1850 Census of Northwest Arkansas: Washington Counties - Bobbie Jones McLane and Desmond Walls Allen Cove Creek Township RHINEHART, William 26, Malinda 24, Marget 6/12 TN/AR dwg 17, Cove Creek twp ===== this article mentions William Rnehart - WILLIAMSON, Capt. {to the editor of the Democrat} If you give me space, I will give a sketch of a trip made by your correspondent which may be of interest to some yet living. Well do I remember January and February 1861. Brown's squadron was on outpost duty for Gen. Price. We were stationed at Factory Mills, Pike county, Ark. Gen. Cabble ordered Major Brown to send a scout to the northwest part of Washington and Benton counties, Ark., to gather confederates and act as recruiting officers for the confederacy. At that time Waldren and Lieut. Smith were in possession of the federals. Major Brown detailed Capt. Pleasant Buchanan who selected 11 men to accompany him, I am being one of the numbers. On the 26th day of Jan. 1864, we mounted our horses with 40 rounds of ammunition, bidding the boys goodbye, starting for Washington and Benton. Major Brown went with us for 5 or 6 miles, called a halt, made a little speech, telling us of the danger of our trip, that those who had once been our friends might now be our enemies, the importance of being on our guard, that we were going into the enemies' lines and shaking hands with us, bid us goodbye. Nearing Center point we met a regiment of confederate cavalry returning from Baker Springs where they had had an engagement with a federal scout who had killed Capt. Williamson and two others and captured about 20 of his men. The Col. told Capt. B. that it was a picked command, (the federals,) that it would be dangerous for us to go near Waldron or Dallas. We bid the Col. goodbye and pursued our journey. In the evening one of the boys asked Capt. B. if we had not better go back, I don't think we can make it through - Capt. said do you think I would go back and tell Gen. Cabble that I am afraid to go? No, I would die first. I felt kinder sick myself as I knew there was no going back. We followed the federals near Dallas, turning to the left past the scout (federals) leaving Waldron to our right reaching Arkansas river at night at the mouth of Big Mulberry arriving at Cane Hill Jan. 31st, finding Major Wright (federals) encamped at Boonsboro, with about 400 Creek and Cherokee Indians and at Rheas Mill three or four hundred other Federals encamped and federal scouts scouring the country. We disbanded on the night of Feb. 1st, 1864, all returning home to see our friends and some for the last time in life, after spending a few days we met at a place appointed glad to meet again. Capt. B. taking 4 men to accompany him to Benton county and Southwest Missouri, I am being one of the four, we left our camp north of Boonsboro about the 7th of February following the mountain west of Rheas Mill, passing near Uncle Gray Billie Crawford s farm, getting supper and breakfast with friends, and returning to the mountains to wait until night to travel. About 10 o'clock that day a scout of about 32 Indians struck us, killing Hugh Crawford, as brave a boy as ever lived, we were scattered for several days, meeting again at our old camp north of Boonsboro and prepared ourselves for the Sunny South by borrowing some of Major Wright's (federal) best horses and returned to our camp on the 21st of Feb. Lieut. Scraper (federal) struck our camp while we were asleep killing Capt. Buchanan, James Buchanan and Wm. Buchanan, Wilson escaped on Major Wright's horse Wm. Rinehart An his own horse and I made our escape on foot and were perused about a quarter of a mile. I followed the mountain round near the road and hid myself in a ravine until night, then returned to our old camp only to find the blood of my captain and his two brothers. That was a bad day for me which I will never forget. Ex Confederate, Dutch Mills, Arkansas, February 26, 1888. [Fayetteville Democrat 3/9/1888] summary by ai - July 17, 2026 This 1888 reminiscence is valuable because it was written by a participant about events that occurred twenty-four years earlier. Much of it agrees with official military records, but a few names, dates, and casualty figures reflect the imperfections of memory. When compared with the Official Records and later historical research, the narrative can be reconstructed in much greater detail. The author The article is signed only: "Ex Confederate, Dutch Mills, Arkansas." Dutch Mills was a community in southwestern Washington County. The writer was almost certainly one of the survivors of Capt. Pleasant Buchanan's recruiting expedition during the winter of 1864. Unfortunately, the newspaper did not identify him by name. The death of Capt. James B. Williamson The article begins: "...returning from Baker Springs where they had had an engagement with a federal scout who had killed Capt. Williamson..." This refers to one of the best documented small actions in southwest Arkansas. Baker's Springs (January 24, 1864) Union Captain Edgar A. Barker of the 2nd Kansas Cavalry, accompanied by men of the 6th Kansas Cavalry, surprised Confederate Captain James B. Williamson's partisan command at Baker's Springs in present Howard County. Williamson's men were sleeping in log cabins when Barker attacked at dawn. Official accounts report: Capt. James B. Williamson killed approximately 5-6 Confederates killed 25-30 Confederates captured several wounded Union losses: one killed two wounded The Fayetteville Democrat writer says: "captured about twenty of his men." That closely matches the official reports, demonstrating that news of the defeat spread rapidly through Confederate forces. Who was Captain James B. Williamson? James B. Williamson born about 1834 lived in Pike County, Arkansas served as a Confederate partisan captain operated under General William L. Cabell commanded an independent company used for scouting and guerrilla operations He was not a regular cavalry officer but commanded one of the numerous independent mounted companies operating behind Union lines in western Arkansas. His death was considered a serious loss because he knew the mountain country exceptionally well. Major Brown The article states: "Brown's squadron was on outpost duty for Gen. Price." This is almost certainly Major Lyman M. Brown (often simply "Major Brown"), a Confederate cavalry commander serving under Brig. Gen. William L. Cabell in western Arkansas. Brown frequently detached small scouting parties exactly like the one described. General Cabell The "Gen. Cabble" mentioned is: Brigadier General William Lewis Cabell who commanded Confederate cavalry in western Arkansas during the winter of 1863-64. Cabell's forces were badly outnumbered and relied heavily upon recruiting expeditions and intelligence gathering. The recruiting mission The mission described matches Confederate strategy during January-February 1864. Its purposes were to: recruit new soldiers re-enlist deserters gather intelligence determine Union troop locations encourage Confederate sympathizers Washington County remained deeply divided. The writer accurately remembered Major Brown warning: "those who had once been our friends might now be our enemies." That statement perfectly reflects northwest Arkansas in 1864, where neighbors often served on opposite sides. Federal occupation around Cane Hill The article reports: Major Wright (federal) at Boonsboro This is almost certainly Major Henry Wright commanding Federal forces operating from Boonsboro (near present-day Cane Hill). The article also mentions 400 Creek and Cherokee Indians These were probably companies of the 1st Indian Home Guard 2nd Indian Home Guard 3rd Indian Home Guard Union regiments composed largely of Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, and other Native American soldiers operating in northwest Arkansas during the winter campaign. Union records place Indian Home Guard units in this region at the same time. Hugh Crawford Perhaps the most interesting part is: "about 32 Indians struck us, killing Hugh Crawford..." This appears to be one of the very few surviving eyewitness accounts of Hugh Crawford's death. The article places it: about February 8, 1864 west of Rhea's Mill near Gray Billie Crawford's farm The attackers were almost certainly Union Indian Home Guard cavalry. Hugh Crawford has largely disappeared from published Civil War histories, making this newspaper one of the few primary descriptions of his death. Pleasant Buchanan The article then reaches its climax. Captain Pleasant Buchanan had been leading the recruiting expedition. After returning toward Confederate territory, the men camped. The writer says: Lieut. Scraper (Federal) struck our camp while we were asleep The spelling is almost certainly incorrect. Possible identities include: Lieutenant Scraper Scraper Scraper/Skraper possibly Scraper being a phonetic spelling No Federal officer by that exact spelling appears in the Official Records, suggesting the newspaper preserved the veteran's pronunciation rather than the correct spelling. Death of the Buchanan brothers The attack killed: Capt. Pleasant Buchanan James Buchanan William Buchanan The writer escaped on foot. This is probably the earliest detailed survivor's account of the Buchanan brothers' deaths. William Rinehart The article mentions Wm. Rinehart This is almost certainly William Rinehart, another Confederate recruit from Washington County. He escaped on horseback. The route described The journey can almost be mapped day by day. January 26 leaves Factory Mills January 27-30 through Scott County January 31 reaches Cane Hill February 1 disbands February 7 resumes scouting February 8 Hugh Crawford killed February 21 returns toward Confederate lines February 21-22 Buchanan ambushed and killed Reliability of the account Overall, the narrative compares remarkably well with documented military records: Statement Modern evidence Baker Springs occurred ✔ Confirmed Capt. Williamson killed ✔ Confirmed About 20-30 prisoners taken ✔ Confirmed Major Wright at Boonsboro ✔ Consistent with Union operations Indian Home Guards present ✔ Confirmed Recruiting expedition into Washington County ✔ Matches Confederate strategy Buchanan killed in Federal surprise ✔ Supported by local sources The only obvious errors are: casualty numbers from memory spellings of officers' names exact dates of a few events Historical significance Although printed in 1888, this is an important firsthand reminiscence because it documents a little-known Confederate recruiting expedition in northwest Arkansas during the winter of 1864. It corroborates the documented Union raid that killed Capt. James B. Williamson at Baker's Springs, provides rare eyewitness detail on the death of Hugh Crawford, and preserves one of the few survivor accounts of the fatal surprise attack that killed Capt. Pleasant Buchanan and his brothers. Much of the narrative aligns closely with official military records despite being written more than two decades after the events. There is additional research that could substantially expand this story. I can reconstruct the entire expedition by identifying the eleven men Buchanan selected, locating the Union reports written by Major Wright and the officer identified as "Lieut. Scraper," tracing Hugh Crawford and the Buchanan family through census, probate, and cemetery records, and correlating the Confederate reminiscence with the Official Records and surviving military correspondence to produce a day-by-day account of the expedition.