The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1886-08-12

and we soon found ourselves within this circle
with the
BULLETS COMING FROM EVERY DIRECTION.
The battle ragged fiercely now for a few mo-
ments. We were disOrganized, mixed with the
rebels, Snd every man lighting for himself
! The roar OF artillery, the crash OF small-arms
! and clash OF sabers, the yells, curses, gr0ans,
whisting bullets and all the thousand and one
sounds of battle made up a horrible din that is
ringing in my ears to-day, although % years
have passed. oar charge had been made on
! Carriers Brigade consisting of the 18th and 2lst
Texas Rangers. This brigade had been chosen
| by Gen. harma2uke TO cover his retreat on ac-
count Of its discipline size and character Of
the men composing il. and their efficiency in
the use Of arms They were armed mostly
with carbines and rcyolvers. and in addition
! every man carried double-edge knife with a
heavy blade about two feet in length. We called
these
ARKANSAS TooTBPICKs.
They were very proficient in the use Of this
knife, being able 10 throw H., 4 am told, some
distance TO the front, point first, into the object
aimed at; and no troops in the service on either
side could compete with them in the use of fire.
arms OF craftsmanship.
Finding we were getting the worst Of it, our
@nen and horses going down in every direction.
we beat hasty retreat rallying behind the LIST
Iowa Il think u was. which had followed US
closely. Gathering about one-half Of my COM
pany, all / could find, the remainder having
followed Capt Reed, dismountcd them and
we again advanced on foot BY this time most
of the infantry had arrived, and the battle
ragged fercely all along the line. BY the time
our cavalry became fairly engaged again the
rebels gave way and the battle was over. /
cannot give now the loss Of our regiment here.
Col Gloyers horse was shot under him, and
among the officers wounded were Capt. Mitchell,
I aa4ns ~ 81 fvaal
that now remember. Our brave young Quar-
termaster, Henry Allen, whose duties did not
require him 10 be in front, had volunteered for
this charge and was killed Many of our men
were unable 10 extricate themselves aud fell
into the hands Of the enemy, We followed the
retreating rebels for two or three miles, when
night came again and our regiment lay down
TO sleep in plOwed field, every man holding
his horse by the bride, ready TO mount at
moments warning. We slept very hard that
night, having had little sleep since leaving
camp and none whatever the night before,
while the continual strain Of the excitement Of
battle had thoroughly exhausted US.
This was probably known as the battle Of
Chalk Bluffs, though / have never seen any
official reports aud am writing this partly from
memory and partly from notes taken at the
time.
The next morning, May 2, we pushed on
bright and carly, again overtaking the enemy
at the crossing of the st. Francis River at Chalk
Bluffs. Here there was some skirmishing, with
little loss on either side. The rebels succeeded
IN getting safely across the river, and we gave
up the pursuit. returning leisurely TO our camp
at Pilot Knob
We passed over the battle-ground on our re-
turn. and were somewhat astonished at the ev-
licences of strife. The trees were torn asunder
and broken down by cannon balls and shell
aud filled with bullets on every side, showing
that there was much firing
1t seemed strange that anything could have
lived around there during the engagement.
One curious feature / noticed was the great
number OF large yellow raJtlesnakes lying
crushed and dead over the ground. The up
roar had probably scared them out of their holes
only to meet certain death under the trampng
feet OF men and horses.-A. n. HILL, First
Lieut., Go. ID, Sd Mo. Cav, Mansfield, o.