1850 United States Federal Census
Name: C D Bevans
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Birth Year: abt 1825
Birthplace: Ohio
Home in 1850: St Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota Territory, USA
Occupation: Tinner
Industry: Fabricated Steel Products
Dwelling Number: 150
Family Number: 150
Household Members Age
Henry L Bevans: 27
Julia Ann Bevans: 23
Harriet E Bevans: 21
C D Bevans: 25
James R Humphrey: 25
------------------------------------
Corydon D. Bevans
in the U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
Name: Corydon D. Bevans
Side: Union
Regiment State/Origin: Minnesota
Regiment: 3rd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry
Company: E
Rank In: Sergeant
Rank Out: First Sergeant
Film Number: M546 roll 1
-----------------------------------
Second Lt. Corydon served as 1st Sgt Company E 3rd Minnesota Infantry during the Civil War
Here is the story of the demise of Sgt Bevans: as submitted by Bro Mark Campbell....
BATTLE OF FITZHUGH'S WOODS.
Wednesday, March 23d, General Steele, with about 9,000 men, being the main, part of his army, marched south from Little Rock to co-operate in General Banks Red River campaign, leaving Brigadier General Nathan Kimball in command of troops along and north of the line of the Arkansas River.
The next day General Kimball assigned all the troops left in the vicinity of Little Rock, some 3,000, to the command of Colonel Andrews. March 30th, General Kimball received from a citizen residing near Augusta, a fertile and populous part of northeastern Arkansas, information of a camp of a Confederate recruiting party in that locality, and learning from Captain Carr, chief quarter master, that a boat could be in readiness early the next morning at DevalPs Bluff to convey a small force up White River, Colonel Andrews was authorized to make the expedition. The latter immediately conferred with Major Foster,
in command of the Third Regiment, who cordially enteinto the movement.
Volunteers numbering one hundred and eighty-six, from Companies B, C, E, G, H, and I of the Third, under the immediate command of Major Foster, left Little Rock with Colonel Andrews by railway the same evening; embarked early the next morning on the steamer Dove with Captain L. I. Mathews company, numbering forty-five, of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry, and ascended White River, the gunboat Covington, under Lieutenant Lord, accompanying. Arriving at Gregory s Landing at dusk, the command marched, in rain and darkness, three miles to Cache Bayou, which the cavalry forded with difficulty but without accident, and found that one of General McRae s camps which it had been intended to surprise had been abandoned that morning.
Returning to the transport the command moved on to Augusta, where it landed early the next morning, April 1st, and, little supposing it was to have so serious a conflict as the battle of Fitzhughs Woods, marched north on the Jackson port road. A detail from the Third Regiment was left as a guard on the steamboat under Sergeant Early, and the whole force with which Colonel Andrews marched out of Augusta did not exceed two hundred men. It had been learned that General McRae's principal camp was near Antony s plantation, seven miles distant. Our advance met and charged a small party of the enemy a mile out from Augusta, and captured two prisoners. Some three miles out, at the fork of two roads, the cavalry advance waited for the Third to come up, when a force, which proved to be Major Ruther ford s, was met and driven into the woods on a road leading to the right. At the bayou, six miles from Augusta, another mounted party, of which, as subsequently learned, General McRae was one, was met and chased a mile or two.
Beyond Fitzhugh s plantation a Confederate camp was found which appeared to have been recently and suddenly abandoned. About twelve and a half o clock rest and lunch were taken at rather a wild place some twelve miles above Augusta, near a church, and where the ground was hilly and wooded. The actual situation, with regard to any Confederate forces, instead of being as reported at Little Rock, was that Brigadier General Dandridge McRae, who had handled a brigade in several important battles and was an able officer, had there in the surrounding locality a brigade, though composed partly of conscripts, and was meditating a crushing attack. Colonel Andrews, though not learning all these facts, there obtained information from a citizen which made him apprehend an attack from a superior force on his return march, and which led him to keep his command well in hand.
On the way back to the transport the Third Eegiment had passed the road leading to McCoy s, and less than a mile further on halted near Fitzhugh s to rest, it being then two o clock. While it was there a mounted force of the enemy advanced in line through a field from the direction of McCoy s, fired and charged with a yell. Some men of the Third met their attack with a volley fire which dismounted a few, then charged and drove them back in. disorder into the woods, where they disappeared. Resuming its march, with the rear guard strengthened, it had gone about two miles further and was emerging from some woods within a few hundred yards of a large swamp and bayou where there
were slashings, which, together with the overflow, obstructed the road, when the enemy appeared in much greater force, first attacking our rear guard fiercely. At our front there was, on the left and east side of the road, a field in which stood a thin body of dead trees, while immediately on the west side of the road was heavy timber, with more or less dead logs lying about, but not much underbrush. It was at once apparent that the enemy had collected all his forces and meditated our destruction. His lines, having previously been deployed, advanced through the field on the left in good order, but shouting loudly, and seemed almost to encircle us. The Third men came into line, and with their effective fire were not long in repulsing the attack on the left; but soon there was a sharp attack from the woods on the right. A line of skirmishers of the Third was deployed to the right in the woods, firing at will, a strong company being held in reserve.
Captain Mathews company of the Eighth Missouri formed on the left and fought dismounted. In the early part of the action Union and Confederate lines were not more than two hundred yards apart. Both sides used defiant shouts. The clamor for awhile was intense, yet above it the Confederate chiefs could be heard urging their men to charge. Finally they started on a charge which appeared so threatening and formidable that, to repulse it, the Third Eegiment, led by its colonel, made a counter- charge with fixed bayonets, which was effective, and seemed to prove the decisive feature of the action. It was a few minutes after the charge that the horse which the colonel was riding was killed, the bullet striking near the colonel s left knee.
At one time the firing and clamor were so intense that " cease firing " was sounded on the bugle so that commands might be heard. A stubborn battle had lasted an hour when a part of the Confederate force was seen moving around to the right at difficult range, apparently to intercept our passage of the bayou. To prevent that, the larger part of the Third Regiment was moved one hundred and fifty yards nearer the bayou, and where it also had the protection of a cluster of log buildings and some fences. The Confederates, supposing this was a retreat, rose up and advanced with a great deal of noise, but received a very
damaging fire from the Third men in their new position, which they held for about an hour and a half. The firing, which had been interrupted by several lulls, then ceased, and the enemy had practically disappeared.
The ford at the bayou was over a hundred yards wide, and to guard against a possible attack in crossing, before resuming the march, Major Foster, by direction of the colonel, posted a line of sharpshooters concealed on both flanks of the crossing in the woods. The march was then resumed, the crossing of the ford was made without accident, and the little column marched in good order to the steamboat at Augusta, a distance of about six miles, the road passing through woods, by cross-roads and open fields, where the Confederates, if they had felt it prudent, could have chosen their position and renewed the fight; but they made no further attack and the detachment of the Third Regiment and Captain Mathews company of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry deliberately embarked and returned
to their respective camps.
During the action a detail from the Third Regiment was in the rear guarding prisoners, of whom twelve besides a commissioned officer were held; so, that deducting also the guard which had been left on the steamer, the whole number of men which Colonel Andrews had actually engaged in the fight was only one hundred and eighty. l His loss was eight killed and twenty-one wounded, one of the killed being from the Eighth Missouri.
First Sergeant Corydon D. Bevans of Company E:
Who was among the killed, had lately received a commission as lieutenant and was about to be mustered. Washington J. Smith of Company I, killed on the skirmish line, seems to have had a presentiment of his fate. On leaving his quarters at Little Rock he shook hands with his chum, Charles D. Lamb, saying he never would see him again.
The brave and faithful behavior of Major Foster and all the officers and men of the Third Regiment, likewise of Captain Mathews of the Eighth Missouri, and his company, during the action were deserving of the highest praise. Adjutant E. T. Champlin of the Third moved about on his horse in the thickest of the fight, in the more critical stages regardless of danger, cheering and rallying the men. His distinguished gallantry and efficiency drew the warmest commendation from the colonel commanding there on the field.
There were, no doubt, moments when the contest seemed critical and desperate. Sergeant, afterward captain, G. "W. Knight, reported to the colonel that his company was out of ammunition. The reply made was, " We have our bayonets left.
The sober feeling prevalent was for a moment relieved by a droll expression from Lieutenant Swan as a riderless cavalry horse came jumping in front of our line. The Third Regiment men about exhausted their ammunition in the action, and it was afterward learned that the Confederates had done the same. A few of the severely wounded of the Third were left at the house above mentioned, were kindly cared for there and by citizens at Augusta, and returned to Little Rock with the expedition which a short time afterward revisited Augusta.
The loss in General McRae s command was understood to have been severe, especially among the commissioned officers, of whom one or more prominent ones, including Captain Bland, were killed. Among the wounded were Colonel Freeman and Major Shaver.
General McRae s force actually engaged in- the action consisted of a regiment of four hundred men under Colonel Thomas Freeman, three companies under Major George Rutherford, and an independent company, in all about six hundred men. Confederate sympathizers in Augusta had counted the Union force as it marched through the village in the morning, and its defeat and capture was confidently expected by them. The battle had an important effect in discouraging and breaking up recruiting in that populous agricultural region. The Third Regiment reached Little Rock the afternoon of April 2d, having made an expedition
of one hundred and sixty-eight miles and back inside of three days.
On Sunday, April 10th, memorial religious services in honor of those who fell at Fitzhugh s Woods, conducted by Chaplain Putnam, were held at the regiment s camp.
On Monday, April 18th, the regiment marched in a fine civic and military procession at Little Rock for the inauguration of Isaac Murphy, the first free state governor of Arkansas.
Name: C D Bevans
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Birth Year: abt 1825
Birthplace: Ohio
Home in 1850: St Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota Territory, USA
Occupation: Tinner
Industry: Fabricated Steel Products
Dwelling Number: 150
Family Number: 150
Household Members Age
Henry L Bevans: 27
Julia Ann Bevans: 23
Harriet E Bevans: 21
C D Bevans: 25
James R Humphrey: 25
------------------------------------
Corydon D. Bevans
in the U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
Name: Corydon D. Bevans
Side: Union
Regiment State/Origin: Minnesota
Regiment: 3rd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry
Company: E
Rank In: Sergeant
Rank Out: First Sergeant
Film Number: M546 roll 1
-----------------------------------
Second Lt. Corydon served as 1st Sgt Company E 3rd Minnesota Infantry during the Civil War
Here is the story of the demise of Sgt Bevans: as submitted by Bro Mark Campbell....
BATTLE OF FITZHUGH'S WOODS.
Wednesday, March 23d, General Steele, with about 9,000 men, being the main, part of his army, marched south from Little Rock to co-operate in General Banks Red River campaign, leaving Brigadier General Nathan Kimball in command of troops along and north of the line of the Arkansas River.
The next day General Kimball assigned all the troops left in the vicinity of Little Rock, some 3,000, to the command of Colonel Andrews. March 30th, General Kimball received from a citizen residing near Augusta, a fertile and populous part of northeastern Arkansas, information of a camp of a Confederate recruiting party in that locality, and learning from Captain Carr, chief quarter master, that a boat could be in readiness early the next morning at DevalPs Bluff to convey a small force up White River, Colonel Andrews was authorized to make the expedition. The latter immediately conferred with Major Foster,
in command of the Third Regiment, who cordially enteinto the movement.
Volunteers numbering one hundred and eighty-six, from Companies B, C, E, G, H, and I of the Third, under the immediate command of Major Foster, left Little Rock with Colonel Andrews by railway the same evening; embarked early the next morning on the steamer Dove with Captain L. I. Mathews company, numbering forty-five, of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry, and ascended White River, the gunboat Covington, under Lieutenant Lord, accompanying. Arriving at Gregory s Landing at dusk, the command marched, in rain and darkness, three miles to Cache Bayou, which the cavalry forded with difficulty but without accident, and found that one of General McRae s camps which it had been intended to surprise had been abandoned that morning.
Returning to the transport the command moved on to Augusta, where it landed early the next morning, April 1st, and, little supposing it was to have so serious a conflict as the battle of Fitzhughs Woods, marched north on the Jackson port road. A detail from the Third Regiment was left as a guard on the steamboat under Sergeant Early, and the whole force with which Colonel Andrews marched out of Augusta did not exceed two hundred men. It had been learned that General McRae's principal camp was near Antony s plantation, seven miles distant. Our advance met and charged a small party of the enemy a mile out from Augusta, and captured two prisoners. Some three miles out, at the fork of two roads, the cavalry advance waited for the Third to come up, when a force, which proved to be Major Ruther ford s, was met and driven into the woods on a road leading to the right. At the bayou, six miles from Augusta, another mounted party, of which, as subsequently learned, General McRae was one, was met and chased a mile or two.
Beyond Fitzhugh s plantation a Confederate camp was found which appeared to have been recently and suddenly abandoned. About twelve and a half o clock rest and lunch were taken at rather a wild place some twelve miles above Augusta, near a church, and where the ground was hilly and wooded. The actual situation, with regard to any Confederate forces, instead of being as reported at Little Rock, was that Brigadier General Dandridge McRae, who had handled a brigade in several important battles and was an able officer, had there in the surrounding locality a brigade, though composed partly of conscripts, and was meditating a crushing attack. Colonel Andrews, though not learning all these facts, there obtained information from a citizen which made him apprehend an attack from a superior force on his return march, and which led him to keep his command well in hand.
On the way back to the transport the Third Eegiment had passed the road leading to McCoy s, and less than a mile further on halted near Fitzhugh s to rest, it being then two o clock. While it was there a mounted force of the enemy advanced in line through a field from the direction of McCoy s, fired and charged with a yell. Some men of the Third met their attack with a volley fire which dismounted a few, then charged and drove them back in. disorder into the woods, where they disappeared. Resuming its march, with the rear guard strengthened, it had gone about two miles further and was emerging from some woods within a few hundred yards of a large swamp and bayou where there
were slashings, which, together with the overflow, obstructed the road, when the enemy appeared in much greater force, first attacking our rear guard fiercely. At our front there was, on the left and east side of the road, a field in which stood a thin body of dead trees, while immediately on the west side of the road was heavy timber, with more or less dead logs lying about, but not much underbrush. It was at once apparent that the enemy had collected all his forces and meditated our destruction. His lines, having previously been deployed, advanced through the field on the left in good order, but shouting loudly, and seemed almost to encircle us. The Third men came into line, and with their effective fire were not long in repulsing the attack on the left; but soon there was a sharp attack from the woods on the right. A line of skirmishers of the Third was deployed to the right in the woods, firing at will, a strong company being held in reserve.
Captain Mathews company of the Eighth Missouri formed on the left and fought dismounted. In the early part of the action Union and Confederate lines were not more than two hundred yards apart. Both sides used defiant shouts. The clamor for awhile was intense, yet above it the Confederate chiefs could be heard urging their men to charge. Finally they started on a charge which appeared so threatening and formidable that, to repulse it, the Third Eegiment, led by its colonel, made a counter- charge with fixed bayonets, which was effective, and seemed to prove the decisive feature of the action. It was a few minutes after the charge that the horse which the colonel was riding was killed, the bullet striking near the colonel s left knee.
At one time the firing and clamor were so intense that " cease firing " was sounded on the bugle so that commands might be heard. A stubborn battle had lasted an hour when a part of the Confederate force was seen moving around to the right at difficult range, apparently to intercept our passage of the bayou. To prevent that, the larger part of the Third Regiment was moved one hundred and fifty yards nearer the bayou, and where it also had the protection of a cluster of log buildings and some fences. The Confederates, supposing this was a retreat, rose up and advanced with a great deal of noise, but received a very
damaging fire from the Third men in their new position, which they held for about an hour and a half. The firing, which had been interrupted by several lulls, then ceased, and the enemy had practically disappeared.
The ford at the bayou was over a hundred yards wide, and to guard against a possible attack in crossing, before resuming the march, Major Foster, by direction of the colonel, posted a line of sharpshooters concealed on both flanks of the crossing in the woods. The march was then resumed, the crossing of the ford was made without accident, and the little column marched in good order to the steamboat at Augusta, a distance of about six miles, the road passing through woods, by cross-roads and open fields, where the Confederates, if they had felt it prudent, could have chosen their position and renewed the fight; but they made no further attack and the detachment of the Third Regiment and Captain Mathews company of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry deliberately embarked and returned
to their respective camps.
During the action a detail from the Third Regiment was in the rear guarding prisoners, of whom twelve besides a commissioned officer were held; so, that deducting also the guard which had been left on the steamer, the whole number of men which Colonel Andrews had actually engaged in the fight was only one hundred and eighty. l His loss was eight killed and twenty-one wounded, one of the killed being from the Eighth Missouri.
First Sergeant Corydon D. Bevans of Company E:
Who was among the killed, had lately received a commission as lieutenant and was about to be mustered. Washington J. Smith of Company I, killed on the skirmish line, seems to have had a presentiment of his fate. On leaving his quarters at Little Rock he shook hands with his chum, Charles D. Lamb, saying he never would see him again.
The brave and faithful behavior of Major Foster and all the officers and men of the Third Regiment, likewise of Captain Mathews of the Eighth Missouri, and his company, during the action were deserving of the highest praise. Adjutant E. T. Champlin of the Third moved about on his horse in the thickest of the fight, in the more critical stages regardless of danger, cheering and rallying the men. His distinguished gallantry and efficiency drew the warmest commendation from the colonel commanding there on the field.
There were, no doubt, moments when the contest seemed critical and desperate. Sergeant, afterward captain, G. "W. Knight, reported to the colonel that his company was out of ammunition. The reply made was, " We have our bayonets left.
The sober feeling prevalent was for a moment relieved by a droll expression from Lieutenant Swan as a riderless cavalry horse came jumping in front of our line. The Third Regiment men about exhausted their ammunition in the action, and it was afterward learned that the Confederates had done the same. A few of the severely wounded of the Third were left at the house above mentioned, were kindly cared for there and by citizens at Augusta, and returned to Little Rock with the expedition which a short time afterward revisited Augusta.
The loss in General McRae s command was understood to have been severe, especially among the commissioned officers, of whom one or more prominent ones, including Captain Bland, were killed. Among the wounded were Colonel Freeman and Major Shaver.
General McRae s force actually engaged in- the action consisted of a regiment of four hundred men under Colonel Thomas Freeman, three companies under Major George Rutherford, and an independent company, in all about six hundred men. Confederate sympathizers in Augusta had counted the Union force as it marched through the village in the morning, and its defeat and capture was confidently expected by them. The battle had an important effect in discouraging and breaking up recruiting in that populous agricultural region. The Third Regiment reached Little Rock the afternoon of April 2d, having made an expedition
of one hundred and sixty-eight miles and back inside of three days.
On Sunday, April 10th, memorial religious services in honor of those who fell at Fitzhugh s Woods, conducted by Chaplain Putnam, were held at the regiment s camp.
On Monday, April 18th, the regiment marched in a fine civic and military procession at Little Rock for the inauguration of Isaac Murphy, the first free state governor of Arkansas.
1850 United States Federal Census
Name: C D Bevans
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Birth Year: abt 1825
Birthplace: Ohio
Home in 1850: St Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota Territory, USA
Occupation: Tinner
Industry: Fabricated Steel Products
Dwelling Number: 150
Family Number: 150
Household Members Age
Henry L Bevans: 27
Julia Ann Bevans: 23
Harriet E Bevans: 21
C D Bevans: 25
James R Humphrey: 25
------------------------------------
Corydon D. Bevans
in the U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
Name: Corydon D. Bevans
Side: Union
Regiment State/Origin: Minnesota
Regiment: 3rd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry
Company: E
Rank In: Sergeant
Rank Out: First Sergeant
Film Number: M546 roll 1
-----------------------------------
Second Lt. Corydon served as 1st Sgt Company E 3rd Minnesota Infantry during the Civil War
Here is the story of the demise of Sgt Bevans: as submitted by Bro Mark Campbell....
BATTLE OF FITZHUGH'S WOODS.
Wednesday, March 23d, General Steele, with about 9,000 men, being the main, part of his army, marched south from Little Rock to co-operate in General Banks Red River campaign, leaving Brigadier General Nathan Kimball in command of troops along and north of the line of the Arkansas River.
The next day General Kimball assigned all the troops left in the vicinity of Little Rock, some 3,000, to the command of Colonel Andrews. March 30th, General Kimball received from a citizen residing near Augusta, a fertile and populous part of northeastern Arkansas, information of a camp of a Confederate recruiting party in that locality, and learning from Captain Carr, chief quarter master, that a boat could be in readiness early the next morning at DevalPs Bluff to convey a small force up White River, Colonel Andrews was authorized to make the expedition. The latter immediately conferred with Major Foster,
in command of the Third Regiment, who cordially enteinto the movement.
Volunteers numbering one hundred and eighty-six, from Companies B, C, E, G, H, and I of the Third, under the immediate command of Major Foster, left Little Rock with Colonel Andrews by railway the same evening; embarked early the next morning on the steamer Dove with Captain L. I. Mathews company, numbering forty-five, of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry, and ascended White River, the gunboat Covington, under Lieutenant Lord, accompanying. Arriving at Gregory s Landing at dusk, the command marched, in rain and darkness, three miles to Cache Bayou, which the cavalry forded with difficulty but without accident, and found that one of General McRae s camps which it had been intended to surprise had been abandoned that morning.
Returning to the transport the command moved on to Augusta, where it landed early the next morning, April 1st, and, little supposing it was to have so serious a conflict as the battle of Fitzhughs Woods, marched north on the Jackson port road. A detail from the Third Regiment was left as a guard on the steamboat under Sergeant Early, and the whole force with which Colonel Andrews marched out of Augusta did not exceed two hundred men. It had been learned that General McRae's principal camp was near Antony s plantation, seven miles distant. Our advance met and charged a small party of the enemy a mile out from Augusta, and captured two prisoners. Some three miles out, at the fork of two roads, the cavalry advance waited for the Third to come up, when a force, which proved to be Major Ruther ford s, was met and driven into the woods on a road leading to the right. At the bayou, six miles from Augusta, another mounted party, of which, as subsequently learned, General McRae was one, was met and chased a mile or two.
Beyond Fitzhugh s plantation a Confederate camp was found which appeared to have been recently and suddenly abandoned. About twelve and a half o clock rest and lunch were taken at rather a wild place some twelve miles above Augusta, near a church, and where the ground was hilly and wooded. The actual situation, with regard to any Confederate forces, instead of being as reported at Little Rock, was that Brigadier General Dandridge McRae, who had handled a brigade in several important battles and was an able officer, had there in the surrounding locality a brigade, though composed partly of conscripts, and was meditating a crushing attack. Colonel Andrews, though not learning all these facts, there obtained information from a citizen which made him apprehend an attack from a superior force on his return march, and which led him to keep his command well in hand.
On the way back to the transport the Third Eegiment had passed the road leading to McCoy s, and less than a mile further on halted near Fitzhugh s to rest, it being then two o clock. While it was there a mounted force of the enemy advanced in line through a field from the direction of McCoy s, fired and charged with a yell. Some men of the Third met their attack with a volley fire which dismounted a few, then charged and drove them back in. disorder into the woods, where they disappeared. Resuming its march, with the rear guard strengthened, it had gone about two miles further and was emerging from some woods within a few hundred yards of a large swamp and bayou where there
were slashings, which, together with the overflow, obstructed the road, when the enemy appeared in much greater force, first attacking our rear guard fiercely. At our front there was, on the left and east side of the road, a field in which stood a thin body of dead trees, while immediately on the west side of the road was heavy timber, with more or less dead logs lying about, but not much underbrush. It was at once apparent that the enemy had collected all his forces and meditated our destruction. His lines, having previously been deployed, advanced through the field on the left in good order, but shouting loudly, and seemed almost to encircle us. The Third men came into line, and with their effective fire were not long in repulsing the attack on the left; but soon there was a sharp attack from the woods on the right. A line of skirmishers of the Third was deployed to the right in the woods, firing at will, a strong company being held in reserve.
Captain Mathews company of the Eighth Missouri formed on the left and fought dismounted. In the early part of the action Union and Confederate lines were not more than two hundred yards apart. Both sides used defiant shouts. The clamor for awhile was intense, yet above it the Confederate chiefs could be heard urging their men to charge. Finally they started on a charge which appeared so threatening and formidable that, to repulse it, the Third Eegiment, led by its colonel, made a counter- charge with fixed bayonets, which was effective, and seemed to prove the decisive feature of the action. It was a few minutes after the charge that the horse which the colonel was riding was killed, the bullet striking near the colonel s left knee.
At one time the firing and clamor were so intense that " cease firing " was sounded on the bugle so that commands might be heard. A stubborn battle had lasted an hour when a part of the Confederate force was seen moving around to the right at difficult range, apparently to intercept our passage of the bayou. To prevent that, the larger part of the Third Regiment was moved one hundred and fifty yards nearer the bayou, and where it also had the protection of a cluster of log buildings and some fences. The Confederates, supposing this was a retreat, rose up and advanced with a great deal of noise, but received a very
damaging fire from the Third men in their new position, which they held for about an hour and a half. The firing, which had been interrupted by several lulls, then ceased, and the enemy had practically disappeared.
The ford at the bayou was over a hundred yards wide, and to guard against a possible attack in crossing, before resuming the march, Major Foster, by direction of the colonel, posted a line of sharpshooters concealed on both flanks of the crossing in the woods. The march was then resumed, the crossing of the ford was made without accident, and the little column marched in good order to the steamboat at Augusta, a distance of about six miles, the road passing through woods, by cross-roads and open fields, where the Confederates, if they had felt it prudent, could have chosen their position and renewed the fight; but they made no further attack and the detachment of the Third Regiment and Captain Mathews company of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry deliberately embarked and returned
to their respective camps.
During the action a detail from the Third Regiment was in the rear guarding prisoners, of whom twelve besides a commissioned officer were held; so, that deducting also the guard which had been left on the steamer, the whole number of men which Colonel Andrews had actually engaged in the fight was only one hundred and eighty. l His loss was eight killed and twenty-one wounded, one of the killed being from the Eighth Missouri.
First Sergeant Corydon D. Bevans of Company E:
Who was among the killed, had lately received a commission as lieutenant and was about to be mustered. Washington J. Smith of Company I, killed on the skirmish line, seems to have had a presentiment of his fate. On leaving his quarters at Little Rock he shook hands with his chum, Charles D. Lamb, saying he never would see him again.
The brave and faithful behavior of Major Foster and all the officers and men of the Third Regiment, likewise of Captain Mathews of the Eighth Missouri, and his company, during the action were deserving of the highest praise. Adjutant E. T. Champlin of the Third moved about on his horse in the thickest of the fight, in the more critical stages regardless of danger, cheering and rallying the men. His distinguished gallantry and efficiency drew the warmest commendation from the colonel commanding there on the field.
There were, no doubt, moments when the contest seemed critical and desperate. Sergeant, afterward captain, G. "W. Knight, reported to the colonel that his company was out of ammunition. The reply made was, " We have our bayonets left.
The sober feeling prevalent was for a moment relieved by a droll expression from Lieutenant Swan as a riderless cavalry horse came jumping in front of our line. The Third Regiment men about exhausted their ammunition in the action, and it was afterward learned that the Confederates had done the same. A few of the severely wounded of the Third were left at the house above mentioned, were kindly cared for there and by citizens at Augusta, and returned to Little Rock with the expedition which a short time afterward revisited Augusta.
The loss in General McRae s command was understood to have been severe, especially among the commissioned officers, of whom one or more prominent ones, including Captain Bland, were killed. Among the wounded were Colonel Freeman and Major Shaver.
General McRae s force actually engaged in- the action consisted of a regiment of four hundred men under Colonel Thomas Freeman, three companies under Major George Rutherford, and an independent company, in all about six hundred men. Confederate sympathizers in Augusta had counted the Union force as it marched through the village in the morning, and its defeat and capture was confidently expected by them. The battle had an important effect in discouraging and breaking up recruiting in that populous agricultural region. The Third Regiment reached Little Rock the afternoon of April 2d, having made an expedition
of one hundred and sixty-eight miles and back inside of three days.
On Sunday, April 10th, memorial religious services in honor of those who fell at Fitzhugh s Woods, conducted by Chaplain Putnam, were held at the regiment s camp.
On Monday, April 18th, the regiment marched in a fine civic and military procession at Little Rock for the inauguration of Isaac Murphy, the first free state governor of Arkansas.
Name: C D Bevans
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Birth Year: abt 1825
Birthplace: Ohio
Home in 1850: St Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota Territory, USA
Occupation: Tinner
Industry: Fabricated Steel Products
Dwelling Number: 150
Family Number: 150
Household Members Age
Henry L Bevans: 27
Julia Ann Bevans: 23
Harriet E Bevans: 21
C D Bevans: 25
James R Humphrey: 25
------------------------------------
Corydon D. Bevans
in the U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
Name: Corydon D. Bevans
Side: Union
Regiment State/Origin: Minnesota
Regiment: 3rd Regiment, Minnesota Infantry
Company: E
Rank In: Sergeant
Rank Out: First Sergeant
Film Number: M546 roll 1
-----------------------------------
Second Lt. Corydon served as 1st Sgt Company E 3rd Minnesota Infantry during the Civil War
Here is the story of the demise of Sgt Bevans: as submitted by Bro Mark Campbell....
BATTLE OF FITZHUGH'S WOODS.
Wednesday, March 23d, General Steele, with about 9,000 men, being the main, part of his army, marched south from Little Rock to co-operate in General Banks Red River campaign, leaving Brigadier General Nathan Kimball in command of troops along and north of the line of the Arkansas River.
The next day General Kimball assigned all the troops left in the vicinity of Little Rock, some 3,000, to the command of Colonel Andrews. March 30th, General Kimball received from a citizen residing near Augusta, a fertile and populous part of northeastern Arkansas, information of a camp of a Confederate recruiting party in that locality, and learning from Captain Carr, chief quarter master, that a boat could be in readiness early the next morning at DevalPs Bluff to convey a small force up White River, Colonel Andrews was authorized to make the expedition. The latter immediately conferred with Major Foster,
in command of the Third Regiment, who cordially enteinto the movement.
Volunteers numbering one hundred and eighty-six, from Companies B, C, E, G, H, and I of the Third, under the immediate command of Major Foster, left Little Rock with Colonel Andrews by railway the same evening; embarked early the next morning on the steamer Dove with Captain L. I. Mathews company, numbering forty-five, of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry, and ascended White River, the gunboat Covington, under Lieutenant Lord, accompanying. Arriving at Gregory s Landing at dusk, the command marched, in rain and darkness, three miles to Cache Bayou, which the cavalry forded with difficulty but without accident, and found that one of General McRae s camps which it had been intended to surprise had been abandoned that morning.
Returning to the transport the command moved on to Augusta, where it landed early the next morning, April 1st, and, little supposing it was to have so serious a conflict as the battle of Fitzhughs Woods, marched north on the Jackson port road. A detail from the Third Regiment was left as a guard on the steamboat under Sergeant Early, and the whole force with which Colonel Andrews marched out of Augusta did not exceed two hundred men. It had been learned that General McRae's principal camp was near Antony s plantation, seven miles distant. Our advance met and charged a small party of the enemy a mile out from Augusta, and captured two prisoners. Some three miles out, at the fork of two roads, the cavalry advance waited for the Third to come up, when a force, which proved to be Major Ruther ford s, was met and driven into the woods on a road leading to the right. At the bayou, six miles from Augusta, another mounted party, of which, as subsequently learned, General McRae was one, was met and chased a mile or two.
Beyond Fitzhugh s plantation a Confederate camp was found which appeared to have been recently and suddenly abandoned. About twelve and a half o clock rest and lunch were taken at rather a wild place some twelve miles above Augusta, near a church, and where the ground was hilly and wooded. The actual situation, with regard to any Confederate forces, instead of being as reported at Little Rock, was that Brigadier General Dandridge McRae, who had handled a brigade in several important battles and was an able officer, had there in the surrounding locality a brigade, though composed partly of conscripts, and was meditating a crushing attack. Colonel Andrews, though not learning all these facts, there obtained information from a citizen which made him apprehend an attack from a superior force on his return march, and which led him to keep his command well in hand.
On the way back to the transport the Third Eegiment had passed the road leading to McCoy s, and less than a mile further on halted near Fitzhugh s to rest, it being then two o clock. While it was there a mounted force of the enemy advanced in line through a field from the direction of McCoy s, fired and charged with a yell. Some men of the Third met their attack with a volley fire which dismounted a few, then charged and drove them back in. disorder into the woods, where they disappeared. Resuming its march, with the rear guard strengthened, it had gone about two miles further and was emerging from some woods within a few hundred yards of a large swamp and bayou where there
were slashings, which, together with the overflow, obstructed the road, when the enemy appeared in much greater force, first attacking our rear guard fiercely. At our front there was, on the left and east side of the road, a field in which stood a thin body of dead trees, while immediately on the west side of the road was heavy timber, with more or less dead logs lying about, but not much underbrush. It was at once apparent that the enemy had collected all his forces and meditated our destruction. His lines, having previously been deployed, advanced through the field on the left in good order, but shouting loudly, and seemed almost to encircle us. The Third men came into line, and with their effective fire were not long in repulsing the attack on the left; but soon there was a sharp attack from the woods on the right. A line of skirmishers of the Third was deployed to the right in the woods, firing at will, a strong company being held in reserve.
Captain Mathews company of the Eighth Missouri formed on the left and fought dismounted. In the early part of the action Union and Confederate lines were not more than two hundred yards apart. Both sides used defiant shouts. The clamor for awhile was intense, yet above it the Confederate chiefs could be heard urging their men to charge. Finally they started on a charge which appeared so threatening and formidable that, to repulse it, the Third Eegiment, led by its colonel, made a counter- charge with fixed bayonets, which was effective, and seemed to prove the decisive feature of the action. It was a few minutes after the charge that the horse which the colonel was riding was killed, the bullet striking near the colonel s left knee.
At one time the firing and clamor were so intense that " cease firing " was sounded on the bugle so that commands might be heard. A stubborn battle had lasted an hour when a part of the Confederate force was seen moving around to the right at difficult range, apparently to intercept our passage of the bayou. To prevent that, the larger part of the Third Regiment was moved one hundred and fifty yards nearer the bayou, and where it also had the protection of a cluster of log buildings and some fences. The Confederates, supposing this was a retreat, rose up and advanced with a great deal of noise, but received a very
damaging fire from the Third men in their new position, which they held for about an hour and a half. The firing, which had been interrupted by several lulls, then ceased, and the enemy had practically disappeared.
The ford at the bayou was over a hundred yards wide, and to guard against a possible attack in crossing, before resuming the march, Major Foster, by direction of the colonel, posted a line of sharpshooters concealed on both flanks of the crossing in the woods. The march was then resumed, the crossing of the ford was made without accident, and the little column marched in good order to the steamboat at Augusta, a distance of about six miles, the road passing through woods, by cross-roads and open fields, where the Confederates, if they had felt it prudent, could have chosen their position and renewed the fight; but they made no further attack and the detachment of the Third Regiment and Captain Mathews company of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry deliberately embarked and returned
to their respective camps.
During the action a detail from the Third Regiment was in the rear guarding prisoners, of whom twelve besides a commissioned officer were held; so, that deducting also the guard which had been left on the steamer, the whole number of men which Colonel Andrews had actually engaged in the fight was only one hundred and eighty. l His loss was eight killed and twenty-one wounded, one of the killed being from the Eighth Missouri.
First Sergeant Corydon D. Bevans of Company E:
Who was among the killed, had lately received a commission as lieutenant and was about to be mustered. Washington J. Smith of Company I, killed on the skirmish line, seems to have had a presentiment of his fate. On leaving his quarters at Little Rock he shook hands with his chum, Charles D. Lamb, saying he never would see him again.
The brave and faithful behavior of Major Foster and all the officers and men of the Third Regiment, likewise of Captain Mathews of the Eighth Missouri, and his company, during the action were deserving of the highest praise. Adjutant E. T. Champlin of the Third moved about on his horse in the thickest of the fight, in the more critical stages regardless of danger, cheering and rallying the men. His distinguished gallantry and efficiency drew the warmest commendation from the colonel commanding there on the field.
There were, no doubt, moments when the contest seemed critical and desperate. Sergeant, afterward captain, G. "W. Knight, reported to the colonel that his company was out of ammunition. The reply made was, " We have our bayonets left.
The sober feeling prevalent was for a moment relieved by a droll expression from Lieutenant Swan as a riderless cavalry horse came jumping in front of our line. The Third Regiment men about exhausted their ammunition in the action, and it was afterward learned that the Confederates had done the same. A few of the severely wounded of the Third were left at the house above mentioned, were kindly cared for there and by citizens at Augusta, and returned to Little Rock with the expedition which a short time afterward revisited Augusta.
The loss in General McRae s command was understood to have been severe, especially among the commissioned officers, of whom one or more prominent ones, including Captain Bland, were killed. Among the wounded were Colonel Freeman and Major Shaver.
General McRae s force actually engaged in- the action consisted of a regiment of four hundred men under Colonel Thomas Freeman, three companies under Major George Rutherford, and an independent company, in all about six hundred men. Confederate sympathizers in Augusta had counted the Union force as it marched through the village in the morning, and its defeat and capture was confidently expected by them. The battle had an important effect in discouraging and breaking up recruiting in that populous agricultural region. The Third Regiment reached Little Rock the afternoon of April 2d, having made an expedition
of one hundred and sixty-eight miles and back inside of three days.
On Sunday, April 10th, memorial religious services in honor of those who fell at Fitzhugh s Woods, conducted by Chaplain Putnam, were held at the regiment s camp.
On Monday, April 18th, the regiment marched in a fine civic and military procession at Little Rock for the inauguration of Isaac Murphy, the first free state governor of Arkansas.
Inscription
CORYDON D BEVANS
2nd LT, CO E
3rd MINN INFANTRY
BORN 1828 OHIO
KILLED APRIL 1 1864
CIVIL WAR BATTLE
FITZHUGH'S WOODS, AR
