The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1862-04-14
OUR SOLDIERS IN ARKANSAS.
CAMP STEPHENS, Ark, April |, Is,

: CAMP STEPHENS, Ark, April !, lSo
EDITOR ARGUS; We arrived here last Sal
: bath after a iatiguing ride Of six days froi
Rolla. At Springfield we passed Mr.. Center
of Davenport seven days out from Rolla, an'
have not seen him since, but learn that he ha
arrived at Cassyi!lc. We have written to yo'
every opportunity since we left home. Thu
mail facilities here are very poor, the mail
being forwarded by army trains, We will en-
deavOr to have our mail forwarded from her
through some colonel orgcuoral To- inSurcdis
patch,
We have procured full reports Of compan,
a, Capt. Curts's) and company u, lGnptair
fricks 3Ith regiment III, vols, 10 date, which
we tcnd to the county supervisors, and hnv,
/ requested them to hand them ~ you, tina
You may CLEAN such information as you ma,
desire, Of interest to the public. We proceed
ed immeliatel y ON our arrival, TO the hospit
al, at Lcctown, where the dangerously woun,
dcd Of this regiment are; at which place We
found the following members Of companies A
and IL, viz: Samuel D. Hedges, Co, A. shot
through the thigh, shattcrng the bone badly
lie IL doing well, but will have short leg
lie is quite cheerful. His home is in Pleas.
ant Valley, Iowa. Francis Cannon, Co. \,
wounded in the battle Of the sth-shot in the
back near the backbone, aud passing out at
left side under the ribs. He will not proba.
bly, survive many days. His home j. in Pre-.
empton. We are informed that he is cpecial.
ly deserving Of honorable mention for his
coolncss and courage during the battle of the
Sth Charles Shult2 company A, shot in the
left thigh, the ball lodging in the bone, and
not yet extracted. lie is also suffering from
diarrhua, but is improving Robert Smith
company A shot in right shoulder doingwcll.
Also, Joseph Smith, Of company II, u bright
young man whose home is near Moline. lie
lost his right arm. He is doing finely and j..
able to walk about the ward. Shurz and
Robert and Joseph Smith will soon be in con.
dltion to be moved to Cassvilc, where they
can have more comforts and attention.
There is great lack Of medical and hospit.
al stores at this place, but we have succeeded
in getting few articles, which will greatly
add to their comfort.
The following members Of companies \
and ii were buried at Lectown: James Val.
entlnc, james G. Simpson, Josiah Oliver,
John Whist, and Thomas Williamson, Of
company A. Opher A. Bigclow and Kendall
Willis, Of company H. These men are all
buried near each other, and have head boards
giving name, age and date Of death.
The condition Of affairs in thi, regiment Is
baI. The men are pooriy cIofAcd and worSe
| td Lieut.. Col. Barnes is the most pop, Ear
officer on the staff. The colonel /, cxccc liucIv
unpopular with the men, and also the quarter
master, and wc believe that many Of these Off.
GERS are more active in securing their own
Advancement, and ilcccing the men Of their
hard earned wages, than in their effort. 10 Sc.
cure the comfort If the men under thcm.-
Tins regiment has frequently been On shor,
rahon~, and Is SO now; and the quartcrmas.
ter refuses to allow the men credit for what
they hav" not drawn. II may be that Hc gor-
''"mcW wW sure Hts 0moutd, anil il man b.
that quarter muster poctcts The amount.
This regiment is short Of wagons On
forced marches, when other regiments went
hght, they were compelled to carry their
knapsacks. To-day the boys buried the beef
that was served out to them; the bread they
have would be quite as dangerous if put in a
cannon as the stones Prices men used in the
late battle. There is evidently something
wrong IN the administration Of affairs here in
tins regiment. The contrast between the
l5th and @Ith il this respect is most striking.
There the men love the field officers, and the
olHccr, are untlring in their efforts to secure
the comfort and health of the regiment We
maa" Application to the quartcr.mastcr for
some brandy or other spirits for the hospital /.
'ut could get none. Shortly after, we OBJ |
served some shoudcr,strapred gents rode mn
to the quhrtermootcr's, tri,a tce Satr q bottle |
amt fHm6(cr passed oW, aud aHhaa2s ,lya,k |
We shall make an effort to get some brandy
from DR.. Plummcr for our wounded men,
The country from Springfield to the battle
ground is complete picture Of dcsolatiou
houses, boards and fences gone. It is Il con.
tlnuous battle-ground from Springfield to
hchtonyiIle and the roads, the woods. and !
the adjacent fields are strcwn with dead hor.
'eS' mules, broken wagons, &c. The battle
ground of the 9th, eth and sth presents n
fearful picture. The trees are torn and cut
1T; the under growth, in many places, mown
'o"h by grape, canister and muskctry. The
daughter must have been fearful Judging
rom the number Of dead horses left living
n the field, which taints the air for many
niles Our artillery told very lcarfullv on !
he enemy, the guns being served with cner.
y and skill, AS the piles of the slaughtered
nemy bore testimony. The horses Of our
rtiIIery were IN harness and without food for {
)ur days. d
Inc army accord the victory to the courage
nd skill Of Maj. Gen. Sigel. and they all De. )
re that he should be placed in command -
c has the confidence Of the officers and men. ,
fact, they regard him as invincibe.
In conversation with the prisoners left here :
find that they are changing their opinion Il
our northern soldiers, and are now willinc
class them with the bravest of the brave. +
Yours, &c,
ALEXANDER STEEL,
Nj : I!rRp,rr