The Memphis union appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1862-1862, 1862-08-05
letter rrom a4th rna,.n. regiment.


Ms. EDITOR: am sorry to say that there has
been reportpublshed in your paper in regard
70 movements made BY our army on White
river in Arkansas on, OF about the 9th of
/ July. The report states that Colonel Fitch
and the 10th Indiana regiment started with
dispatches to Curtis or to find his whereabouts,
and the Sd following as q rear guard. Bot in
| this your informer was mistaken. Col. Fitch
may have planned the expedition but he did
not in person execute it. In the first place
Col. w. I. Spicely, commander Of the Gath
regiment Indiana volunteers, was the man
who led the expedition. Il was not from st.
Charles either that we started; it was from
the little town of Aberdeen, on the 9th of
July, about o'clock in the morning. We
moved forward,a we supposed, to reconnoiter;
we passed on outside of our picket line with
six companies of our regiment; we went
about half mile when We espied the rebel
pickets, on: skirmishers advanced upon them
and they fed without firing shot, We fol-
lowed on three miles further, as near as 1
could guess and we again came upon them,
and this time with better success, for the
skirmishers fired upon them, fifteen in num-
Der and they fed to the prairie which was
half mile from where we attacked them.
We pursued them in the prairie about
quarter of mile perhaps, when Col. Spicely
though they we trying to draw US out in The
prairie SO that some hidden forces, which we
believed were around, could come upon US in
the rear. The Colonel threw out companies
F, B, and G as skirmishers to keep from being
surrounded. While this was going on, Lieut..
Col. Barter, of our regiment, called for vol
unteers to accompany him back for the sup
| port which was to come from the river. We
went back and found the support at the forks
of the road where we first espied the rebel
piekets. There they were very costly situated,
waiting it seemed the result of the adj
venture of our advance. While Colonel
d. was gone what was going on in
| front? Why they were having a good
time in general. Directly after Col. 8. left,
Col. Spicely ordered Lieut.. Smith Of COM
pany ID to go to house which was near at
hand and in the rear Of US, and get negro
which was there, and bring him up, and to see
what information he could CLEAN from him in
regard to the forces which were in the neigh
borhood. Lieut.. Smith and Sergeant Hyatt
of the same company, and private went to the
house, and while Smith was getting the negro
two of the enemy madethei appearance around
the corner of the barn yard fence. Lieuten-
ant Smith gave orders to fire upon them, which
was done, and behold there sprang up the
| whole pack, as if by magic, numbering four
| hundred, aud they came in hot pursuit of the
Lieutenant and his men, and they were dis
posed to think that leg bail was the best poll
cy at that time, which, l assure you, went
against the grain of the worthy Lieutenant
Nevertheless, it was that or be prisoner and
perhaps murdered in cold blood by the blood
thirsty assasins. There we're but three COM
panies ready to receive them aud they did so
in good earnest. They whirled and retreated,
there was one more of our companies that
came running in on double quick, and only in
time too, for we needed their services. Just
then our company numbered thirty-fye effect
i've men. The rebels rallied and returned for
charge. They came on in good style, whoop-
ing and yelling like SO many incarnate fends.
We were commanded to fix beyonets which
| we did with alacrity. The mild and mute
persuasion of the bayonet and our fixed de-
termination to conquer or die, which they
could see by the way we stood, caused them to
change their notion, for suddenly, when with
in about seventy five yards of US they came TO
halt, when our commander babe US to fire,
which we did effectively, and we kept the fir
| ing up so briskly that they could not rally for
charge and they were obliged TO retreat
| We followed them short distance, when they
suddenly turned in another direction. Our
| skirmishers were out in the advance, (your
humble writer was one of thsm) when we un-
expectedly came upon some infantry skirm-
ishers. They were lodging about from tree
| to tree and we did not know what to make of
them. We came very near firing upon them
when Lieutenant Smith, for he had command
of the skirmishers, challenged them to ascer-
tain whether they were friends or foes, and
| they answered friends. We then advanced to
them, and it was the saith Indiana regiment.
We asked them where they had been all the
time and they said just above the point about
a quarter of mile distant. We asked them
why they we're staying there when We were
fighting. They said their superior officer
would not permit them. Col. Fitch then
came up and made great ado about our fight
ing, and complemented us upon our bravery.
While we were resting there, after our fatigue,
few of the rebels came to Us with flag of
truce to bury their dead. Col. Fitch was there
then and he granted them thirty minutes to
bury their dead and take care Of their wound
ed. We could get no correct statement that
day of their wounded and dead, but the next
night we took q prisoner who stated there