March 8, 1862

March 8, 1862:  THE BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE, Arkansas.  Day Two.  The two wings of Van Dorn’s Confederates never do unite, and so McCullough’s wing trudge back around Pea Ridge to join Price and Van Dorn, but are so exhausted (and unfed), they are good for little.  In the morning, the right flank of Price’s troops take shelter at the base of the rocky cliffs in front of Pea Ridge, Curtis orders Gen. Sigel to open with his artillery---and as 50 Union cannon fire into the trees, a terrific storm of rock chips and shards begin to cause many casualties, and the Rebels flee from the shelter of the trees.  As the Rebels prepare to resume the attack on the Union right, they behold a mile-long line of Union troops in line of battle, brigade after brigade, under command of Gen. Franz Sigel, nearly 10,000 strong---Curtis’s whole army.  At a signal, this line advances, sweeping all before it.  There is tough fighting around Elkhorn Tavern, but Price’s men give way, as Sigel feeds reinforcements in—and McCullough’s men are demoralized and unsteady.  The Southern troops are also short of ammunition, and the shortage begins to tell.  The Rebel lines break and flee into the woods in all directions, most of them heading south---around the Union flank---to find the Telegraph Road south again.

Union Victory

                        Killed             Wounded          Missing       Total

U.S.                 203                  980                     201           1,384

C.S.                                                                                     2,000

Elkhorn Tavern

---THE BATTLE OF HAMPTON ROADS – Day 1  (Naval Battle):  This morning, the CSS Virginia, and ironclad made from the hulk of the old USS Merrimack, comes steaming up the Elizabeth River toward Hampton Roads, the tidewater open of the southern Chesapeake Bay.  The Virginia, with 14 guns and a crew of 350, commanded by Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, steams directly for the USS Cumberland.  As she passes the USS Congress, the two ships exchange broadsides: the shots bounce off of Virginia’s casemate, and the Rebel shots blast through both hulls.  Steaming on for the Cumberland, the Virginia comes in firing, and then rams the wounded Cumberland, which sinks quickly.  The Virginia then drives the Congress aground, and pounds the Congress until she catches fire and surrenders.  While attempting to take the Congress, the Rebel boat crews are fired on by Yankee troops ashore.  Enraged, Capt. Buchanan seizes a musket and climbs on deck to shoot back; for his trouble, a minie ball passes through his thigh, and he turns over command to Lt. Catesby Jones.  The Virginia also drives the Minnesota and Roanoke aground, but darkness falls, and the Rebels rest and re-supply.

CSS Virginia (Merrimac)

---Capt. William J. Bolton of the 51^st Penn. Inf., serving with Gen. Burnside on occupied Roanoke Island, writes in his journal: 

This being the eight [sic] of the month, we are all celebrating the victory or Roanoke Island on board of the Scout.  In trying to play a trick on Asst. Surg. Noble, I succeeded in playing one on myself.  In lighting his pipe I attempted to put some [black] powder on his pipe, and the consequence was that the flask exploded in my hand and blew a ring off my finger, and I had a swollen hand for several days to nurse.

---Private Robert Knox Sneden of the Army of the Potomac notes in his journal of the withdrawal of Gen. Joseph Johnston’s Confederate army in northern Virginia:

Fine weather.  With Captain Hiene I went down on a reconnaissance toward Occoquam.  Got to Mason’s plantation about 11 a.m., thence to Pohick Church, where . . . two balloons making observations from a height of 2,000 feet.  Professor Lowe and a lot of scientific men were here from Washington.  The enemy had withdrawn all their picket lines along our whole front. . . . From the balloon large volumes of smoke was seen over the woods in several places down river, which shows that the enemy are falling back toward Manassas and Centreville and are burning their log house camps. . . .

Then, he adds this curious addition to the day’s activities:

I left the escort and revisited Mount Vernon on our homeward march.  Two of us rode over a greater portion of the estate.  We did not go through the house, but entered our names on the register book in the grand hall.  We then visited both tombs and also gathered leaves to press for mementoes. Got some large acorns.