deal Of camp
eauipege etc. Our loss Of life in the retreat wac
small Is tue enemy did not pursue us Some few
other cavalry came q short distance and can.
tufed some of our menwko had laid down on the
/ roadside from sheer exhaEstion. They took Int
lew prisoners during the battle. We captured one
hundred ard fifty prisoners the field, and sixty
N ore. were token by foragiAg parties. saS1's :
There were t5ntstwo or three regiments Of. In.
sdiansinth battle and they did no services having
led after; the afrst charge MeCuloch attacked
a3igel lat Sugar Greek, with d force of about ten
Thousand, and Rrice and Van Dorm made an attack
aoa Curtis, with of five or six thousand, at
the Of the BentDngille and tee graph roads,
three miles beioR the State line, and about four
miles from McGallash. Our loss, Lieut.. Thornton
says has been oAafestirnated. lie has not been
able sa ascertain what il really is, but is of the
opinion 4le lSed sWil not exceed ore hundred and
twenty or thirty. The enemy q loss, he says,
~ three times greater tan ours Ous Gag of truce
buried eigkty-two dead land the Federals say they
Inferred quite numbers Gwo Federal Iseutenant-
t50loneis. Which we took &ava been exchanged
1fc =, C 81 i HebeFt3and Maj. Iaa,sard.
5. Gen. M an Dorm has the entit e army nay at Van
sBprens Taorganizing II. 1t il not unlikely, from
what NE have learned from Lient Thornton, that
Price and Pike viii soon be left alone to take care
in another direction. where he nay be able to
strike an efectual blow to the Fsede raj army of