One hundred fifty years ago, on August 28, 1864, Capt. Albert DeMuth of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry (U.S.) writes home about fighting on the prairie: Camp 8th Cav. Mo. Vols. Duval’s Bluff, Ark. Aug. 28, 2864 My Very Dear Parents, … We are in great trouble in this Department just now. Price is reported to be marching on Little Rock with a force of twenty-five or thirty thousand men. Marmaduke and Shelby are continually hovering around us, like a destroying angle, capturing a squad every now and then. He attacked Ashly Station, about 15 miles from here, a few days ago, gobbled some six companies of the 54th Illinois Infantry, and a lot of haymakers that were at work on the Prairie. We received the news at this Post about two o’clock in the afternoon, and our Regiment was in the saddle ten minutes afterwards and on the march with the 11th Missouri Cavalry and 9th Iowa Cavalry. We proceeded to the scene of action, and the “Bloody Eighth” soon got to work on them. We fought, I suppose, about one hour, the 11th Missouri on our right, the 9th Iowa not engaged. When Mr. Shelby proved to have too many for us and we had to fall back, not however, until the enemy were willing to quit when they did at the same time we did. He had artillery but did not use it on us. We lost thirty-eight killed and wounded. Three killed on the battlefield. Bally Layton, Co. “D”, a nephew of Layton of Springfield, was among the number killed on the field, another of Co. “L” and one of Co. “E.” Two have died of their wounds since Sergt Adams Co. “F,” Sergt, Kindrick of my own Company, Company “C” has been very fortunate heretofore, but they scored it to us this time, wounding five men, killing one horse and wounding seven. I am still sound as far as wounds are concerned. I have been in some seven or eight battles and skirmishes, but this is the first one I ever saw. It was out on the open prairie, where every motion of the enemy could be seen, and there we stood for one long hour, firing away at each other, and neither party willing to quit first, but the rebels outnumbered us three to one, and it would have been the heighth of folly to have done any more than we did. Col Lisenby received a slight scratch in the right breast, the ball merely grazing the skin.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000
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