After no sign of Woodson, Gentry determined to move in alone and surprise Thompson.Īs the Union forces rode into Pocahontas, the majority of the Confederates in the area were completely unaware of their presence.
Scattering a few Confederate guards on the road leading to Pocahontas, Gentry stopped near the edge of the city to wait a short time for Woodson to catch up to his small column. Gentry with sixty men of the First Missouri Volunteers to dash forward and capture him. Realizing his forces were moving too slowly to surprise Thompson, Woodson detached Captain Henry C. Spreading his column out to detect the presence of Confederates, Woodson moved quickly toward Pocahontas, hoping to capture the unsuspecting Thompson.
Burnett, commanding the First Missouri Volunteers, routed a small party of Confederates in northern Randolph County on August 22.Īpproximately four miles from Pocahontas, a slave informed the Federals that Brigadier General Thompson was at the Saint Charles Hotel in the lightly defended city. Crossing into Arkansas meeting no resistance, the column slowed only when Lieutenant J. Joining the 100 men from the First Missouri Cavalry, 125 from the Second Missouri State Militia Cavalry, 50 from the Eighth Missouri Provisional Enrolled Militia, and 25 from the Second Arkansas Cavalry, Woodson moved the combined 600-man force toward Pocahontas on August 20. Woodson, who was commanding the Third Missouri State Militia Cavalry, received orders to march a detachment to Greenville, Missouri, to rendezvous with a battalion moving west from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and strike into Arkansas. The Pocahontas Expedition began on August 17, 1863, when Colonel Richard G. Critical to Fisk’s defense of southeastern Missouri, this raid also provided opportunities to engage Confederate forces that could have been used in the defense of Little Rock (Pulaski County). Fisk, commander of the District of Southeastern Missouri, sought intelligence regarding the whereabouts of various Confederate forces rumored to be scattered from Batesville (Independence County) to the Missouri bootheel. In August 1863, Union Brigadier General Clinton B. Consequently, Union forces in Missouri raided Arkansas to disrupt guerrilla activities and challenge invading Confederate commands. While the Union army struggled to win control of the northern half of Arkansas during the Arkansas Expedition ( Little Rock Campaign) from mid-July to August 1863, Confederate regulars and guerrillas continually struck targets and occupied cities in northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri. During the expedition, Union soldiers conducted a raid in Pocahontas (Randolph County) on August 24, 1863, that resulted in the capture of Brigadier General Meriwether “Jeff” Thompson of the Missouri State Guard, thus temporarily hampering Confederate actions in the region. The Pocahontas Expedition was an attempt to gather intelligence regarding the location of Confederates in northeastern Arkansas.
Third Missouri State Militia Cavalry, First Missouri Cavalry, Second Missouri State Militia Cavalry, Eighth Missouri Provisional Enrolled Militia, Second Arkansas Cavalry (US) Missouri State Guard Brigadier General Meriwether “Jeff” Thompson and Staff, Unknown Confederate Elements (CS) Woodson, Third Missouri State Militia Cavalry (US) Brigadier General Meriwether “Jeff” Thompson, Missouri State Guard (CS)
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