The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-04-27

rom .he C-4,csgo 4r1bcne-l
FoET Smith, Ark, April g, 1864.
a messenger being about to leave for
Fort Gibson, Indian Territory thence
north with mail via Kansas, your cor
respondent takes occasion 10 forward q
lew brief notes by the way.
Nv last informed YOU of the removal
Of the msjor portion Of the army of the
Frontier from Western Arkansas oy
Brigadier General ThayeT. We have
Dispatches here this morning 10 the
effect that the force under his command
has Elected a junction with Major Gen
er.l Steele from Little Rock. at or near
Canton General Sterling Price com
ulanding the rebels, is in full retreat
from Soath-Western Arkansas, towards
Shreveport. Louisiana, where are Gen.
Kirby Smiths headquarters. From the
news from Cen Banks Department Il
would appear that Gen Albert 4. Lee,
with the cavalry, is pushing up in that
direction Ia al probability there viii
be an engagement in Northern Lou
is;ana. Kirby Smith is accounted an
able man, and with the combined forces
OF Price and Dick Taylor, must have a
considerable army.
We are having some excitement here
abouts. Since Gen Thayer managed to
get one Kansas regiment under his con
troll, and then to march them away, this
region j. left inviting and open for the
bushwhaclleTs They have not failed
10 avail themselves Of the occasion
Within ten days we have had q num-
Der Of little skiIm:shes 1t RoseyilIe,
where the LIST Kansas colored has been
stationed, gathering and ginning cotton,
and which is now held by small cav
airy force from the ID and 9th Kansas,
two attacks have been made. The
first was q guerrilla gang, led by form
81 citizen Of the place, whose chief OBJ
iect seemed TO be TO destroy the cotton
confscated from him. He succeeded
in this, burning l3i bales and gin and
dwelling house, all formerly owned by
himself The attack was renewed on
Sunday last upon this place The reb-
els were reported 10 have been $50
strong, under Gen. Davis, and princi-
pally Texans The attack was made at
A. Il, and the fight lasted over two
hours. The rebels were repulsed, leaV-
ing six dead, and sixteen prisoners in
our hands Our loss. was two killed and
eight wounded, among whom was Cap
tain Goss Of the 9th Kansas. Captain
Gardner, of the % was in command
Our men behaved with great gallantry
The cotton, at this point, of which
there is considerable quantities, be-
longing to the Treasury Agent, was
used as breastworl1s. Teams have been
- Ill
to this point, and abandon Roseville
The place is Of no special military inn
portance, and tho small force in that
region renders Recommendation impera-
tive in order to protect the necessary
forage and supply trains, and hold the
route between here and Dardannele, to
which points boats come from Little
Rock
Prisoners taken at RoseviIle report
that Gano has about eight hundred
men, and that his intention is to con-
centrate the bush-whaclSers and mako
a raid through Western Arkansas.
There Is but little to prevent them from
doing this, except the scarcity Of for
age In the frontier district of Arkan-
sas there are not two thousand effective
place There are not three hundred
effective horses in the whole command
1t il evident that but little can be done
except to hold the posts and guard
trains
Surgeon Fairchild, OF the 9th, was
sent with an escort of twenty-five men,
10 take charge Of tho wounded at Rose
Vile Within fifteen miles Of that place
his party was ambush ed by hundred
rebels. At the last adyices from Rose.
vile the Surgeon had not been heard
from, rs also nine Of tho escort They
are believed TO be taken prisoners or
killed The remaining fifteen are
known 10 be in the bush
Another party attacked GAINESVILLE,
on the North side OF the river, p week
sinces They were repulsed and pur-
sued by q party OF the 9Th Arkansas,
who surprised a camp, killing FIVE,
wounding FIVE, and capturing ten pris-
oners, nineteen horses, and camp equip
age
The pickets were driven in at Van
Buren,, four miles from this place, three
nights since, and small guerrilla bands
iniest tho country round for many
miles A number Of citizens have been
robbed and murdered Two who came
in stated that q party came 20 their
farms, took their horses, and informed
them that it was their intention 70
kill every man who voted to make Ar
kansas q free State There is little
doubt that many will be murdered It
IS quite evident that with the present
force and management the raiders will
have things IN this regain pretty much
their own way No forage, no horses,
cavalry all dismounted on three-fOurth
rations, and unless the river soon be-
comes IN boating condition, the pros
pect of being reduced again, for there
Is not q weeks breadstuf' AZ this depot.
The lookout ahead for Western Arkan-
sas is very gloomy. These guerrilla
movements would in great part be sup
pressed if we had an efficient com
mander and more cavalry. But in
some things we are like the BourbOns
we neither learn nor unlearn by ex-
perience Our Missouri border warfare
seems TO be without a lesson to the
powers that be. The Western ArlIan-
sas guerrillas are not yet well organized.
They have no special head With an
efficient commander, they could be
routed Ia detail What we now want
is q couple of regiments of Western
cavalry, energy and sternness in the
command o few examples Of punish
ment, and in less than two months
large portion Of this region viii be safe
enough for the farmers to work, which
they dare not do now.
A party Of scouts, eight in number.
encountered forty-fye robels, thirty
mles southeast OF this place, and only
succeeded in efecting their retreat az
Ger a sharp fight in which two men
were killed. 4 party of citizens, Noun
tain Feds Is they are called, who lived
at the Sugar Loaf mountain range
twenty miles south Of here, brought in
two prisoners day before yesterday.
Both had been in the rebel service,
came into our lines last winter claiming
TO be eonscripts or desertars, and en-
listed in one OF our regiments. As soon
as they were armed Ind clothed they
deserted, taking 10 the brush They
have committed numberless dopreda-
tons and viii doubtless be shot.
Prom the Indian territory We have
little news Stan. Waite wss reported
- -