Positions at Yellville - 2:00 p.m.

The opposing sides have met in Yellville and formed lines running eastward from Town Branch.  All batteries are firing and there has been some engagement between cavalry and an infantry brigade at Everett Ford / Shawnee Hill, but neither line of infantry has advanced to engage yet.  Aside from the cavalry at Everett Ford, some Federal cavalry is also visible on Covington Hill to the west. Confederate cavalry has not been sighted on the field.

Moving into Yellville - October 6th 13:30

The opposing forces at Yellville have sighted each other and are moving into position for a possible engagement. A few elements of Brig. Gen. Ewing's cavalry division were moving from Crooked Tavern west along Creek Road in an apparent attempt to cross Crooked Creek at Everett Ford and have been engaged by Wiley's Battery and a brigade of infantry on Shawnee Hill.

 

Federal batteries have been brought up east of town and south of Tutt Hill and started to engage as their infantry forms in Yellville town and the vicinity of the Widow Tutt House.  Confederate batteries have shifted positions and infantry is forming a line from just south of town and then along the Freight Road and south bank of East Prong.

 

Yellville - October 6th 8:00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m.

On the morning of October 6th, Federals had two cavalry brigades on Jobe Hill and two cavalry brigades on Shawnee Hill, observing two divisions of Confederate infantry in Yellville to the northeast and north respectively. At around 8:00 a.m., the Rebel infantry moved out, one division advancing on Jobe Hill and the other south down the Clinton Road towards Shawnee Hill. The cavalry did not attempt to engage them, with the force on Jobe Hill retreated to Crooked Tavern and the cavalry on Shawnee Hill crossing Crooked Creek and retreating to the Weast Farm.

The Confederate division that advanced to Shawnee Hill unlimbered its battery and began to fire on the Federal horsemen on the opposite side of the creek, inflicting several casualties and forcing one brigade to retreat behind the crest of a small hill between Weast and the W. H. Welbourne farm.

At Jobe Hill, the Confederate batteries remained at the rear of their column near C. W. Noe farm as the infantry took the hill unopposed. However, between 12:30 and 13:00 p.m., Union infantry was sighted descending Tutt Hill, marching westward on the Military Road. Coleman's Alabama Battery, located in a corn field near C. W. Noe opened fire, inflicting several casualties. Maj. Gen. Haggerty was at the C. W. Noe farm and through his field glasses could see a senior Federal officer at the Widow Tutt House. The Federals appeared to be turning north on the L. Kilmer lane.

Coleman's Battery opens fire from C. W. Noe:

Some Union casualties on Military Road near the Tutt Cemetery:

Haggerty looks at Dupont:

Dupont looks back at Haggerty:

With both players having infantry at Yellville with stances that indicate a willingness to engage, the ENTERING THE OZARKS simulation has just moved from a strategic phase to a tactical phase. Players are preparing deployment and engagement orders for their units.

6th October - 8:00 a.m.

On the morning of 6th October, two Confederate infantry divisions were still located in Yellville, observed by the Federal cavalry division which had split itself between Shawnee and Jobe Hills. A brigade of Confederate cavalry was reported to have moved south from Yellville in the night, but the positions of units outside of the immediate vicinity of Yellville are unknown.

Players are preparing orders for the daylight hours of 6th October.

Colonel Paul Herling Promoted

October 5th - 5:00 p.m. - Confederate Infantry Sighted

During October 5th, the Federal cavalry division re-emerged from the direction of Sylamore and Locust Grove and made contact with Dibble's Brigade near the F. M. Baird farm. Dibble chose not to engage and fell back through Buffalo City (which was by that time unoccupied) and then to Yellville with the Federal horsemen close behind. Dibble went into Yellville town and the Federal cavalry stopped at Jobe Hill, to the southeast of town.

Division Commander Brigadier General Robert Ewing looked out from Jobe Hill around 5:00 p.m. and could see that there was a lot of infantry in Yellville town. Haggerty's main force had been detected.

Players are now preparing orders for the night of 5th - 6th October....

The Cavalry is back....

The was morning during the night of 4th - 5th October.  The Confederate cavalry brigade that had been chased from R. Hathaway (Buffalo City) returned from Yellville during the night and advanced as far as the F. Benjamin house in Hathaway Hollow. It's advance was stopped there due to the continued presence of Army of the Arkansas' 8th infantry division there. Brig. Gen. Henderson's (8th Division Commander) has his headquarters at the R. Hathaway house.

 

Commanders are preparing orders for the daylight hours of 5th October.

Richwoods... potential hotspot?

The Richwoods Map has gone out to the testers. A problem with creeks and streams on the WIA maps has finally been solved. (Men used to walk across the surface of the water.) I will go back and correct the previous maps prior to releasing them for THE OZARKS CAMPAIGN simulation.

During the 1860s, it was part of Izard County, but later became part of Stone County, which was created after the war. The elevations and woods for Richwoods are based on a topographic map that covers West Richwoods Township, to the southwest of Mountain View, Arkansas

Richwoods is off the beaten path and not too critical the current ENTERING THE OZARKS campaign.   During the course of the coming OZARKS CAMPAIGN, Batesville will be added as a victory location. This will make Richwoods a critical crossroads between Batesville and Lebanon and potential hotspot for engagements.

Here is the minimap for Richwoods:

Entering the Ozarks - 5:00 p.m. on October 4th

On October 4th, Henderson's Federal division moved to engage cavalry at R. Hathaway in Hathaway Hollow, west of Buffalo City. The Confederate cavalry (Starke's Brigade) chose not to engage, giving way and heading on the road to Yellville.

The Federal cavalry division that had appeared east of Yellville town near the A. J. Noe farm chose not to engage Randall's cavalry brigade, which had blocked the Federal march the previous night. Rather than engage, General Ewing turned his division around and headed back towards Talbot's Ferry, never having reached Yellville town on the opposite side of Tutt Hill.

At the end of October 4th, there was no contact between the opposing forces. Neither side is away of the exact location of the enemy.

The players are no preparing orders for any movement on the night of 4th - 5th October.

Oops - Night of 3rd October Re-run

There was a mistake in the night turn for 3rd - 4th October. It has been corrected. A Confederate cavalry brigade at R. Hathaway (Buffalo City map) has made contact with a Federal infantry division that approached on the Goodman's Ford Rd. during the night.  West of Yellville (on the Yellville map), a Confederate cavalry brigade (identified as Randall's Brigade) has made contact with the entire Federal cavalry division, which has advanced from Talbot's Ferry.

Near Buffalo City - 4th October- 8:00 a.m.

By the close of 3rd October, the opposing armies operating in Marian, Izard, and Searcy counties were no longer in contact. Through the night of 3rd - 4th October, there was some troop movement, as other units working on entrenchments.

One the morning of 4th October, the Haggerty's and Dupont's corps were in contact again, this time near Buffalo City. No engage has taken place yet during the campaign, but as of 8:00 a.m. on October 4th, an unidentified Confederate cavalry brigade at R. Hathaway and an unidentified Federal infantry division at D. Jackson are in clear view of each other.

Randall's Brigade withdraws from Talbot's Ferry - 3rd October

The morning of 3rd October had two opposing cavalry forces at Talbot's Ferry. A large Federal body was present at Mooney's Shack, with a Confederate brigade near the A. Johnson farm on the Military Road. In the morning, the Federals advanced against the enemy brigade, which was identified as Randall's Brigade. Randall did not engage and withdrew towards Yellville, leaving the area around Talbot's Ferry, including the west bank, in control of Dupont's cavalry division.

The Corps Commanders are preparing orders for the night of 3rd - 4th October.