A Cold and Difficult March

Regular readers know that on occasion I highlight notable marches made by soldiers in the trans-Mississippi. While perusing Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West by William L. Shea and Earl J. Hess recently, I came across another example of a long march in a relatively short time.

In February 1862, Major General Sterling Price, well aware of a Union advance on Springfield, Missouri, decided to retreat from that area. He and his Missouri soldiers marched south on Telegraph Road and retreated toward Arkansas. At first, Union forces under Brigadier General Franz Sigel made only modest efforts to speed Price’s force on their way, but on 16 February Sigel started pressing the enemy.

Here is a brief passage from Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West that describes the ensuing march:

“The rebels hurried over the fifty miles from Crane Creek in Missouri to Little Sugar Creek in Arkansas in less than thirty-six hours. Weather, fatigue, hunger, and demoralization took a severe toll. Everyone became ‘foot sore and tired from marching over the hard and frozen ground.’ Exhaustion was a critical problem because the Missourians had not had a full night of sleep since February 11 in Springfield. Whenever the column halted for a few moments, men in the ranks dozed while leaning against one another. Soldiers even fell asleep while marching” (p. 34). Union troops also marched quickly, but they “had rested well in Springfield on February 13 and had the psychological advantage of knowing that the enemy was on the run” (p. 34-35).

And The Winner Is...

Last month I mentioned in a post that “The only Confederate division comprised entirely of units from one state was Walker’s Texas Division.” Alert readers (and fellow historians) Jim McGhee and Dr. Bill Gurley pointed out to me that Brigadier General Mosby M. Parsons commanded an all Missouri division, and Brigadier General Thomas J. Churchill commanded an all Arkansas division. Both, according to Dr. Bill Gurley, were established in March 1864 and continued as single state divisions until the end of the conflict.

Walker’s Texas Division is awarded first prize for having the distinction of being a single state division for the longest period of time having been established in November 1862 and disbanding in May 1865. Parsons’ Missouri Division and Churchill’s Arkansas Division receive runner-up awards for being the single state divisions with the next longest tenures. Interestingly, Walker’s Texas Division, Parsons’ Missouri Division, and Churchill’s Arkansas Division served together at the battles of Pleasant Hill and Jenkins’ Ferry during the Red River Campaign.

There are other examples of single state divisions in the Trans-Mississippi such as the all Missouri divisions commanded by Major General Sterling Price at Wilson’s Creek and at Pea Ridge and the Arkansas division commanded by Brigadier General Francis A. Shoup at Prairie Grove.

A “close but no cigar” award goes to Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham’s division of the Army of Tennessee that was made up predominantly (but not entirely) of Tennessee units. The other “close but no cigar” award goes to Major General George Pickett’s division of the Army of Northern Virginia that had three Virginia brigades that fought at Gettysburg; however there were two brigades detached from Pickett’s division that did not serve at Gettysburg—one was a South Carolina brigade commanded by Micah Jenkins.