I have mentioned that I am challenging the historical interpretation of this battle, and in particular an article written by historian William L. Shea, whom I have the utmost respect. In order to present this on the website I have had to take about 30 pages and condense here into maybe five. In all fairness to Mr. Shea, what really is needed is for his entire article to be available online and I of course can't do that. I will quote from it.
For background information leading up to this battle please see:
The Battle at Bayou Cache and Historical Interpretation, Part I and
Arkansas 1862: “ …more Justice, and less Mercy.â€
On July 6, 1862, Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis’s Army of the Southwest was stopped at Cache River where a large obstacle of fallen trees forced them to stay for the night as a pioneer team cut though the timber. The next morning as the work continued a reconnaissance party was sent across the river. Confederate Maj. Gen. Hindman now had his opportunity to hit Curtis and he acted swiftly, urging his men to hold the line at Cache River. (1)
In the early morning of July 7, 1862, near Hill’s Plantation and Cache River, Ark., Col. Charles E. Hovey (Brigade commander and Colonel of the 33rd Illinois) was ordered by Brig. Gen. Frederick Steele to cross the Cache River, secure a defensive perimeter, and clear the surrounding woods of “guerrillas.†Steele’s instructions gave no indication for how far they were to push out in their sweeping of the woods. (2)
About 6:00 a.m. Hovey took four companies of the 11th Wisconsin, four companies of the 33rd Illinois, and a small steel gun of the 1st Indiana Cavalry, along with a group of pioneers, to the other side of the river. The pioneers immediately began to clear the debris on the eastern side of James’s Ferry. While Hovey oversaw the pioneers he sent Col. Charles L. Harris of the 11th Wisconsin down Clarendon Road in reconnaissance with everything except the pioneers. Before noon Harris encountered advanced guards from Parson’s Texas Rangers near Hill’s Plantation. Within 30 minutes at least a full regiment of Confederate cavalry converged and nearly overran Harris and his seriously outnumbered reconnaissance party. (3)
As you will see, the above events are about the only conclusive and indisputable ones of July 7, 1862. Beyond them nothing but conflicting reports, missing reports, and confusion prevail. One of the main reasons there is no clear and comprehensive description of the battle is the absence of a Confederate report. We have individual accounts from soldiers but no report from Gen. Albert Rust who commanded Confederate forces that day. On the Federal side there are several reports, but the two important ones by Hovey and Lieu. Col. William F. Wood (1st Indiana Cavalry) are in conflict. Harris was wounded and did not file a report, or no report survived.
By and large, battle summaries for Bayou Cache go like this:
Union Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis moved on Helena, Arkansas, in search of supplies to replace those that had been promised but never delivered by the Navy. The Confederates under Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman attempted to prevent this change of supply base by continually skirmishing with the Union troops. The Confederates made a stand at the Cache River on July 7, 1862. As Union Col. C.L. Harris moved forward with elements of the 11th Wisconsin, 33rd Illinois, and the 1st Indiana Cavalry, he blundered into an ambuscade. The fighting became more general, and the Confederates, with a frontal attack, forced the Union to retreat about a quarter of a mile. The next Confederate attack, however, was stopped. With reinforcements, the Federals pursued the retreating Confederates and turned the retreat into a rout as the day progressed. (4)
The highlighted section points out part of the focus of this essay. There are only two significant articles (a few books briefly cover the battle) written about this relatively minor battle. The first one appeared in 1989 by Glenn T. Nelson and John D. Squier, “The Confederate Defense of Northeast Arkansas and the Battle of Cotton Plant, Arkansas, July 7, 1862,†Woodruff County (Ark.) Historical Society publication, Rivers & Roads & Points in Between. The second one is by historian William L. Shea, “The Confederate Defeat at Cache River,†which appeared in The Arkansas Historical Quarterly in the summer of 1993. Nelson and Squier’s article focused mainly on the events of the day from a Confederate standpoint. Shea’s investigation sought to bring everything together. However, Shea essentially followed the battle narrative of the 33rd Illinois, made excuses for Col. Hovey, and either dismissed or ignored other key pieces of evidence. These and other issues I will briefly address here.
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