, 1864-05-12

| eccGrd IN reaching frBt, Althougk his march
| w:t haI7afsed by Marmaduko.
| Tht day folio atnE Steel&s occupation Of
Camden, Price appeared ID; force same six
miles to thesouth. -ApontFon bridge was
| furg acroes the Ouchita,~ below tbe mouth
Of the little More. thirty milss,cast Of CAM
| drn. Trees were fe1icd In tile etftAn. and
| other obstsc'ea put in the M; ofnariglti9n.:
By means Of tho Pontoon bridge the rchn1:
cavalry. under Maior Genera, Fa:In, crossed
to the north Of Camden, and cut OF the sup;
plies. .'> =.
Gen. Steele sent onta fornginE; exDeiitioH
on the 21et or END, to point sixteen 1nilAt'
west. The train consisted OF oyer $50 wa3
ona, and the escort, under command Of Col,
james NJ Williams, 1st regiment Kansas col
first color@ regiment organized during t!.c
Hsr1 porlion Of th1 16tI Iowa, q portion vi
the Ind and 9Th Kansas cs7e}rI, Lis.. two
LoR1tzeIs and section Ct the st.. Iaaiaua
battery. In all less than enc :housArds mru.
IN tLe retr1n march, At Poison Springs,
snd s' Was %'s nsked Msst Of Camden The fe.1
five thousand rebels. A large force was
held In reserve. Col. Williams fought his
command most gal]aptly from a. nj. to IL
n, until his ammunition WEE exhausted.
He had two horses shot under him, spiktng
the two guns. The ho *itzers had aire .dy
fix bayonets, and forming the remains iuto
a6 compact body Is possible, fought hls
way out, literally battling for eyery step till
near Camden. Tho negro soldiers fought
With almost euperhuman valor. and every
men came IN, 1t. Is reported, With bloody
bagonet. No quarter was asked or given,
the colored men seemingly being convinced
Of Its futflity 10 far aa they were concerned.
Every one accords them the highest praiso
for most heroic brayery and to Col. Williams
for hia gaI1ant conduct aud excellent MANAGE
nlent. Five officers OF the first colored were
ktlled, Two after capture, md three wounded.
the Dtld, many Of whom were murdered aftsr
capture All OF the bodies wera stripped of
tIelr clothing and soma were mutilated, 80
Or 81 Of: the lcth Iowa were killed; II Of 1ue
"a Eansss. snd shout the SANE number Of the
Cth ard battery: In ill our loss was about
anna: Considering the odds It is wonder
that my of tho party escaped. Nothing bnt
their desperate va1or saved thosc who reached
Camden. Word Nss sent In By tho rebels
that no quarters would be given to K.nsas
soldiers. bl2ck or white. Tbs ora wounded
were Killed after capture under ths impress
sion that they belonged to the 12ta Kansas,
With which regiment the 1st and I'd colotoi
regiments arc brigaded
E'About the 25th, train returning from
Camden to Pine Bluffs escorted By tno 77.h
Ohio, some Indisna cavalry and four guns of
= Missouri battery va. attacked By : aupe-
rfor cavalry force under Marmaduke, After
4 short fight the 77th surrendered. Tho train
consisted Of 500 wagons, Apd had with II
over zoo refugees, principally women and
children, black and white. wAx informed
at Pine Bluff, that acting under Mnrmaduko's |
were brutally assassinated, being i1dlscrlmi-
n4telJ shot down. Children Nero murdered
in their mother arms. The bodies were Lett
where they fell This statemen. was made
to me By Major Walker, Of the 5th Kansas
cavalry, one Of tie most active and reliable
obtained fire hundred six-mulo teams and
wagons, four brass guns, and several hum
dred stand Of arms.
General Steale evacuated Camden on the
9Th or 26th, and commenced his retreat to
Little Rock By the most direct route. He
under Price. His rear mas held BY General
ThaJer,- who 'was pressed closely. At the
ea1ine, forty-dye miles south OF Little Rock,
where We arrived on ths Goth, being nppre-
heneivo Of an attack upon that place b1 Fa-
gin, Steele sent . brigade of csvslry, under
KimbalL y.
The rebels disputed the passage Of the sa-
line By our forcee, and a severe engagement
eukued on the Goth. General Steele drove
lighting, thus securing the uninterrupted @
parssge Of the river. He was not able, hor-
ever, 10 recover all of his dead and wounded.
Dr.. Sluekalager, OF the 18th Kansas, and 4
party acting under his direction, were taken
prisoners alter sundown. Our loss In killed
and wound In this fight must be between GOO
and 500. In this engagement the I'd Kansas,
celored regiment, greatly distinguished itself
Colonel Crawford was in command It was
In tie sevezegt portion Of the 1att1e, and
twice charged the rebel line, breaking Il and
driving them back disordcred. The four
guns captured BY MarmRdnke were recap. |
tured BY the negroes, who also took battle
nag. The regiment lost seventy-rWo killed
and wounded. Several officers were wound
ed. Int none killed. u,
Gen. Steele reached Little Rock Oh the 2d
yesterday. During this campaign he has
Lost several hundred wagons, some twenty
guns, captured or abandoned, about two
Thousand men killed and wounded, and over
a thousand stand Of arms captured.
Little Rock, Pine Bluffs aud Fort Smith ara
al menaced. 4 large amount Of supplies
has just been sent to the latter point. some
Eeven or.eight boats arc in the river The
enemy followed to within twenty miles Of tho
Rock, aud ere to-day reported eight miles
from Pine Bluffs, which post your corres-
pondent has just left, by : steamer released
By the Qu2rtermaster.