43. James A. Mulligan, “The Siege of Lexington,” B & L, Vol. I, 307–312.
44. Earl J. Hess and William Shea, Thunder in the Ozarks: The Pea Ridge Campaign, 22 and 56–57.
45. Ibid., 311–313.
46. Halleck had taken personal command of the army recently commanded by U. S. Grant after the latter’s near-defeat at Shiloh.
47. Castel, General Sterling Price, 87; Thomas L. Snead, “With Price East of the Mississippi,” B & L, Vol. II, 723.
48. Thomas L. Snead, “With Price East of the Mississippi,” B&L, Vol. II, 724.
49. Ibid., 725.
50. Snead, “With Price East of the Mississippi,” B & L, Vol. II, 725–726; OR, Vol. 17, Part 2, 656. Price also had command of what was known as the District of Tennessee.
51. OR, Vol. 17, Part 2, 694, 705–706; C. S. Hamilton, “The Battle of Iuka,” B & L, Vol. II, 734–736; and Castel, General Sterling Price, 97–104.
52. Castel, General Sterling Price, 106; Peter Cozzens, The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth, 139–140.
53. Peter Cozzens, The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth, 270–273; Castel, General Sterling Price, 126–128.
54. Castel, General Sterling Price, 134–139.
55. Ibid., 165–171.
56. Michael T. Parrish, Richard Taylor: Soldier Prince of Dixie, 3, 10–15.
57. Jack Welsh, M.D., Medical Histories of Confederate Generals, 210–211.
58. Parrish, Richard Taylor, 69, 105–107; Richard Taylor, Destruction and Reconstruction, 10. Containing an extract of the letter from Braxton Bragg.
59. Parrish, Richard Taylor, 125.
60. Taylor, Destruction and Reconstruction, 91.
61. Parrish, Richard Taylor, 241; Taylor, Destruction and Reconstruction, 119–120.
3
The Yankee Commanders
The commanders in blue were a mixture of hard-bitten regulars, frontier volunteers, and German immigrants. By 1864 all had a long record of service that included combat in all the major battles west of the Appalachians such as Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, and Vicksburg to name a few. While their Rebel antagonists suffered from uncooperative relationships, the Union leaders maintained a more professional discourse. The Federals did have moments of disagreement; however, the manner of their official conduct demonstrated discipline and focus on the objective. The men in charge of the Camden Expedition included Major General Frederick Steele, and Brigadier Generals John M. Thayer, Eugene A. Carr, and Frederick Salomon. The character and conduct of these men enabled them to save their army—and in the larger scheme General Bank’s army on the Red—when they had their backs to the wall, in order to fight another day.
Frederick Steele commanded the Federal Department of Arkansas and the 7th Army Corps. He would reluctantly lead the thrust from Arkansas toward Shreveport in March-May 1864. Steele came from humble beginnings as the eldest son of Nathaniel and Dameras Johnson Steele. He was born in the small New York village Delhi on January 14, 1819. His forbears emigrated from Britain in 1715 and co-founded modern-day Hartford, Connecticut. Eventually the Steeles migrated west to settle as farmers in the wilderness of upstate New York.1
Little is known of Steele’s childhood prior to his entry into West Point in 1839. What is known is that Frederick had a large and extended family. His mother’s first husband died leaving Dameras with four young children. She would soon remarry to Nathaniel and this marriage produced five more children. Among Frederick’s siblings and half-brothers and sisters, he was closest to his half-brother John. John maintained a close relationship with his younger brother until Frederick’s early death in 1868. He was a sounding board for Fred as well as mentor and confidant.2
Steele became interested in a military career later than most of his peers at West Point. Most cadets entered the Point as teenagers of sixteen to eighteen years of age. Fred Steele began his military training in July 1839 at the ancient age of twenty years, five months and as a result became something of a mentor to the younger men. Steele would find satisfying camaraderie and make lifelong friendships during his time at the academy. Among his closest friends were future Civil War generals Nathaniel Lyon, William Tecumseh Sherman, and perhaps his most intimate associate, Ulysses S. Grant.3
Fred Steele had a respectable first year at the academy finishing in the upper fifth of the class at 17th out of 73 cadets after examinations in January 1839. His standing would fall steadily in the succeeding years to 27th of 54 in 1841 and by his 1843 graduation to 30th of 39 graduates. His slide is probably attributable to the reputation he earned as a prankster. One observer notes that Steele was “marked for humor and mischief … quick repartee, a wiry, shrill-voiced wag whose friends could tell by an odd snapping of his eyelids when he was preparing to tell a joke.” His penchant for levity earned him 108 demerits, a low class rank, and an infantry officer’s commission.4
At the time of his commissioning in 1843 the regular army had no vacancies for officers. Therefore, Steele received a brevet second lieutenant’s commission in lieu of full rank until positions opened to accommodate all the graduates. Steele finally received his second lieutenancy three years later in 1846. In the meantime, he reported for duty with the 2nd Infantry Regiment in his home state of New York. Although his army service was uneventful he did lead an unusual expedition in 1845 through his home county. At this time, his brother Osman served as sheriff of Delaware County and was murdered by local agitators. Frederick requested and received a furlough intent upon chasing down the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.5 While there is no record of the result of this expedition, it reveals much of Frederick Steele’s character. Though he had a happy-go-lucky reputation at West Point, beneath the surface lurked a serious, driven man. Further, Steele demonstrated an uncompromising loyalty to his older half-brother, a characteristic he would exhibit toward many throughout his military career.
Steele’s service proved uneventful until the outbreak of the Mexican War in 1846. He was still a second lieutenant, but the war provided the opportunity for advancement and excitement in contrast to the stagnation and mundane activities of the peacetime army. The war also tested the U. S. Army’s young officer corps and the mettle of the West Point educated officers. Fred Steele, like the majority of his peers, validated the confidence the nation placed in him by serving with distinction in several of the war’s fiercest battles, particularly Contreras and Chapultepec.6
Steele’s performance at Chapultepec earned him the recognition of the commanding general, Winfield Scott. The battle for the Mexican palace at Chapultepec was the culminating event of the war. Everything hinged on the battle’s outcome, as a victory would win the war for the U. S. while a defeat quite possibly could dash hopes for success by destroying the army. To enable the main force to successfully assault Chapultepec’s precipitous walls, 265 select officers and men were picked to breach the obstacle with scaling ladders. Among the group was Lieutenant Frederick Steele from the 2nd Regiment. Called a “forlorn hope” by some of the participants, the storming party suffered heavy casualties in its approach to the walls of the palace. Several of the commanders fell dead or severely wounded as a result of the galling fire. Lieutenant Steele, seeing his own superiors down, assumed command and pushed the soldiers across the killing ground to secure the breach.7
In his report Winfield Scott noted that Steele, “after the fall of Lieutenant Gantt,” took charge of the storming party and led it in a “most distinguished” manner.8 For his service, Steele earned two brevets to the rank of captain, but more important he had invaluable combat experience. Of the many lessons learned, he would remember how the American army suffered under the hardship of a tenuous line of communication deep in enemy territory. Undoubtedly, with this in mind he attempted to avoid launching the Camden Expedition in the Civil War due to similar conditions in Arkansas.
Steele spent the inter-war years on the frontier serving in a variety of positions
at far-flung locations. He saw little combat against Indian bands since slow-moving infantry was inadequate for chasing such a wily enemy. He maintained his warm friendship with fellow officer U. S. Grant. Even after Grant left the army in 1854 he would inquire of his old friend Steele to all mutual acquaintances.9 This comradeship proved a boon for Steele, as Grant would confidently place him in important commands in the Civil War.
Promotions in the old army came at a snail’s pace and only when a vacancy opened due to the resignation or death of another officer. In spite of his gallantry in the Mexican War Steele reverted to the rank of first lieutenant after the war. He did not regain a captaincy until 1855. Nevertheless, he continued in his duties serving for six years as adjutant of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, on court-martial boards, and patrolling the upper Great Plains.10
The tragedy of his mother’s death broke up the monotony of frontier service and reveals another glimpse of the strength and determination of Frederick Steele. While he grieved tremendously, he exhorted his brother that “there is no use in … making ourselves miserable.” Instead, he stated, “we should make use of all reasonable means to stifle immoderate sorrow.”11 He believed his mother would want the family to move forward rather than looking back and he encouraged his siblings to remember her by living full lives. Such determination carried him and his army through trying times at Camden.
In the late ’50s the secession question began to enter conversations among the officer corps of the army. As a northern man there is little doubt of Steele’s loyalty to the country. While the record contains scanty evidence of his stance on the issues of the day, one can surmise from his associates and his efforts in organizing and raising troops in 1861 that he was a staunch Union man. As the southern states seceded in early 1861 Steele and other officers looked on with bewilderment. The regular army numbered slightly more than 16,000 men in 1861 and found itself scattered across the frontier. With Lincoln’s call for volunteers the army attempted to assemble into regiments and brigades. The start of the war found Steele at Fort Leavenworth and in May the army promoted him to major in command of a battalion in the 11th Infantry Regiment.12
In June, newly appointed Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, Steele’s old academy friend, began consolidating all available Federal forces in and around Missouri to mount an offensive against hastily assembling Missouri State Guardsmen. Lyon knew he had to move quickly in order to secure strategically located Missouri for the Union. Among the forces called upon to form Lyon’s army was Steele’s battalion of regulars and volunteers. Frederick Steele’s performance during the upcoming campaign would solidify his reputation as a cool, fighting commander.
General Lyon occupied Springfield, Missouri, on July 13, 1861, having forced Sterling Price and his Missouri State Guard into the extreme southwest corner of the state. This gave Federal authorities complete control of the state, but Lyon remained unsatisfied with his bloodless occupation of the state. He knew that he had to inflict a crushing blow on the rebels in order to consolidate the Federal hold on Missouri. Additionally, Lyon’s command had several three-month regiments whose enlistment would expire within thirty days. Loss of these men would reduce Lyon’s 7,000-man army to around 4,000 soldiers, barely enough to hold St. Louis not to speak of the entire state.13 In light of these circumstances Lyon decided to mount a drive against Price to eliminate him as a threat to Missouri.
Lyon assigned Steele’s battalion as the spearhead of the army’s advance and the regulars quickly drew first blood at Dug Springs. On a sweltering August morning Steele’s skirmishers ran into a Rebel cavalry patrol. Steele assessed the situation and deployed his battalion to drive away the mounted Confederates. After a sharp engagement the battalion routed the Rebels, in the process appropriating a wagon loaded with rations.14 In his first fight Steele had discharged his duties in battalion command in commendable fashion, but the true test of his mettle could come at a little known corner of Missouri called Wilson’s Creek.
On August 12, 1861, the little Union army under Lyon attacked the combined Confederate force under Price and Ben McCulloch near Wilson’s Creek. Catching the larger Rebel force by surprise in their camps, Lyon nearly annihilated them as they struggled to form a coherent line. The quick reaction of Price and McCulloch prevented disaster and soon they directed a counterattack up what today is known as Bloody Hill. Anchoring the defense on Bloody Hill was Steele’s battalion. After repulsing the initial assaults, the much larger Confederate army overwhelmed Lyon’s army killing him in the process. Command of the Union army fell on Major Samuel D. Sturgis who assigned Steele responsibility for covering the army’s retreat. Steele conducted a stubborn defense that arrested the Confederate pursuit and allowed the Federals to retreat in good order, bringing along their wounded. In his report of the battle Sturgis commended Steele for “gallantry … from the beginning to the close of the battle.”15 Steele took great pride in his battalion’s performance in this first battle. He stated “with some exultation of feeling” that his “gallant little battalion” had held its ground against every assault, and indeed it had.16
Steele would not long remain a major. Competent commanders were hard to come by for the Union early in the war. Steele’s performance at Wilson’s Creek came to the attention of none other than the President. Learning of Steele’s exploits, Lincoln penned a note to the Secretary of War on December 31, 1861, requesting that he “[L]et Frederick Steele of the Regular Army … be appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers.” “Let it be done,” stated Simon Cameron in his endorsement, and on January 29, 1862, Steele assumed duties as a newly minted brigadier general.17
Major General Frederick Steele, commander of the Federal Department of Arkansas and the VII Corps, reluctantly embarked on the Camden Expedition to aid Nathaniel P. Banks’ Army of the Gulf in the Red River Campaign. Courtesy Massachusetts Commandery Military Order of the Loyal Legion and the United States Army Military History Institute.
Frederick Steele would distinguish himself again in operations against Vicksburg. The Vicksburg Campaign extended over several frustrating months before culminating in the Confederate surrender in July 1863. The campaign found Steele reunited with under the command of his old friend U. S. Grant and leading a division in Sherman’s 13th Army Corps. In every phase Steele played a prominent role while always finding himself where the action was hottest. During the attack on Chickasaw Bluffs in December 1862 Steele found himself “dodging bullets” as he aligned his division for the assault. He was among the lucky ones that day as his division suffered 856 casualties in what Grant later termed a “very unfortunate attack.”18
While Steele continued to demonstrate courage and competence as a commander, he also demonstrated the qualities of versatility and cooperativeness. For the attack at Chickasaw Bluffs Sherman placed Steele “in support” of his 3rd Division commander Brigadier General George W. Morgan and responsible to his orders. Rather than quibble over matters of rank, Steele graciously rendered full assistance and support to him as Morgan confirmed in a post-war account.19 This aspect of Steele’s character would prove critical to his ability to command effectively in Arkansas. Commanders expect subordinates to act in a loyal and responsive manner. However, these same commanders sometimes find it difficult to willingly subordinate themselves to the wishes of others. The result in many cases is infighting among men with big egos that leads to military failure. An example of this is the command climate that existed between Edmund Kirby Smith and Richard Taylor on the Confederate side in the Trans-Mississippi. Steele’s ability to provide unqualified support combined with his recognized talent for command enabled him to foster a cooperative command environment during the Camden Expedition.
Following Vicksburg, Grant appointed Steele commander of the “Army of Arkansas.” Grant formed this new force for the purpose of “break[ing] up Price and occupy[ing] Little Rock.” This represented Steele’s first independent command and led to his initial tangle with the Confederate commander of the D
istrict of Arkansas, Sterling Price. Upon arrival at Helena in July 1863 to take up his duties, Steele pronounced his troops “the poorest command I have ever seen.” Nevertheless, he quickly organized his men for a thrust in the direction of Little Rock.20
Steele commenced his march on August 5, 1863, with about 12,000 men against light resistance from Price’s cavalry outposts. Steele had closed on the outskirts of Little Rock by the first of September. Price hoped that Steele would throw himself against the fortifications protecting the city. Steele, although outnumbering his foe, would not be so obliging of Price’s wishes. Instead, he developed a clever plan to turn Price out of his prepared defenses. If Price failed to react to the movement Steele even had a chance to bag Price and the city, laying the rest of Arkansas open to occupation. Steele sent his cavalry south of the Arkansas River to threaten Price’s rear while he took the infantry up the north bank to attack Price in front of the city. Realizing his plight, Price prepared to evacuate the Arkansas capital. Steele had won an outstanding victory at a cost of only 136 casualties. In addition, Steele had captured the state arsenal thus depriving the Trans-Mississippi rebels of a primary source of arms manufacturing.21 He did fail to “break up” Price though and would have to deal with him again in 1864.
Steele spent the rest of 1863 in Little Rock dealing with a host of command, civil administration, and logistical problems. So far in the war he had earned a reputation for solid command in subordinate and independent positions. His judgment had proved sound in every campaign. In 1864 his military opinions would again be shown as prescient. However, he would find himself trumped and forced to launch an expedition he did not believe his army could carry through to success. It would take all of his determination and ability of command to prevent a disaster from befalling his army and the Union war effort.
The Camden Expedition of 1864 Page 7
