nd fought all the afternoon, with the enemy sometimes
around both flanks and sometimes in my rear.

Colonel Vandever held his line at the Elkhorn Tavern in the edge of thick
timber on the main Fayetteville road until late in the afternoon, fighting
desperately, when the enemy, taking advantage of the timber as a blind, by
largely superior numbers, drove him back across an open field to a line of
woods in his rear and in my rear, which he successfully held. I was not
aware of his movement until the fire in that direction slackened, and I
sent out my adjutant, Lieutenant James A. Williamson (afterwards a Brevet
Major-General), who returned and reported that the enemy were in
possession of that field; in fact, he ran right into them and received
their fire, but got back to me safely. It was then nearly dark. The fire
on my front had slackened, and my Brigade was almost entirely out of
ammunition. I immediately ordered them to form in column and led them
right out from the right, moving in the direction where Vandever's Brigade
had formed in its new position. As I moved out I passed right in sight of
a column of the Confederate forces, who evidently had come out of the
hollow and were forming to again attack Vandever. They probably thought I
was a portion of their force, for they made no demonstration towards me,
and I passed right by them. As I passed out into the open I could see that
General Asboth, who had been brought there by General Curtis, was forming
to attack at the Elkhorn Tavern again; and I met General Curtis, who
seemed astonished to find me with my force intact. He asked me where I was
going. I told him that I was out of ammunition, and that I was bringing
out my force to form it on the new line. Paying the command a high
compliment, he immediately ordered me to fix bayonets and to charge on the
enemy at the same time that Asboth with his reinforcement moved down the
Fayetteville road towards the Elkhorn Tavern. I immediately did this, and
passed right back over the field where I had been fighting, but found no
enemy. They had evidently left my front at the same time I retired, and I
returned and went into line on the right of Vandever's Brigade, probably
500 feet in the rear of the original line, and there we laid all night
under arms.

Van Dorn's plan of attack was to throw the Arkansas forces under
McCullough and McIntosh on Curtis's right, facing the Little Cross Hollow
road, while at the same time Genera