Skirmish at Sugar Creek and Brush Creek

I had mentioned in an earlier post that General Franz Sigel had been surprised at Bentonville by forces of the Confederate Infantry and Cavalry. Their skirmish took place at the intersection of Sugar Creek and Brush Creek near the bridge on Hwy 72 east. Old Confederate Camp Stephens lay up the Sugar Creek Valley to the east and nearly five miles to the east, the Union Army was entrenched on the north side of Sugar Creek Valley at Brightwater. It was these troops, including Captain Hoffman's Battery and the Fifthteenth Missouri Volunteers who hurried back to assist General Sigel and the Twelfth Missouri, who were under seige by Cavalry led by General James McIntosh and Confederate Infantry under Colonel Gates.

I have spent some time recently in that area doing some hillbilly archeology and have turned up a few items from the clash.

 

Some nice fired bullets, a lead bar for melting to make bullets, some dropped round balls, and a decent Union Infantry Button.

 All of these are a little over 150 years old and almost positively traceable back to this exact skirmish.