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THE FIGHT IN THE RAY CORNFIELD
When Lyon reached the top of the northern spur of Bloody Hill, his
blood was up. Now confident of inflicting a severe blow, he quipped to
Schofield, "In less than an hour they'll wish they were a thousand miles
away." From his position in the glow of dawn, Lyon could see plainly the
camps of Rains's command and recognized that his advance up the slope
had left his left flank exposed. He took steps to secure it, though it
meant dividing his small command. As his Missourians and Kansans moved
toward the crest of the hill, the federal commander directed Plummer to
take his battalion of regulars to the east side of Wilson Creek toward
the Wire Road and "carry forward the left flank of the attack."
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ASSAULT ON BLOODY HILL, SIGEL ADVANCES AND PLUMMER FIGHTS
IN RAY CORNFIELD FIGHT (6:00-7:30 A.M.)
As Lyon consolidates his forces on Bloody Hill, his line comes under
fire from the Pulaski Battery located across Wilson Creek. This gives
Price's Missourians time to move from their camps and press forward to
oppose the federals. Plummer's force crosses Wilson Creek and enters
Ray's cornfield about 6:30 A.M. By 7 A.M., Plummer has made contact with
the Third Louisiana and the Second Arkansas Mounted Rifles, and in a
brief but sharp fight the regulars are driven out of the cornfield and
retreat back across Wilson Creek. By 7:30, McBride's Missouri State
Guard Division has launched an attack on Lyon's right flank on Bloody
Hill. In the meantime, Sigel crosses Terrell Creek, enters the Sharp
Farm, and deploys his men to meet a formation of rallied southern
cavalrymen. After a brief bombardment, the southerners retire and Sigel
advances toward the Sharp House in order to block the Wire Road.
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Instead of backtracking to the ford just south of John Gibson's mill,
Plummer led his three hundred men directly east toward Wilson Creek,
dropping down a "rocky hillside" into the thick undergrowth that lined
both sides of the creek at that point. There they found an area of
backwater between two dams that John Gibson had built to provide a
sufficient flow of water to operate his mill. After a great deal of time
and effort, Plummer's force pushed up the steep slope and around 6:30
A.M. entered the northern end of John Ray's property. They soon crossed
a rail fence into a field of "Indian corn of moderate height," just as
the main column under Lyon had reached the crest of Bloody Hill and was
beginning to engage the Missouri State Guard advancing up the slopes
toward them. Plummer consequently began moving southward as fast as
possible toward the Ray farmhouse, up steadily rising ground, bringing
his troops into alignment. As Plummer approached the center of the
cornfield, he observed the Pulaski Arkansas Battery delivering enfilade
fire across the valley against Lyon's line on Bloody Hill. He responded
by leading his command toward the battery, to attempt to capture it.
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THE RAY ROUSE CIRCA 1880. (GS)
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Having seen Plummer's battalion crossing the Ray property toward the
cornfield, Woodruff sent word to McCulloch of the federal advance east
of the creek. The Texan instructed his adjutant, Colonel James McIntosh,
to take his own unit, the Second Arkansas Mounted Rifles, together with
the Third Louisiana under Colonel Louis Hebert and a battalion of
Arkansas infantry, to oppose Plummer. The 220 horsemen road ahead to
engage Plummer in the Ray cornfield, while the remaining column of 1,100
men hastened up the Wire Road. Leaving the road and advancing up the
steep slope just beyond the Rays' springhouse, they nearly immediately
confronted Plummer's line on the other side of the cornfield's rail
fence.
When the federals opened fire, the bulk of the southern troops were
still in column, and it may have taken twenty to thirty minutes before
McIntosh got all of his men into position. The rail fence, choked with
weeds, and the thick underbrush actually assisted the southerners more
than the federals by blocking their field of vision, while the fence
that Plummer's men crouched behind actually provided little defensive
cover. That the federals caught the Confederates in mid-deployment alone
allowed them to maintain their position for as long as they did. As the
Louisianans deployed to the right, pressing to the rail fence, they
actually reached the eastern end of the cornfield and wrapped around it
to the north, assuming the shape of an "L" and outflanking the smaller
federal line in the field. After several minutes, as the smoke grew
thick, both sides ceased fire as if by mutual consent. Concerned about
growing casualties, McIntosh ended the lull by ordering his troops to
charge, leading it himself. The advance threatened to overwhelm the
outnumbered Plummer and his men retired through the cornfield, closely
pursued by McIntosh's Confederates. They followed the fleeing federals
all the way to Gibson's fields, well north of the mill, where McIntosh
halted his disorganized lines. The respite allowed Plummer's men to
retire in good order.
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CAPTAIN HIRAM BLEDSOE (MHS)
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Now in a position to threaten the federal left flank and rear of
Lyon's forces across Wilson Creek, McIntosh quickly received heavy
artillery fire that stopped his advance. Over on Bloody Hill, Du Bois's
Battery of four guns began delivering a well-aimed "storm of shrapnel
and grape" that raked the exposed flank of McIntosh's Confederates and
covered Plummer's retreat, allowing him to cross back to the west side
of Wilson Creek. McIntosh's force, never before exposed to artillery
fire, withdrew in confusion, avoiding a rout largely because many of
Hebert's panicky Louisianans threw themselves to the ground at every
discharge of a federal artillery piece. The southerners had suffered
around one hundred casualties, while Plummer lost eighty, more than a
fourth of his total force. Plummer himself was among the wounded, and
after directing the recrossing of the creek turned his command over to
Captain Arch Houston. By 7:30 A.M., the fight on the east side of the
creek was over, a fact that would soon have significant implications for
the rest of the battle.
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