43rd Indiana Infantry Regiment The 43rd Regiment of Indiana Infantry was a volunteer infantry unit from the U . S . state of Indiana that served in the Union Army during the U . S . Civil War in the Western Theater . Though deployed at different times in support of Federal operations in Missouri , Tennessee , Kentucky and Mississippi , the majority of its combat service took place in Arkansas . During the ill - fated Camden Expedition ( part of Nathaniel Banks ' Red River Campaign ) , it formed a lead element of the Third Brigade of the Third Division of the Union VII Corps , under the command of Major General Frederick Steele . A sizable portion of the regiment was killed or captured at the Battle of Marks ' Mills on 25 April 1864 ; the prisoners were sent south to Camp Ford in Tyler , Texas , where eleven of them perished . The remaining elements were transferred northward , and ended their wartime service guarding Confederate prisoners - of - war at Camp Morton in their own homestate . Due to the relative lack of large - scale engagements in the areas where it was deployed , the 43rd did not fight in many battles , nor did it suffer large combat losses during the war . A total of two officer s and 41 enlisted men are recorded as having been killed or mortally wounded during the conflict , while five officers and 200 men perished due to disease . In addition , 121 were recorded as deserting , while 285 were unaccounted for . Initial organization . The 43rd Indiana was created on 11 September 1861 at Camp Vigo in Terre Haute , Indiana by order of Governor Oliver P . Morton , who commissioned William E . McLean as lieutenant colonel of the regiment , with orders to organize it and prepare it for duty . Fourteen companies were raised , and George K . Steele of Rockville was appointed colonel . However , Steele ' s advanced age and physical infirmities led him to resign in January 1862 , upon which McLean was promoted to colonel and given overall command of the regiment , which he would retain until the end of the war . The regiment was formally mustered in for Federal service on 27 September 1861 . Its original strength was 985 officers and men ; these would be augmented over the next four years by 1154 recruits , with 165 veteran s reenlisting . Four of the fourteen initial companies were allotted to the newly formed 31st Indiana ; the remaining units of the 43rd , together with the counties from which they were recruited , were : According to Colonel McLean , the men who joined the 43rd were " probably not Sabbath School or YMCA models , " but nor were they the " coarse combination of the fighting devil and the jolly , boisterous rowdy " that he said were created by " Miss Nancy novelists " after the war to sell the stories they wrote about it . He went on to describe the men of his regiment in these terms : Private James Gilmore of Co . H , who would go on to a distinguished local legal career after the war , offers this portrait of " the reckless disregard " displayed by some of his regimental comrades — like soldiers of all ages — " for the moral precepts taught [ them ] in [ their ] youth : " Early actions . On 12 October 1861 , the 43rd Indiana left Camp Vigo for Spottsville , Kentucky , where it briefly joined Brigadier General Thomas Crittenden ' s 5th Division ( 14th Brigade ) in the Army of the Ohio . While there , it guarded the locks on the Green River from local Confederate sympathizers , but saw no combat . The 43rd was next transferred to then - Brigadier General John Pope ' s new Army of the Mississippi , where it was brigaded with the 46th Indiana in the second brigade of Brigadier General John Palmer ' s third division after briefly being assigned to the second division . It was present for the attack on New Madrid and the taking of Island No . 10 . The regiment was part of a night march from New Madrid to Point Pleasant in New Madrid County , Missouri , with most of its soldiers detailed to drag a 32 - pound Parrott Gun — weighing about 4 , 200 pounds — as part of the siege operations to be conducted there . Veterans of the regiment would later credit this event with causing the ' premature physical decay of many of the very best men of the regiment . ' Following the capture of Island No . 10 , the Second Brigade ( the 43rd and 46th Indiana Regiments ) was ordered to cooperate with the Mississippi River Squadron of the Federal Navy , operating on the Mississippi River under the command of Flag Officer Andrew H . Foote in operations against Fort Pillow . They took up positions around the fort for five weeks , during which time not one weapon was fired in anger by either regiment , until the Confederates were compelled to evacuate on 3 – 5 June 1862 . Occupation of Memphis . The fall of Ft . Pillow left the Mississippi River open as far south as Memphis , Tennessee , which was occupied by Federal forces after a naval battle on the river adjacent to the city . The 43rd and 46th Indiana were the first two Union regiments to enter Memphis , where they reported a ' pleasant , if not cordial ' reception , despite ' a few sullen looks from some of the more radical of its population . ' After two weeks of occupation duty , the two regiments were replaced by other Federal troops , and the 43rd was ordered to Helena , Arkansas . Action in Arkansas . Early movements . Up to this point , the 43rd Indian had not seen any real action , but this was about to change . Upon their arrival in Arkansas , the regiment was ordered to move up the White River , where a few insignificant skirmishes were fought with local Confederate militia . While camped at Clarendon , some unarmed , swimming soldiers of the 43rd were sniped at from the woods across the river . After their comrades returned fire with no discernable effect , the Hoosier s retaliated for the incident by taking every piece of furniture from each house in the village , which they then chopped up and used for firewood . After joining Leonard F . Ross ' s abortive Yazoo Pass Expedition in Mississippi in early 1863 ( where marshy ground prevented the regiment — or any Federal Army units — from playing any significant role ) , the regiment returned to duty in Arkansas , where it would meet its first great test . Battle of Helena . Helena , Arkansas was a town on the Mississippi River that served as headquarters for the Federal military District of Eastern Arkansas . Initially occupied by 20 , 000 Union troops and heavily fortified , the town ' s defenses were badly denuded when four - fifths of the garrison was reassigned to operations around Vicksburg , Mississippi . With only 4000 Federal troops left to defend the city , Helena proved a tempting target for Confederate forces under Lieutenant General Theophilus H . Holmes . Holmes resolved to attack it , in part to relieve pressure on the vital Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg , and also to prevent the city from being used as a staging ground for any further incursions into Arkansas . With Colonel McLean having been promoted to command of the First Brigade in Brigadier General Frederick C . Salomon ' s Thirteenth Division , command of the regiment during the battle passed to Lieutenant Colonel J . C . Major . Holmes launched his attack at daybreak on 4 July 1863 , apparently unaware that Vicksburg was surrendering to Union General Ulysses Grant that same day . During the battle , the 43rd was stationed to the southwest of town , amidst the substantial fortifications of Hindman Hill , where it faced attacking troops of Brigadier General James F . Fagan ' s Second Brigade of Sterling Price ' s Division . A misunderstanding of Holmes ' orders caused Fagan to attack at first light , a full hour before the rest of his division became engaged . Felled trees prevented his artillery from coming up to support his attack , with the result that the Confederates were forced to advance into the face of murderious Federal rifle and cannon fire , including that of the 43rd . Despite this , Fagan ' s men managed to take the outer trenches , but were then stopped cold and forced to withdraw by 10 : 30 AM together with the remainder of the attacking force , leaving the Union in control of Helena . Casualties for the regiment totalled three killed and six wounded . Following the battle , the 43rd Indiana was mentioned in dispatches by the Commanding General of all Federal forces at Helena , General Prentiss , for its " very efficient service on the left wing of the center . " In a speech given four days later , Col . McLean told his regiment : " the Rebels came to get Helena , but succeeded in only getting hell . " Capture of the 37th Arkansas Regiment . One of the Confederate regiments involved in Fagan ' s attack on Hindman Hill during the Battle of Helena was the 37th Arkansas Infantry Regiment , which had previously been the 29th Arkansas . During the Confederate withdrawal , elements of the 43rd Indiana , together with elements of the 33rd Iowa and the 33rd Missouri , managed to capture nearly the entire 37th Arkansas . Lieutenant - Colonel William H . Heath , commanding the 33rd Missouri , reported : This testimony was given by Lieutenant - Colonel Cyrus H . Mackey , commanding the 33rd Iowa : Brigade commander Col . Samuel A . Rice ( of the 33rd Iowa ) never credited any specific unit with the taking of the 37th Arkansas , but the captured colors were credited to his own regiment . Capture of Little Rock . Not long after the Battle of Helena , Major General Benjamin Prentiss , commanding the Union forces in Arkansas , was replaced by Major General Frederick Steele ; his force was renamed the Army of Arkansas . Steele , a seasoned and competent officer who had acquitted himself well under General William T . Sherman ' s command on the Vicksburg Campaign , immediately set out to capture the Arkansas state capital at Little Rock . Moving west , the Federal army brushed aside Confederate resistance at the Battle of Bayou Fourche ( sometimes called the Battle of Little Rock ) , and occupied Little Rock on 10 September 1863 . The Camden Expedition . Initial movements . In early 1864 , General Grant ( who had assumed overall command of all Federal forces ) decided to implement a strategy of simultaneous movement against the Confederates on several fronts , from Virginia to Texas . The portion of this assault involving Arkansas , Louisiana and Texas was called the Red River Campaign . The plan called for two separate armies to move simultaneously toward Shreveport , Louisiana , one from the northwest and the other from the southeast . Steele ' s Army of Arkansas ( the smaller of the two ) was to move southwest from Little Rock , while a much larger force under Major General Nathaniel P . Banks was to advance up the Red River itself , from New Orleans . The two groups were to link up in Shreveport and advance into Texas , in an effort to take that state out of the war . The Arkansas portion of this campaign was named the Camden Expedition , and it got underway on 23 March 1864 with Steele ' s departure from the Little Rock Arsenal . Steele ' s force initially consisted of the 3rd Division of the VII Corps ( including the 43rd Indiana ) and two cavalry brigades , totalling about 6 , 800 men and 76 pieces of artillery . The 43rd was part of the Second Brigade of Brigadier General Salomon ' s Third Division , and its brigade commander was its own Colonel McLean . Two other regiments were included in the Second Brigade : the 36th Iowa Infantry and the 77th Ohio Infantry . Steele ' s first objective was Arkadelphia , Arkansas , which he reached on 29 March . He had ordered Brigadier General John M . Thayer and his 3600 Federals from Fort Smith to join him there , but Thayer failed to arrive on schedule . With his limited rations dwindling , Steele chose to push on in the direction of Camden , where he planned to wait for Thayer , resupply his forces , then continue toward Shreveport . The Federals were initially opposed by Major General Sterling Price , a Confederate commander from Missouri who had recently been placed in charge of all Southern forces in Arkansas . At this point in the camapign , Price had three cavalry divisions at his disposal containing a total of eight brigades ; these were led by three top - noch , battle - hardened commanders : Brigadier Generals John S . Marmaduke , James Fagan and Samuel Maxey . The brigades , while under their assigned strength , were composed largely of seasoned veterans and were well - trained . Battle of Elkin ' s Ferry . After tiring of waiting for Thayer to arrive at Arkadelphia , Steele left for Camden on 1 April . He first advanced toward the Little Missouri River in southwest Arkansas . Finding all the bridges destroyed , and being harried by Brigadier General William Cabell ' s cavalry ( which had joined Price ' s army ) , Steele ordered Salomon ' s Third Division to take and hold a ford known as Elkin ' s Ferry on the afternoon of 2 April 1864 . Salomon in turn tasked the 43rd Indiana with this objective , supported by elements of the 36th Iowa Infantry and the 2nd Missouri Light Artillery . Following a forced march , the 43rd arrived at the crossing after dark that evening . Upon reaching his objective , McLean immediately ordered a squadron of cavalry to cross the shallow river and serve as an advance picket to warn of any Confederate movements toward the river . Sure enough , three cavalry brigades under General Marmaduke — about 7500 troopers altogether — arrived during the night and prepared to assault the Federals at dawn . Marmaduke ordered Brigadier General Joseph Shelby to lead the attack . In his after - action report , Colonel McLean reported that the enemy probed his lines during the early morning hours ; McLean countered by ordering four companies of the 43rd to cross the river and advance into the timber , driving the enemy pickets back while additional elements of the 43rd , supported by the 36th Iowa , crossed behind them and took up positions along the road leading away from the crossing . At 6 AM on the morning of the 4th , the 43rd and 36th were attacked by Marmaduke ' s brigade . Though heavily outnumbered , they resisted for two hours before falling back upon their reserves at the ford . McLean ' s call for reinforcements was met by two additional regiments ( the 29th Iowa and the 9th Wisconsin ) , but before they could be deployed on the battlefield , the enemy withdrew . Total losses for both sides were slight , with 38 casualties on the Union side , compared to 54 for the Confederates ( including 18 killed ) . Battle of Prairie D ' Ane . After its victory at Elkin ' s Ferry , the Army of Arkansas — including the 43rd Indiana — was joined by Thayer ' s division , which had finally caught up with them on the 9th . This combined force ( now totalling about 10 , 400 effectives ) emerged from the forest into an open prairie about 30 square miles in area , known as Prairie D ' Ane . To the west lay Washington , the Confederate capital of Arkansas ; to the south was the Red River and Shreveport , while the fortified town of Camden sat to the east . Since the 43rd had spearheaded the assault on Elkins ' Ferry , Steele relegated it to rear - guard duties during this phase of his army ' s movement . Upon entering the prairie , Steele found Marmaduke waiting for him . Guarding the approaches to Washington , the Confederate general had thrown up breastworks in an attempt to delay the oncoming Federals until his commander , General Price , could arrive with the rest of their army . Price had been reinforced by the arrival of Brigadier General Richard Gano ' s cavalry brigade from the Indian Territory ( Oklahoma ) . The two sides engaged on 10 April , with the Third Brigade driving the Rebels back about a mile before being stopped . The 43rd Indiana did not arrive on the battlefield until after midnight on the 11th , just in time to join a night battle — a rare event during the Civil War — in which Shelby ' s Southerners assaulted the Federals , without success . Inconclusive skirmishing continued over the next two days . Believing that Steele intended to capture Washington , Price withdrew most of his forces in the direction of that town ; when he realized that the Federals were heading for Camden , instead , he returned to Prairie D ' Ane and launched a counterattack on Thayer ' s division ( which was serving as Steele ' s rearguard ) on the 13th . After a four - hour contest , the Confederates were forced to withdraw , and Steele proceeded to occupy Camden after a brief skirmish with Confederate forces there . Poison Spring . Upon arriving in Camden , Steele did not find the supplies he had hoped to secure , so he sent 1250 of his men ( not including the 43rd ) on a foraging expedition to nearby Britton ' s Mill . There they found a large quantity of corn ( supplemented , according to local histories , with items taken from nearby farms and houses ) , but were ambushed by a sizable Confederate force while transporting it to Camden ; the foraging party barely escaped , minus the badly - needed food and most of their horses and wagons . Further bad news followed : Steele learned that General Banks had been decisively defeated in Louisiana , and was now in full retreat toward New Orleans . This left Lieutenant General Kirby Smith , commanding all Rebel forces west of the Mississippi River , free to concentrate on Steele ' s relatively small army , which was trapped deep in enemy territory amidst the snake - infested swamps and forests of south - central Arkansas . Smith accordingly moved three divisions of infantry toward Camden , intending to combine them with Price ' s forces to drive Steele from Arkansas and perhaps even change the course of the war . Although Steele was aware of the precarious position he was in , he was determined to hold Camden for as long as he could , in an effort to salvage something from his campaign . On 19 April Smith and his reinforcements arrived at Woodlawn ; the newly combined Southern army — now under Smith ' s direct command — numbered almost 20 , 000 men , nearly double Steele ' s force , and was now poised to attack Camden and destroy the Federal Army of Arkansas . Smith immediately ordered Generals Price and Fagan to deploy 4000 cavalry between Camden and Little Rock , to cut off the only route of retreat for Steele . The Confederates set out on 19 April , but news soon reached them that caused them to disobey their orders and turn toward a tiny crossroad named Mark ' s Mills , instead — resulting in disaster for the 43rd Indiana , but leading to the salvation of the rest of the Federal force . Disaster at Mark ' s Mills . Running desperately low on supplies , Steele turned to the small Federal base at Pine Bluff , about 35 miles from Camden , as the last remaining source of food for his forces . He accordingly ordered the 43rd Indiana ( then down to about 400 men ) , together with three other regiments and additional cavalry and artillery ( around 1800 men in all ) , to take 400 wagons there on 23 April for supplies . Col . McLean was on a duty assignment at Camden , so command of the regiment fell to Major Wesley W . Norris . The 43rd took the lead , with the wagon train stretching more than a mile along muddy forest roads . Encountering mirey ground along the rain - swollen Morrow River , expedition leader Lieutenant Colonel Francis Drake of the 36th Iowa chose not to push through to Pine Bluff , and instead camped about eight miles outside of town . He did so unware that two brigades of Price ' s cavalry with over 4000 troopers were nearby . Though Norris tried to warn Drake of movement in the woods to his front during the night , Drake laughed off his concerns and told Norris — a combat veteran of the Mexican War — that he " got scared too easily . " Early on the morning of 25 April 1864 , following a difficult crossing of the Moro , the 43rd and its sister units resumed their march toward Pine Bluff . Soon the 43rd encountered several abandoned Confederate campsites to their front , but reports of a large Confederate presence in the area were discounted by Drake , who " roundly " cursed Major Norris and ordered the regiment to pick up its pace . As the 43rd emerged into a small clearing known as Mark ' s Mills , it was attacked by Fagan ' s dismounted brigade , including the 1st Arkansas Cavalry . The Hoosiers drove the Southerners back , but were quickly hit on their right flank by additional Confederates under the command of Brigadier General William Cabell . The 43rd , supported by the 36th Iowa , now found itself facing the 1st Arkansas , together with the 2nd Arkansas and Thomas M . Gunter ' s cavalry battalion . The 43rd and 36th were forced back toward a few log cabins in the center of the clearing , where their artillery raked the oncoming Southerners and was blasted in return by Hugely ' s Arkansas Battery . Just when it seemed that things could not get worse , the 43rd and 36th were now hit on their left flank by Jo Shelby ' s cavalry , and found themselves fighting an overwhelming force ( outnumbering them two - to - one ) attacking from three directions at once . Of the 33 members of the 43rd ' s Co . G who went into the fight , 23 were killed or wounded within the first thirty minutes . Despite valliant efforts by the 77th Ohio and the 1st Iowa Cavalry to prevent the ensuing encirclement , the Federals found themselves surrounded in the clearing and fighting for their lives . The battle lasted for four hours altogether , until they were finally compelled to surrender . One supporting artillery battery was reportedly wiped out to the last man , with its mortally - wounded Lieutenant firing a final gun into the oncoming Rebels before sucumbing to his injuries . According to Sergeant John Moss of Co . G , the regiment did not give up " en masse " ; rather , continual charges by the Southerners resulted in the capture of small numbers of men each time , until only about 50 of the 43rd remained who had not been killed , wounded , run off or captured . When asked by these last remaining troops to surrender them , Norris refused , saying he would never surrender anyone but himself — and that only if he was forced to . He and the others made for the woods , but Norris ' horse was shot out from under him and he lost a boot ; he and his comrades were finally forced to give up only 100 yards from Shelby ' s command . 211 members of the 43rd were taken prisoner ; others managed to escape and made their way back to Steele ' s main force . Aftermath of the battle . The 43rd Indiana ' s regimental history tells of a Federal paymaster with over $ 175 , 000 in Greenback s among those captured at Mark ' s Mills ; the money fell into Confederate hands , and was allegedly used by Southern authorities in a futile attempt to purchse the freedom of Confederate prisoners confined in Chicago , Illinois . The captured prisoners were robbed of their personal effects , and many were stipped and forced to march into captivity completely naked . The Confederates left the Union dead on the field for three days before any attempt was made to bury them , while several African American civilians accompanying the column were shot down in cold blood after the battle . The prisoners were marched south to Camp Ford in Tyler , Texas , where many died before the whole group was released in 1865 . Although Colonel Drake would later go on to a successful political career in his home state of Iowa , including winning the Governorship of that state , the regimental historian of the 36th Iowa wrote that the men of the 43rd Indiana held him in supreme contempt long after the war , for " leading them straight into ambush by his dithering indecisiveness " at Mark ' s Mills . Confederate General Cabell paid tribute to the courage and tenacity exhibited by his enemies during the battle . " [ My ] men , " he wrote , " never fought better . They whipped the best infantry regiments that the enemy had — ' old Veterans ' , as they were called . . . The killed and wounded of Cabells Brigade shows how stubborn the enemy was , and how reluctantly they gave up the train . " Neverthtless , the debacle at Mark ' s Mills is considered by some historians to be the worst defeat ever suffered by Federal forces west of the Mississippi . Ironically , the disastrous defeat at Mark ' s Mills was credited with saving the remainder of Steele ' s army from annihilation . Fagan and Shelby had been ordered to get between Steele ' s force and its original base at Little Rock ; had they done so , there is no question that their overwhelming numbers , combined with additional units advancing under their commander Kirby Smith , would have surrounded Steele and compelled his destruction or surrender . By disobeying their orders and engaging Drake ' s brigade at Mark ' s Mills , Shelby and Fagan caused a delay in the Rebel advance that proved to be just long enough for Steele to evacuate Camden ( which he did , immediately after hearing of the disaster his forces had suffered ) and lead the battered remnants of his Army of Arkansas to safety . Camp Ford , Texas . In the regimental history , Sgt . Moss relates that the captured members of the 43rd Indiana were taken together with the remaining prisoners to Camden , which Steele had evacuated the previous day . There they were housed in an old cotton barn , under the command of a Confederate Major named Hill , whom Moss credited with being a " gentlemen , and treated us the best he could under the circumstances . " The prisoners were marched first to Shreveport , then to Tyler , Texas , home to Camp Ford , the main Confederate POW camp for that district . Upon arrival at the prison camp , Moss and the others quickly learned that their new home was an eleven - acre compound surrounded by a log palisade sixteen feet high . Inside the prison , a line was drawn around the premises ten feet from the fence , called the " dead line ; " anyone crossing that line was subject to be shot by the guards . No barracks of any kind were available , so the Federal prisoners were forced to live and sleep outdoors until the Confederate commandant permitted some of them to gather brush from outside to construct crude shelter s . Food rations were issued in the evening , according to Moss , and consisted of corn meal , which was first poured out on a blanket , then distributed with three - quart cups . Cattle were sometimes brought into the enclosure and shot by the guards ; the prisoners were issued one axe and three pocketknives to cut up the meat , which was then distributed among them . Moss reports that he was able to forge passes to leave the camp , which he used to help several of his fellow prisoners escape . One captured escapee was strung up until he was near death , then let down , revived and then hanged over and over again because he refused to divulge who had helped him escape . Ultimately , Moss got out of the camp himself , and after several harrowing experiences managed to reach Federal lines in Little Rock , with help from a few Union sympathizers he met along the way . Upon arrival , he and his companions were taken to General Steele , who ' received us with hospitality ' and ordered his commissary to supply them with whatever they needed , after which they were furlough ed . The remaining members of the 43rd who survived Camp Ford were released in 1865 and reunited with their regiment , which had by that time returned to Indiana . Retreat from Camden . Meanwhile , as the captured members of the 43rd Indiana were being moved to Camp Ford after the Battle of Marks ' Mills , the small portion of the regiment that had managed to escape made its way back to Camden , where General Steele now prepared to evacuate the town in great haste . These men were combined with members of the 36th Iowa into a Casual Detachment , under the command of Captain Marmaduke Darnall of the 43rd ' s Co . B . Knowing the precariousness of his situation , Steele decided to beat a hasty retreat all the way back to Little Rock , where substantial Federal fortifications and garrison troops could shelter him . First , however , he had to cross the Saline River , which had been flooded by the spring rains , before the Confederates ( consisting of Holmes , Walker , Fagan and Shelby ' s units , plus Smith ' s own divisions and a newly arrived Texas division under John G . Walker ) could stop him . Unknown to Steele , his adversary had already suffered a couple of setbacks . Two of Kirby Smith ' s cavalry brigades had to be dispatched to Oklahoma to deal with reported Federal threats in that region , while his other units saw every effort they made to get between the fleeing Federals and the Saline River stymied by the speed of their march or topographical hindrances . Battle of Jenkins ' Ferry . The Federal army reached the Saline at a crossing called Jenkins ' Ferry at 2pm on 29 April , with heavy rains turning an already soggy river bottom into a sea of nearly - impassible mud . With their regiments and wagon train strung out through the swampy timber along the riverbank , the Federals struggled to erect a pontoon bridge to get their artillery and supply trains to safety . Knowing that he would be unable to cross all his wagon train before dark and that Smith ' s army was rapidly closing on his position , Steele ordered his men to construct breastworks on the Confederate side of the river , in anticipation of an imminent attack . 4000 Federal troops under Brigadier General Samuel Rice were ordered to man these fortifications , and hold off the Southerners until Steele and the rest of the army could get over . The Federal cavalry and about half of the supply train managed to cross under cover of darkness , but the remainder were still waiting to cross when dawn broke . In the coming battle , the remnants of the 43rd Indiana would fight under the direct command of General Salomon , Rice ' s immediate superior . Colonel McLean describes the situation : The Confederates , having brought up their forces during the night , started their attack before dawn on the morning of 30 April . They quickly found that the Federals were hidden behind strong fortifications with impenetrable timber and swamp on their flanks , leaving only about 400 yards of open ground for the attackers to advance through . The Southern advantage in numbers was largely negated as they were forced to attack with only one brigade at a time ; these troops sank up to their knees in muck as they staggered through the thick smoke , fog , pouring rain and murderous Federal fire toward the Union line , with only limited artillery and cavalry support due to the conditions . Two Confederate Brigadiers were killed and another badly wounded during the assault , while General Rice was also mortally wounded on the Union side . But his stubbon resistance paid off : by 3pm that afternoon , Steele ' s army had crossed the Saline with their artillery and supply train , though 900 wagons reportedly had to be left behind . Federal infantry and artillery now deployed on the other bank of the river , to protect the rearguard as they crossed in turn ; the pontoon bridge was then destroyed behind them , making it impossible for Smith and his Southerners to pursue any further . Three days later , Steele ' s tattered remnants limped into the safety of Little Rock ; McLean reported that " the retreat presented no evidence of order , the troops not marching by companies or in their proper organizations , but every man was apparently animated by the sole purpose to save himself . " Colonel McLean spoke very highly of the courage and fighting skill manifested by the " Arkansas Colored Regiment " ( the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry ) , which was made up of recently liberated slaves , at Jenkins ' Ferry . Admitting that he and others had wondered how these men might perform under fire , McLean spoke glowingly of their " cool courage " and " noble service " as they charged " with a whoop and a yell " against the oncoming Confederates , shouting " here comes your Ironclads ! " as they did so . According to McLean , total losses for Steele ' s Army of Arkansas were 5000 men killed , wounded or captured , out of an original force of about 12 , 000 men . He also lost 2000 wagons to the enemy , together with 5000 horses and mules ; out of 76 pieces of artillery Steele started out with , less than six made it back with him to Little Rock . McLean ' s own 2nd brigade , including the 43rd Indiana , 36th Iowa and 77th Ohio , had less than 300 men fit for duty , after the campaign was over . Return to Indiana . Kentucky . After their return to Little Rock , the remnants of the 43rd Indiana were furloughed for thirty days and sent to Indianapolis , where they were welcomed by Governor Morton and other Indiana notables . They were asked to delay their trips home to go to Frankfort , Kentucky , to help defend that city against a possible raid by Confederate General John Hunt Morgan . The 43rd accordingly set out for the Bluegrass State , but Morgan ' s attack failed to materialize , so the 43rd returned to Louisville to await further orders . Near Eminence , Kentucky , the regiment engaged in a slight skirmish with some local guerilla s that would prove to be their last combat of the war . Camp Morton . Upon their return to Indiana , the veteran members of the 43rd were allowed to take their furlough , and then they were augmented with fresh recruits and assigned to new duty at Camp Morton in Indianapolis , a Federal prison camp . Here they spent the rest of the war guarding Confederate prisoners , though Colonel McLean repeatedly requested a return to the front for himself and his men — just so long as it wasn ' t Arkansas . Four times , the War Department issued appropriate transfer orders , but each time , Governor Morton and others used their political connections to ensure that the regiment remained where it was . During the Nashville Campaign of Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood , the 43rd volunteered for service with the forces defending Tennessee under General George Thomas , but again , they were ordered to stay at Camp Morton . In March 1865 , the members of the regiment being held at Camp Ford were released , and rejoined the regiment in Indianapolis . On 14 July 1865 , the regiment was mustered out of Federal service at Camp Morton , and sent home . Regimental anecdotes . " Foraging " . Throughout history , soldiers have told oftimes humorous tales of their experiences while serving in war , and the men of the 43rd Indiana were no different . Private James Gilmore , of Co . H , shared some anecdotes in the regimental history . He reports , for instance , that some members of the regiment would resort to an elaborate subtrifuge in their efforts to augment their rations . While on the march , during mid - afternoon , a private would hand his rifle to one of his companions , then slip silently out of the ranks and disappear . Later , two additional soldiers would drop out from the same company , this time while carrying their rifles . Later that evening , when the regiment went into camp , the three soldiers would reappear , with the first carrying a pig , sheep , chickens or some other food item stolen from local citizens . When stopped by the guards , the two armed soldiers would identify themselves as having just captured a forager , and would be passed through the lines without further ado to take their ' prisoner ' to the provost . Needless to say , after much wandering about unsuccessfully ' trying ' to find headquarters , the three would simply slip back to their unit , where they and their friends would make quick work of their ill - gotten gains . Infantry vs . Cavalry . On another occasion , Gilmore reports coming upon some cavalry at a Kentucky plantation , where they had dragged a large piano from the house and one of them was trying to make his horse play it with his hooves . " While we were watching this uncalled - for and forbidden piece of vandalism , " he writes , " there was a sudden commotion among the horsemen . " A group of infantrymen from the 43rd had located several bee hives to the rear of the mansion , and had grabbed the bee gums and come running around the side of the house , with bees streaming out of the hives behind them . Dashing straight through the startled troopers , the footsloggers noted with delight that the bees attacked the miscreant horsemen , while they carried off the honeycombs and consumed them at their leisure . The beer monopoly . Gillmore reports that instead of establishing a regular canteen , it was the custom in the Federal Army for each regimental commander to designate one man to sell beer to his comrades for a period of time , after which another man would be named to the same position for the same period . This franchise was highly coveted , as its holder had a chance to make a profit from his monopoly . A certain " Joe M . " was accordingly designated ; he procured a barrel of beer , took it to the back of his tent and set up shop , selling beer for ten cents per glass . One customer objected to this price , informing Joe that he had just bought beer at a different location for only five cents . Outraged ( as he was supposed to be the only man selling alcohol at that time ) , Joe demanded to be taken to see his competitor , upon which he was led outside and behind his tent , where a comrade had cut a small hole through the canvas , tapped the barrel from the outside , and was selling Joe ' s own beer at five cents per glass . According to Gillmore : " that end of the beer saloon was suddenly and effectively closed . " Federal ' coffee ' and ' whiskey ' . Sadly , not all pranks pulled by members of the 43rd were in good humor . Gillmore reports that certain members of the regiment saw an opportunity to make extra money due to the scarcity of coffee in the South during the Civil War . He reports that soldiers of an entire company would pool their ration s of coffee , boil it all until all the liquid had been gotten out of the grains , then keep the coffee for their own use while selling the useless grains ( after drying them for a time ) to local citizens at the extraordinary price of one dollar per pound . Complaints to regimental officers and provosts were laughed off , said Gillmore , and the whole episode simply " winked at " by those in authority . In another episode , three members of the 43rd met up with a local Southerner named " Pat , " who ran an illegal saloon close to the regimental camp . Considering him to be " legitimate prey " on account of the exorbiantly - high prices he charged for his merchandise , they secretly conspired with him to supply one 40 - gallon barrel of stolen whiskey for the price of five dollars per gallon . The soldiers took an empty 40 - gallon barrel , filled up a one - quart canteen with whiskey , then fitted the neck of the canteen through the bunghole , hooked a brass faucet to it , and sealed it . They filled the remainder of the barrel with 39 gallons and 3 quarts of water , then took it hurriedly to their unsuspecting partner in crime . Insisting that they had to beat feet , the unscrupulous Yankees demanded that their victim take a taste , then pay them the $ 200 cash he had promised to give them . He turned the tap ( connected to the canteen of whiskey ) , took a quick swig , then shook the barrel to ensure that it was full . Satisfied , he handed over the cash and the miscreant Hoosiers skedaddled . As Gillmore explains , Pat had assumed the whiskey was stolen , and since he had previously agreed to receive what he knew to be stolen proprty , he dared not report the fraud to the regimental authorities . ' Levy contributions ' . Sometimes , prank s played by soldiers turned into indefensible crimes . As with most Federal units , the 43rd usually had a sizable number of African American ' contrabands ' ( runaway slaves ) living near its camps whenever it was in garrison . Some of its more unscrupulous members would shamelessly defraud these poor refugees of any money they might possess . Gillmore reports that one soldier dreamed up a scheme in which he would walk around with a ledger in his hand , inquiring for the name of any black men he happened to meet . Upon receiving an answer he would open the ledger , pretend to look for his name , then inform the man " in an authoritative tone " that the government demanded that he work thirty days on the fortifications , or else pay this soldier ( as its ' representative ' ) ten dollars in cash . Anyone who refused , said he , would be sent beyond Federal lines and left to the mercy of the Confederates . The hapless freedman , feeling himself to be without recourse , would give all the money he had to the grifting soldier to have his name removed from the fictitious ' list . ' Eventually , reports Gillmore , the pracitioners of this scam ( and there were more than one ) were discovered and court - martial led , after which it ceased . Whiskey commandos . Unlike beer , whiskey was utterly forbidden to the men of the 43rd while in the field . During their sojourn in Helena , Arkansas , several members of the regiment were detailed to unload a shipment of whiskey for the commisary , which was rolled into a large warehouse that had been built on stilts over the Mississippi River . Gillmore reports that one enterprising soldier had mentally measured the precise location of the whiskey barrels , so carefully that later that night , he and some friends made their way past the guards to the underside of the building , where they bored a hole through the flooring , straight up into one of the barrels . The whiskey was then allowed to flow through the hole into " camp kettles , mess pans and canteens , " which were quietly taken back to the regimetal billet . The perpetrators of this daring raid were never discovered , and Gillmore reports that " the wholle affair was regarded as a joke upon the Commissary , who probably squared his shortage by reporting the whiskey as ' captured . ' " Biblical bacon . Gillmore reports that bacon rations were usually delivered to the regiment in large hogshead s , weighing between six hundred and twelve hundred pounds apiece . The bacon was packed into the barrels at its point of origin by a man whose initials were " B . C . " ; accordingly , these initials were stamped onto each barrel , together with its precise weight . On one occasion , a certain Sergeant came with a detail of men to collect his Company ' s bacon ration . One of the soldiers picked out a barrel labelled ' 1145 B . C . ' , upon which his Sergeant told him to leave that one and take the one marked ' 736 B . C . ' " That was packed 1145 years before Christ , " the non - com explained ; " we want bacon as fresh as we can get it . " Unit assignments . During its service ( starting 12 October 1861 ) , the 43rd Indiana was assigned to the following units :