The Henry Rifle and the Battle of Prairie Grove

The Battle of Prairie Grove was fought 155 years ago today, and one of the participants was Major Albert C. Ellithorpe of the First Indian Home Guards. His regiment consisted primarily of refugee Seminoles and Muscogee Creeks from the Indian Territory and were part of James G. Blunt’s Kansas Division. This division arrived on the battlefield after soldiers from Francis J. Herron’s division had launched several bloody and futile attacks on Confederates from Thomas C. Hindman’s army. Ellithorpe’s regiment gave a “war yell” after positioning itself to the right of Herron’s Twentieth Iowa Infantry, and then the two regiments advanced toward the enemy. Ellithorpe had purchased a Henry rifle earlier in the year. This repeater had a sixteen-shot magazine and fired a .44 caliber bullet. Ellithorpe proudly wrote a month after the battle that, “my ‘Henry’ has done its work well I emptied 32 shots from it at the Battle of ‘Prarie Grove’ at a very short range. I think the gun has done good service.” The Major was so taken with the weapon that he asked for permission “to raise a battalion of sharpshooters” that would be equipped with the Henry rifle. For reasons unknown, his request was never granted. Were any other soldiers equipped with the Henry rifle at Prairie Grove? If any Henry bullets are ever excavated from the ground where the First Indian advanced, then they were probably fired by the redoubtable Major Ellithorpe.

Finally: A Completed Manuscript

The last five weeks have been hectic and stressful leaving little time for blogging. A close relative has experienced serious health problems with the bulk of that responsibility falling on me. In better news, my manuscript A Constant School of Excitement: Albert C. Ellithorpe and the Civil War on the Frontier is at a publisher and being considered for publication. Ellithorpe, as I’ve mentioned in previous postings, served as an officer in the First Indian Home Guards, a tri-racial regiment that served exclusively in Arkansas, the Indian Territory, and Missouri. Major Ellithorpe led an adventurous life, and his colorful personality is evident in his journal, his twenty-three Chicago Evening Journal articles, and various other documents. It’s been a fun project, but I was happy to send the 297-page manuscript on to a potential publisher.