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Brownsville, driving Confederate skirmishers before him,
Marmaduke evacuated the place
and fell back to a line of intrenchments on the
Bayou Metoe, when he was driven across the stream, after some fighting.
He checked pursuit by burning the bridges behind him, and fled toward
Little Rock. Four days afterward
Steele was joined by
True's brigade, sent from
Memphis, and then concentrated his whole available force at
Brownsville.
A reconnoissance by
Davidson showed that great difficulties lay in the way of a direct march upon
Little Rock, across the
Bayou Metoe and its fringe of swamps; so
Steele took a more southerly course, with
Davidson in the advance, passed that stream at
Shallow's Ford, and pushed on to the
Arkansas River.
He reached its banks at Ashley's Mills on the 7th of September, after
Davidson and his horsemen had severely skirmished there.
He left seven hundred more of his sick, with his supply-trains, there, in charge of
True's brigade and
Ritter's cavalry, and then pushed up the northern side of the
Arkansas River, toward
Little Rock,
1 with
Davidson in the advance, who skirmished much of the time.
When well up toward the
Arkansas capital,
Davidson, supported by two infantry divisions, with two batteries, crossed the river on a pontoon bridge,
under cover of darkness and his great guns, and by eleven o'clock in the morning was ready for an advance.
He moved directly on the city without much impediment until he reached
Bayou Fourche, five miles from the town, where he was met by
Marmaduke's cavalry, dismounted, and two infantry brigades, with two batteries, strongly posted.
Price had undoubtedly intended to give battle in his trenches, when the unexpected crossing of the river by the Nationals, endangering his flank and his line of retreat, caused him to prepare for retiring.
2 The stand made at the bayou was only a cover for the more important movement.
He was expecting
Cabell from the
Indian country, with about Tour thousand men, but he was satisfied that these would not reach him before the Nationals would be upon him.
When
Davidson was confronted at the
Bayou Fourche,
Steele was moving in a parallel line on the north side of the river, and after the former had been struggling nearly two hours with his foe, the latter opened upon
Marmaduke a heavy enfilading fire from across the stream.
Hard pressed in front and flank, the
Confederates fell slowly back toward the city, where columns of black smoke indicated the evacuation of the place.
Seeing this,
Davidson ordered a vigorous advance by
Glover's brigade, and then a charge by
Ritter's brigade (which had been held in reserve) and
Strange's battery, supported by a part of the First Iowa Cavalry.
This was done with the most abundant success.
The Confederates broke, and fled through the city, closely followed by the
Union cavalry, sabers in hand.
At seven o'clock that evening,
when
Steele and his immediate followers were occupying the
Confederate works on the north side of the river,
