The Battle of Cane Hill, Arkansas
Battle of Cane Hill - In Depth
Private Jesse James, C.S.A.
Fourteen year old future outlaw
Jesse James was reputedly
among the members of
Quantrill's company who took
part in the Battle of Cane Hill. He
actually was not there, but Frank
James and Cole Younger may
have been. While the official
reports of the battle do not
mention either the James
brothers or Younger by name,
they do make reference to the
presence of Quantrill's men.
Fourteen year old future outlaw
Jesse James was reputedly
among the members of
Quantrill's company who took
part in the Battle of Cane Hill. He
actually was not there, but Frank
James and Cole Younger may
have been. While the official
reports of the battle do not
mention either the James
brothers or Younger by name,
they do make reference to the
presence of Quantrill's men.
 | |  | |  | |  |
The Battle of Cane Hill was a significant preliminary event to the Battle of Prairie
Grove. Fought on November 28, 1862, the engagement lasted nine hours and
extended through villages and farms and across mountainsides and valleys.
Casualties were light considering the intensity of the fight, but both sides agreed the
battle was hard-fought and that both Federals and Confederates exhibited
remarkable courage and determination.
Today’s Canehill community is the surviving remnant of an extensive antebellum
settlement. According to Confederate Major General Thomas C. Hindman, the area
in 1862 was one of the more prosperous points in Northwest Arkansas:
Cane Hill is a ridge of perhaps 8 miles length and 5 miles width, in the southwest
part of Washington County, Arkansas, just beyond the north base of the Boston
Mountains. Three villages are built upon it (Russellville, Boonsborough, and
Newburg), which almost blend with each other, covering a distance, as the road to
Fayetteville runs, of 3 or 5 miles….
In addition to its agricultural and commercial interests, Cane Hill was noteworthy as
the site of Cane Hill College. The first institution of higher learning in Arkansas, the
college had been in operation for thirty years by the time of the Civil War.
The strategic location of the community, where several roads united after crossing
over the Boston Mountains, gave it significant military importance early in the war.
This was evidenced in late November of 1862, when General Hindman sent a large
cavalry force under Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke to occupy Cane Hill.
Following on the heels of a Union scouting party that had penetrated south of the
mountains, Marmaduke positioned his brigades at successive points along Cane
Hill ridge. Among the men attached to his command, interestingly, were William
Clark Quantrill’s notorious guerillas, who are believed at this time to have included
future outlaws Frank and Jesse James and Cole Younger. Quantrill himself was not
present and his company was headed by a lieutenant.
Marmaduke’s occupation of Cane Hill was in anticipation of a planned movement by
Hindman to bring his entire army over the mountains in hopes of destroying Union
forces in the region in detail.
The Federals were quickly alerted to this movement and Marmaduke’s pickets
skirmished with Union scouts near Cane Hill on November 25, 1862, while calls for
reinforcements were rushed up to Union commanders in Missouri. Deciding that the
“best defense is a good offense,” Union Brigadier General James G. Blunt organized
his men and moved to attack Marmaduke before Hindman’s main army could come
across the mountains.
Leaving his camps on November 27, 1862, Blunt marched south. The rough country
across which he marched caused his 5,000 men to become strung out, and most of
his infantry was still miles to the rear when his cavalry reached Cane Hill at between
9 and 10 o’clock on the morning of November 28th:
In passing down a gorge between two abrupt hills, their grand guard was
encountered in considerable force. Dashing on, and driving them before us, a few
hundred yards brought us to where the bluff on the right terminated, and in full view of
the enemy, who were posted on the right of the road, on elevated ground, with timber
in their rear, their guns in battery, bearing upon the road on which I was approaching,
and from which they immediately opened a brisk fire. I at once ordered Rabb’s
battery into position, and also the two howitzers under Lieutenant [E.S.] Stover, when
a fierce cannonading ensued, which lasted for the space of nearly an hour.
Although forewarned that the Federals were coming, Confederate Colonel “Fighting”
Jo Shelby still allowed himself to be taken by surprise. Blunt achieved this by
advancing via an unexpected road and the battle was opened before Shelby had
much of a chance to respond:
Having had due notice (eighteen hours previous) by the general commanding that
the enemy were advancing, we endeavored to be on the alert, but I must confess
(thought it may reflect somewhat upon myself) that the enemy, by his skillful
management, fell upon me sooner than I would have desired, considering that a
portion of our division was encamped some distance in my rear and I had but little
time to give them the notice required; yet I had sufficient time to place my men in
their proper positions and await the coming of the hated foe.
The fighting at the northern end of Cane Hill quickly developed into an intense
artillery exchange. The Confederates held their position for as long as they could in
the face of the developing Union line, then fell back through the village to a ridge
about three-fourths of a mile south of their original position. This withdrawal, which
both sides recorded was handled efficiently, took both the retreating Confederates
and the pursuing Federals past the grounds of the Cane Hill College.
The rest of Marmaduke’s division was already in place at the new position and the
Confederates watched with interest as the Federals deployed ahead of them:
Here the naked eye could see General Blunt’s columns of cavalry and infantry
pouring over the hills in our front, and advancing slowly and cautiously to the attack. It
was a splendid sight – flaunting banners, serried ranks, as the long lines came
gleaming on….
The sight was more than “splendid” to the Confederates, for it convinced them they
could not hope to hold their new position against the oncoming Northern army.
Despite Federal reports claiming 8,000 or more Confederates were on the field at
Cane Hill, the actual number was less than half that. In short, the Union army had
more men (even without the delayed infantry), more artillery and the element of
surprise.
Deciding to withdraw to the Boston Mountains, the Confederates again left their
position and retreated, fighting as they went. Along the way, they stopped and formed
in a few positions long enough to force the Federals to deploy and move up their
artillery, but generally continued to fall back until they reached the first significant
ridge of the mountains.
This ridge, which separates Cane Hill from the Cove Creek valley, offered a
commanding view of the surrounding country and had the Confederates not run out
of ammunition for their cannon they likely would have inflicted much heavier damage
on the approaching Federal column. The fighting once again grew intense:
Immediately on top of the mountain I had a part of Colonel Thompson’s command,
under Major [M.W.] Smith, formed to receive the enemy, and a little to the rear of
Smith, on the right, I had one company of Elliott’s scouts, commanded by Captain
martin. Smith and Martin calmly awaited the coming of the enemy, and as they came
charging up the hill in solid columns, they poured a deadly fire on them, which sent
them staggering down the mountain. By this time I had other detachments formed
but a short distance in the rear (Smith and Martin falling back and loading), who fired
on them with much effect, being in easy gun-shot. Martin, having his men ready and
formed, delivered once more a terrible fire, but in doing so this brigade suffered a
terrible loss in the death of the gallant and heroic Martin. He fell, as he lived, fighting
for his home and fireside, “with his back to the field and his feet to the foe.”
General Blunt also reported that the fight on the mountainside was determined and
severe:
The resistance of the rebels was stubborn and determined. The storm of lead and
iron hail that came down the side of the mountain, both from their small-arms and
artillery, was terrific; yet most of it went over our heads without doing us much
damage. The regiments just named, with a wild shout rushed up the steep acclivity,
contesting every inch of ground, and steadily pushed the enemy before them, until
the crest was reached when the rebels again fled in disorder.
From the mountaintop, the Confederates withdrew down into the Cove Creek valley.
This valley, created by the tumbling course of Cove Creek as it flows south through
the Boston Mountains, was a narrow but natural gateway connecting Washington
County with the Arkansas River Valley below. Cove Creek Road, accordingly, was
used repeatedly by both armies throughout the war.
Finding the ground in the valley more suitable for the use of cavalry, the Federals
launched a saber attack against their Confederate opponents. The movement
almost induced panic in the Southern ranks, as many of the men became convinced
their comrades were being hacked to death by Union soldiers, but Marmaduke had a
final bit of strategy up his sleeve:
The charge continued for about half a mile down the valley, to a point where it
converged in a funnel shape, terminating in a narrow defile. At this point a large body
of the enemy were in ambush in front and upon the flanks, where cavalry could not
approach, with their battery also masked in front. As soon as the party we were
pursuing had passed through the defile, they opened upon us a most destructive fire,
which, for the moment, caused my men to recoil and give back, in spite of my own
efforts and those of other officers to rally them; whereas, if they had, after receiving
the enemy’s fire, passed on 200 or 300 yards, we would have secured, in a moment
more, what we so much coveted – the enemy’s artillery. Emboldened by their
success in defending the defile and checking our advance, they raised a wild yell and
advanced toward us.
Thrown back for the first time of the day, the Federals now were forced to rally behind
three companies of the Sixth Kansas Cavalry and beat back the Confederate
counterattack. According to Blunt, he was preparing for another assault when a
Confederate officer approached his lines under a flag of truce and asked permission
to remove the Southern dead and wounded from the battlefield. Because darkness
was falling and expressing concern that the Confederates might “murder” Lieutenant
Colonel L.R. Jewell who had fallen during the ambush, the Union general agreed to
the request and the Battle of Cane Hill came to an end.
Marmaduke withdrew during the night into the mountains and Blunt and his men
returned to Cane Hill. The two forces would fight again just 9 days later at the Battle
of Prairie Grove.
Grove. Fought on November 28, 1862, the engagement lasted nine hours and
extended through villages and farms and across mountainsides and valleys.
Casualties were light considering the intensity of the fight, but both sides agreed the
battle was hard-fought and that both Federals and Confederates exhibited
remarkable courage and determination.
Today’s Canehill community is the surviving remnant of an extensive antebellum
settlement. According to Confederate Major General Thomas C. Hindman, the area
in 1862 was one of the more prosperous points in Northwest Arkansas:
Cane Hill is a ridge of perhaps 8 miles length and 5 miles width, in the southwest
part of Washington County, Arkansas, just beyond the north base of the Boston
Mountains. Three villages are built upon it (Russellville, Boonsborough, and
Newburg), which almost blend with each other, covering a distance, as the road to
Fayetteville runs, of 3 or 5 miles….
In addition to its agricultural and commercial interests, Cane Hill was noteworthy as
the site of Cane Hill College. The first institution of higher learning in Arkansas, the
college had been in operation for thirty years by the time of the Civil War.
The strategic location of the community, where several roads united after crossing
over the Boston Mountains, gave it significant military importance early in the war.
This was evidenced in late November of 1862, when General Hindman sent a large
cavalry force under Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke to occupy Cane Hill.
Following on the heels of a Union scouting party that had penetrated south of the
mountains, Marmaduke positioned his brigades at successive points along Cane
Hill ridge. Among the men attached to his command, interestingly, were William
Clark Quantrill’s notorious guerillas, who are believed at this time to have included
future outlaws Frank and Jesse James and Cole Younger. Quantrill himself was not
present and his company was headed by a lieutenant.
Marmaduke’s occupation of Cane Hill was in anticipation of a planned movement by
Hindman to bring his entire army over the mountains in hopes of destroying Union
forces in the region in detail.
The Federals were quickly alerted to this movement and Marmaduke’s pickets
skirmished with Union scouts near Cane Hill on November 25, 1862, while calls for
reinforcements were rushed up to Union commanders in Missouri. Deciding that the
“best defense is a good offense,” Union Brigadier General James G. Blunt organized
his men and moved to attack Marmaduke before Hindman’s main army could come
across the mountains.
Leaving his camps on November 27, 1862, Blunt marched south. The rough country
across which he marched caused his 5,000 men to become strung out, and most of
his infantry was still miles to the rear when his cavalry reached Cane Hill at between
9 and 10 o’clock on the morning of November 28th:
In passing down a gorge between two abrupt hills, their grand guard was
encountered in considerable force. Dashing on, and driving them before us, a few
hundred yards brought us to where the bluff on the right terminated, and in full view of
the enemy, who were posted on the right of the road, on elevated ground, with timber
in their rear, their guns in battery, bearing upon the road on which I was approaching,
and from which they immediately opened a brisk fire. I at once ordered Rabb’s
battery into position, and also the two howitzers under Lieutenant [E.S.] Stover, when
a fierce cannonading ensued, which lasted for the space of nearly an hour.
Although forewarned that the Federals were coming, Confederate Colonel “Fighting”
Jo Shelby still allowed himself to be taken by surprise. Blunt achieved this by
advancing via an unexpected road and the battle was opened before Shelby had
much of a chance to respond:
Having had due notice (eighteen hours previous) by the general commanding that
the enemy were advancing, we endeavored to be on the alert, but I must confess
(thought it may reflect somewhat upon myself) that the enemy, by his skillful
management, fell upon me sooner than I would have desired, considering that a
portion of our division was encamped some distance in my rear and I had but little
time to give them the notice required; yet I had sufficient time to place my men in
their proper positions and await the coming of the hated foe.
The fighting at the northern end of Cane Hill quickly developed into an intense
artillery exchange. The Confederates held their position for as long as they could in
the face of the developing Union line, then fell back through the village to a ridge
about three-fourths of a mile south of their original position. This withdrawal, which
both sides recorded was handled efficiently, took both the retreating Confederates
and the pursuing Federals past the grounds of the Cane Hill College.
The rest of Marmaduke’s division was already in place at the new position and the
Confederates watched with interest as the Federals deployed ahead of them:
Here the naked eye could see General Blunt’s columns of cavalry and infantry
pouring over the hills in our front, and advancing slowly and cautiously to the attack. It
was a splendid sight – flaunting banners, serried ranks, as the long lines came
gleaming on….
The sight was more than “splendid” to the Confederates, for it convinced them they
could not hope to hold their new position against the oncoming Northern army.
Despite Federal reports claiming 8,000 or more Confederates were on the field at
Cane Hill, the actual number was less than half that. In short, the Union army had
more men (even without the delayed infantry), more artillery and the element of
surprise.
Deciding to withdraw to the Boston Mountains, the Confederates again left their
position and retreated, fighting as they went. Along the way, they stopped and formed
in a few positions long enough to force the Federals to deploy and move up their
artillery, but generally continued to fall back until they reached the first significant
ridge of the mountains.
This ridge, which separates Cane Hill from the Cove Creek valley, offered a
commanding view of the surrounding country and had the Confederates not run out
of ammunition for their cannon they likely would have inflicted much heavier damage
on the approaching Federal column. The fighting once again grew intense:
Immediately on top of the mountain I had a part of Colonel Thompson’s command,
under Major [M.W.] Smith, formed to receive the enemy, and a little to the rear of
Smith, on the right, I had one company of Elliott’s scouts, commanded by Captain
martin. Smith and Martin calmly awaited the coming of the enemy, and as they came
charging up the hill in solid columns, they poured a deadly fire on them, which sent
them staggering down the mountain. By this time I had other detachments formed
but a short distance in the rear (Smith and Martin falling back and loading), who fired
on them with much effect, being in easy gun-shot. Martin, having his men ready and
formed, delivered once more a terrible fire, but in doing so this brigade suffered a
terrible loss in the death of the gallant and heroic Martin. He fell, as he lived, fighting
for his home and fireside, “with his back to the field and his feet to the foe.”
General Blunt also reported that the fight on the mountainside was determined and
severe:
The resistance of the rebels was stubborn and determined. The storm of lead and
iron hail that came down the side of the mountain, both from their small-arms and
artillery, was terrific; yet most of it went over our heads without doing us much
damage. The regiments just named, with a wild shout rushed up the steep acclivity,
contesting every inch of ground, and steadily pushed the enemy before them, until
the crest was reached when the rebels again fled in disorder.
From the mountaintop, the Confederates withdrew down into the Cove Creek valley.
This valley, created by the tumbling course of Cove Creek as it flows south through
the Boston Mountains, was a narrow but natural gateway connecting Washington
County with the Arkansas River Valley below. Cove Creek Road, accordingly, was
used repeatedly by both armies throughout the war.
Finding the ground in the valley more suitable for the use of cavalry, the Federals
launched a saber attack against their Confederate opponents. The movement
almost induced panic in the Southern ranks, as many of the men became convinced
their comrades were being hacked to death by Union soldiers, but Marmaduke had a
final bit of strategy up his sleeve:
The charge continued for about half a mile down the valley, to a point where it
converged in a funnel shape, terminating in a narrow defile. At this point a large body
of the enemy were in ambush in front and upon the flanks, where cavalry could not
approach, with their battery also masked in front. As soon as the party we were
pursuing had passed through the defile, they opened upon us a most destructive fire,
which, for the moment, caused my men to recoil and give back, in spite of my own
efforts and those of other officers to rally them; whereas, if they had, after receiving
the enemy’s fire, passed on 200 or 300 yards, we would have secured, in a moment
more, what we so much coveted – the enemy’s artillery. Emboldened by their
success in defending the defile and checking our advance, they raised a wild yell and
advanced toward us.
Thrown back for the first time of the day, the Federals now were forced to rally behind
three companies of the Sixth Kansas Cavalry and beat back the Confederate
counterattack. According to Blunt, he was preparing for another assault when a
Confederate officer approached his lines under a flag of truce and asked permission
to remove the Southern dead and wounded from the battlefield. Because darkness
was falling and expressing concern that the Confederates might “murder” Lieutenant
Colonel L.R. Jewell who had fallen during the ambush, the Union general agreed to
the request and the Battle of Cane Hill came to an end.
Marmaduke withdrew during the night into the mountains and Blunt and his men
returned to Cane Hill. The two forces would fight again just 9 days later at the Battle
of Prairie Grove.
Copyright 2005 by Dale A. Cox
by: Dale A. Cox
The Battle of
Massard Prairie
Massard Prairie
by Dale Cox
The first full-length account of
the 1864 Confederate attack on
Fort Smith, Arkansas.
the 1864 Confederate attack on
Fort Smith, Arkansas.
$19.95
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