rhood of 5,000 or 6,000 men and was likely to be joined by
Gen. Hardee's column from Pocahontas, Ark., with many more.

Grant, with that accurate knowledge of his enemy which was one of his
conspicuous traits and never failed him at any time during the war,
informed them that Thompson had only between 2,000 and 3,000 men. As
usual in Grant's operations, the columns moved on time and arrived when
expected.

Col. Carlin moved Oct. 20 from Pilot Knob with about 3,000 men made up
of the 21st Ill., Col. Alexander; 33d HI., Col. C. E. Hovey; 38th Ill.,
Maj. Gilman; 8th Wis., Col. Murphy; part of the 1st Ind. Cav., Col.
Conrad Baker, and some of the guns of the 1st Mo. Art., under the charge
of Maj. Schofield.

Col. Plummets column, about 1,500 strong, consisted of the 17th Ill.,
Col Ross; 20th Ill., Col. Marsh; 11th Mo., Lieut.-Col. Panabaker; Lieut.
White's section of Taylor's Illinois Battery, and two companies of
cavalry commanded by Capts. Stewart and Lan-gen.

Col. Plummer moved to Dallas, on Johnston's line of retreat, and there
sent through a messenger to Col. Carlin, stating where he was and
what his intentions were, so that the two forces could cooperate.
The messenger was captured by some of the Missourians, and therefore
Thompson came into possession of the plans of his enemies. He moved back
with his train until he saw it safely on its way to Greenville, and
then returned with his command toward Fredericktown to accommodate his
opponents with a fight if they desired it and to gain time for his train
to get back to Bloomfield and New Madrid.

249

Not finding Thompson at Dallas, Col. Plummer moved up to Fredericktown,
arriving there at noon, Monday, Oct. 21, and found that Col. Carlin
had arrived with his forces about 8 o'clock in the morning. There was
immediately one of those squabbles over rank which were so frequent
on both sides during the early part of the war and not absent from its
history at any time.

In spite of being a younger man than Col. Plummer, a younger Captain in
the Regular Army, and in spite of Plummer's experience in the Mexican
War and at Wilson's Creek, Carlin insisted upon the command of the
whole, upon the grounds that he had been commissioned a Colonel Aug.
15, and by the Governor of Illinois; while Plummer's commission was from
Fremont. Carlin insisted that he had a plan by which Thompson's whole
force could be captured, but was at length induced to yield the command
to Plumme