, 1863-06-12
GEN, BK4UNT.S CAMPAIGN.
ReE1cyC Of the Campaign In Southwest
N3lssonf1 Last Eall-Defcnse OF Gen,
Blunt,

eoN1A lust Fdli-Oetcnse OF Gen
The following review of the campaign q
tie Army Of the Frontier, is from the pen q
an officer, now at Springfield, Mo-, who va
an eyewitness aud participant of the action
which he describes:
In the early part Of September, Gen. Blunt
who was in command Of the Department Q
Kansas, including KANSAS. Nebraska. Color
do and all the Indian Territory South, left BIZ
headquarters at Fort Leayenworth, to tax,
command Of the troops In the field, hayins
labored asstduously Tor months, to raise ami
organize troops and procure artillery, prepar
ato'y to campaign to open up the India1
Territory to the Arkansas River. This force
was organized under every disadvantage, the
Government at Washington overlooking the
fact as It has always done, that there was ne
cesEfty Tor troops In the West. Gen. Blum
knew That the rebel Hindman was massing q
large force in Northwestern Arkansas and the
Indian Territory, for the purpose Of invading
Kansas and Missouri. To meet the emergcr
| cy, after having failed to procure troops else
| where, Gen. Blunt, in conjunction with Gen.
D.: II. Lane, canvaesed the State Of Kansas,
and made personal appeals to the people to
rally and enlist; the result Of which was the
raising Of three regiments of infantry and q
battery, composed Of the best men of Kansas,
In few weeks. Soon after Gen. Blunt Or
rived At Fort Scott; and while arranging his
forces to move South, mounted rebel force
Of eco, under command Of Co1ey and Shell
by, made a raid into Missouri. west Of Spring
field, and, although out Of Gen. Blunt's De-
Iartment, he lost 20 time in pursuing them
WitAa force Of between 1900 and 5 1000 men,
overtaking them in jackson county near the
Missouri River, In time to save small force
that was besIeged and threatened with de-
Etruction. The rebels fled precipitately to.
ward Arkansas, and we're hotly pursued by
Gen. Blunt to the southern boundary Of Mis-
souri,, several times engaging their rear guard.
In this expedition distance Of $50 miles was
marched in seycn consecutive days and nights
Kansas City, Lexington and other Missouri
PEELED from the State Of Missouri. all this
occurred in Gen. Schoheld's District. Ills
troops Wer0 at Springfield, aud nearer the
route taken BY the rebels than Fort Scott; yet
nothing was heard Of the General, who. It is
claimed by bis friends, has done SO much
About the last Of September the organtza-
tlon Of the Kansas division Was completed
Il consisted Of about 6,000 infantry and cav
airy, and t1drty-two pieces of field artillery,
und marched under Gen. Salamon, upon the
expedition which Gen. Blunt had long been
contemplating, Gen. Blunt remaining behind
| a few days with o small escort, to complete
some necessary arrangements. When just
IL.
he received notice that the Department Of
| Kunsas was broken up, and merged into that
| Of the Department Of Missouri-Geu. Curtis
| III command-with instructions that the
I troops under his command were to be consoli-
| dated with the troops in Missouri nnder Gen.
my Of the Frontier, Gen. Schofield, who
ranked Gen. Blunt US q Brigadier, to be in
command. Gen. Blunt was given the choice
10 go into the field In command Of the Kansas
/ Division, or rclnuin at Fort Leaycnworth In
command Of the District Of Kansas In the new
Department. He did not hesitate moment
10 follow tile for'n1es Of the gallant men he
Lad taken SO much interest to organize. Sim
nltaneously with the notice Of tho breaking
up Of his Department, Gen. Blunt received in
trllfgence that Gen. Shannon had been re-
pulsed ly the enemy at NcWtonia, in South
wttt Missouri, and lad fallen back ten miles
TO Sarcoxic. With small cEcort he left Fort
Scott at o'clock on the evening Of the 1st of
October, and at o'clock the following night
Iwenty-fonr hours-asrlyed at Sarcoxie,
distance # cighty-lye miles, and took COM
l,:cld Of the first division Of the army Of the
fiontier. The rebels, under Cooper aud Cof-
fey, were still in force Mt Newtonia. General
schotield had just arrived in the neighbor-
hood with the I'd and Sd divisions. General
Blunt had m interview with him the day after
his arrival and planned for an attack on New
tonin tie next moruiog at dnybreak. Gen,
Blunt was directed to move with his division
bya circuito us route, and approach from the
northwest, and make the attack, while tho
other two divisions were to move another
route pnd come In from the east, and III Ike
6ucl disposition Of his forces as to cut Of
their retreat In case they werc routed.
Each command had the same distance to
march. Blunt's division started at II o'clock
=, H., two hours later than SchoGeld's col
umn, and notwithstanding his advance guard
Fas twice fired upon In the darkness Of the
night from an ambuscade, be arrived upon
tie ground early In the morning, drove In the
enemy pickets, md seeing that they contcm-
plated Iet1eat. l,nmediatciy eommenccd the
gsgencnt Of an hour, the rebels beat hasty
retreat, and not until an hour after the enemy
had been entirely routed were tie signal guns
cf Gen. schofeld heard, three miles to the
east Of the town. He had no obstruction to
Impede his progress. not meeting eyen
present doubted that had Gen. Blunt been
alone with but his one division, and not rely
Ing upon Schoficld to play nnv part in the
game, he wonld hare matured his plans aud
disposed OF lls forces SO Us to have captured
the whole rebel command. So much for West
Point strategy.
From NeWtonia, the army Of the frontier.
under Schodeld's command, marched and
counter1ua1chcd, and after two weeks reached
Tca Ridge, the enemy retiring before him and
increasing In strength: The force expelled
dukes command, aud in the aggregate nun
lNred about +. 900. They were cncamped at
Elm Spring, thirty-fye miles from Pea Ridge.
Several days were spent by Scho1cld at Pea
Ridge Tin strategy" when intelligence was
RECEIVED thot the rebel forge had di5lded, one
ha Eolpg Test to Mayssy;le WI the ether sast
strategy was "plnyed out" wien Gen. Blunt
came 10 bis relief BY proposing to blm that
he would take the "a and ID brigades of his
division, aud take care Of the rebel force at
3laysyille, under Gen. Cooper, leaving the
lst brigade to protect his own transportation
sehotield, wonld With the ed and Sd divisions
move against the force at Huntsville. To this
proposition Gen. Schoi1eld assented, and
Blunt with about 3, coo men made two con-
secutiye nights marchcs, distance of fifty
enc miles, aud attacked Cooper with G,O10
men, early on tue morning Of the second
suited In the complete defeat and rout Of the
enemy, with severe loss In killed, wounded
ard prisoners, and the capture Of his artillery
the famous battery commanded By Can't.
Bragg ut the battlc Of Buena Vista, now Gen.
Bragg Of the rebel army.
Gen. schofield returned from his expedition
to Huntsville without any game. Tie rebel
army, defeated at Maysylllc, fed to Fort
Smith, anti General Blunt ordered his frnns
rortation and the LIST brigade TO ioin
lin, and desired permission to follow
them up, but instead Of this, he was
ordered to the vicinity Of Pea Ridge to be
divisions. And after remaining in this posi-
tion for several days, Gen, 8chofleld fell back
into Missouri with the I'd and Sd divisions,
leaving Blunt without any orders. Gen. Blunt
being thus left alone, marched with his diyi-
zion twenty;lye miles southwest, to n point
Territory. While in that locality, he learned
TINT the advance Of Hindman's army, 5000
strong, under Gen. Marmaduke, was at Cane
Hill, on the south side Of the Boston Noun
tain, and that Hindman, with 10000 troops,
Infantry md artillery, was moving up from
arrive 1T Cane HM on On he be- soth Of Novembet d r.
Blunt bad heard nothing Of the whereabouts
Of the I'd and Sd divisions for three weeks,
except through the columns Of the st. Louis |
papers, from correspondents with Gen. Scho- |
tield, which announced TINT the "army Of |
the frontier had fulfilled its missionn and gone
Gen. sehoaeld llad gonete St. Louis to recruit
his health.
Although Blunt had but small force, com.
pared with the army with which he had to !
contend, he at once determined to strike Mar |
1naduke and destroy him before Hiudman /
conld reach S hitn; I14 Accordingly, on the morn;
iuS VI luc %tlA u november, he m8fc1ed
with S, 900 men upon Cane Hill, leaving his |
transportation with small force to guard 1t. !
The distance was forty miles, and was marched |
In twenty hours. The attack upon Afar-
lnadnke commenced early On tho morning Of
lbe eth. After about three hours fighting,
The enemy abandoned their position and com-
Inenced their retreat towards Van Buren, hot
y pursued By our forces, who fought them
continually for distance Of ten miles through
The mountains, until darkness closed the
scene, Gen. Blunt himself leading the advance