View his entire train (twenty-six wagons) and about 200 prisoners. On March 29, the enemy occupied Arkadelphia, having been annoyed on the whole line of march by scouting parties and other small bodies of our troops. On April 1, they advanced to Spoonville, 14 miles, having awaited re-enforcements under Brigadier-General Thayer from Forth Smith, but which did not then arrive. Nine miles from Spoonville, at the crossing of the Terre Noir, Brigadier-General Marmaduke, with Marmaduke's and Cabell's brigades, being in front, Shelby threw himself upon their rear, killing near 100 and capturing 60, with little loss to himself. On April 3, they crossed the Little Missouri River at Elkin's Ferry. The next day (April 4) were attacked by Marmaduke and driven back some 3 miles.

In this affair we had only some 1,200 men actually engaged; captured one stand of colors and numbers of small-arms. The road was strewn with knapsacks abandoned in their flight. The Federal General Rice was slightly wounded.

On April 5, I left Camden and took the field in person. Almost all the stores and public property of value had been removed, and a small guard only was left in the town, with instructions upon the approach of the enemy to remove or destroy the pontoon bridge across the Ouachita as well as any remaining supplies useful to them. On April 7, I reached Prairie D'Ane with Dockery's and Crawford's brigades and Wood's battalion of cavalry, all of which had been withdrawn from the north side of the Ouachita River. I found Brigadier-General Marmaduke, re-enforced by Brigadier-General Gano's brigade (500 men) from the Indian Territory, drawn up in line of battle at the west end of the prairie, where some rude and imperfect entrenchments had been thrown up. Brigadier-General Shelby was 5 miles in advance, close up with the enemy, with whom he was constantly skirmishing.

The enemy having been re-enforced by Thayer's command of 5,500 men, with ten pieces of artillery, on April 6, advanced slowly and cautiously, and on the evening of the 10th attacked Shelby with great fierceness, massing sixteen pieces of artillery and keeping up an incessant cannonade until 9.30 p.m., but with very trifling loss on our part.

On the evening of the 11th, I withdrew my forces from Prairie D'Ane and fell back to a very strong position 8 miles from Washington, my object being to draw the enemy beyond the prairie to a point where I felt confident if he advanced I could attack him at great disadvantage, and destroy or capture the greater part of his train. With his habitual caution he moved but a short distance beyond our line of entrenchments, and on the morning of the 13th I found that he had fallen back during the night, and was retreating rapidly toward Camden. Brigadier-General Maxey, commanding Indian Territory, having arrived in person, and additional re-enforcements from his command, consisting of Tandy Walker's Choctaw Brigade, about 1,000 strong, then coming up, I moved again to the front with Maxey's and Fagan's divisions and engaged the enemy's rear guard, some 3,000 strong, with ten pieces of artillery, commanded by General Thayer. The enemy were strongly posted near Moscow in a skirt of timber on the edge of the prairie, and would not venture beyond it. Dockery being in the advance attacked with great intrepidity, and at once time captured a section of artillery, but which was afterward retaken by a greatly superior force and his troops driven back with some loss.