4 The Federal evacuation caught the Confederates unprepared. Once Steele had made his decision to retreat no civilians were allowed to depart the city. Ignoring Steele's order, one male resident of Camden, obviously attempting to warn Confederates of the impending withdrawal, lost his life as he tried to slip past Union sentinels (5). The records indicate that no other civilians tried a similar stratagem. Also, to allay any Confederate suspicions of the evacuation, some regiments were given the task of digging new trenches hoping, no doubt, to offer the impression of a lengthy Unionst ay.(6) How Confederates discovered the enemy retreat remains a mystery, but by 9:00 a. m. of 27 April Camden again rang to the shouts of a friendly army(7). Henceforth, the town would be free from the discomfort of enemy occupation. By all odds it seems that the Confederates enjoyed a rare military opportunity on the morning of 27 April. A Union army of some 11,000 men was deep in their territory. It was outnumbered, ill-supplied, and practically encircled. All that was needed to close the circle was a little good luck, and General E. Kirby Smith, head of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department, had laid plans to see that the breaks in this case went the way he wished. His legions were in close pursuit of the fleeing army, while somewhere in front of it was his principal cavalry command, led by General James F. Fagan(8). It seemed that Steele could not possibly escape the trap that Kirby Smith had laid for him, providing, of course, that all went well. But all did not go well for Kirby Smith. In the first place his infantry division commanded by Major-General John G. Walker, Brigadier-General Thomas J. Churchill, and Brigadier-General Mosby M. Parsons, representing respectively the states of Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri, found they had no way to cross the Ouachita River. _____________________ 5. Washington Telegraph, May 25, 1864. 6. Report of Colonel Adolph Engelmann, May 5, 1864, Official Records, vol. XXXIV, pt. 1, 723. 7. Report of Major-General Sterling Price, May, 1864, Ibid., 782. 8. Report of Brigadier-General James F. Fagan, May 7, 1864, Ibid., 790.           Contents  Words  Study Questions  Related Sites Next