Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 2.djvu/250

 in confusion from its position. On the 4th of March Colonel Vandever, with a portion of his brigade, was sent to Huntsville, fifteen miles distant. He there learned that General Price had received heavy reënforcements from McCollough and Van Dorn and that the Confederate army, 40,000 strong, was now marching rapidly north under Major General Van Dorn, to attack Curtis. Vandever, in order to rejoin Curtis and avoid Van Dorn, was obliged to make a circuit of about forty miles. Starting at four o’clock in the morning, in a snow storm, in a forced march of fourteen hours, he reached Pea Ridge, where Curtis had taken position and formed his lines of battle. His little army numbered but 10,500 men of all arms, with forty-nine pieces of artillery. General Sigel, at Bentonsville, with part of two divisions, on the morning of the 6th, started to join Curtis.

General Sigel was bringing up a small detachment of his command some distance in the rear, when he was attacked by the enemy and cut off from his main body. Help was soon sent and by sharp fighting his detachment was relieved with a loss of about thirty. Curtis now completed his lines, formed along the bluffs and ridges of Sugar Creek. In front was a broad valley, through which he expected the enemy to approach. In the rear of his army, which extended along the creek for several miles, was a broken plateau called Pea Ridge and still farther in the rear was the deep valley of Cross Timbers. The enemy approached on the extreme right of the Union lines, moving around to strike the flank and rear of the Union army at the same time, expecting with his greatly superior force to drive it in confusion and destroy it. Curtis saw his design and hastily reformed his lines, bringing his army face to face with the enemy. In order to gain time to complete his new line of battle, as his little army was almost surrounded, Curtis ordered an attack on the Confederate flank, led by