Col. John M. Harrell, Confederate Military History, a library of Confederate States Military History: Volume 10.2, Arkansas
Clement Anselm Evans, Ed.

[252] however, the gallant conduct of Colonels Monroe, Gordon, Trader, and Morgan; also Majors [lieutenantcol-onel] Harrell, Reiff, Arrington and Portis, and Lieutenant-Colonels O'Neil, Fayth and Bull, of Cabell's brigade, Colonel Crawford, commanding brigade, acted with the greatest gallantry. My staff officers—Major Duffy, inspector-general; Captain King, assistant adjutantgen-eral; Surg. John H. Carroll; Lieut. W. J. Tyus, acting assistant adjutant-general, Lieutenants Carlton and Inks, aids-de-camp, and Captain Ballos, quartermaster—and Captain Hughey, with his officers and men, deserve especial mention for gallantry.

The Ouachita river, from Camden down, is like an estuary from the sea. The largest steamboats from New Orleans ply to Camden. With the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi, it is as accessible as New Orleans. The town, upon a high bank on the left side of the river, had been fortified by the Confederates, completely as against any force except a gunboat fleet, to which it would have offered a tempting prize. The Confederate forces were now all around it on the west and south.

On the 19th of April, General Fagan, having requested of Marmaduke the addition of Shelby's brigade, prepared to make a march against Little Rock, then but feebly garrisoned. His force was organized in two divisions—one under General Cabell, including Cabell's brigade under Colonel Monroe, and Dockery's brigade; and one under General Shelby, including Shelby's brigade under Col. David Shanks, and Colonel Crawford's Arkansas brigade.

General Smith was now near Price's army and in chief command, with headquarters at Calhoun. ‘Here,’ he said in his subsequent report, General Price ‘had submitted to me his proposed attack upon the enemy's train, which on April 18th resulted in the battle of Poison Spring, under General Maxey. On April 19th, I found that General Price had not crossed any cavalry to the north side of the Arkansas river, as directed, and that the day previous the enemy had received from Pine Bluff a ’