By Dr. Curtis Varnell
Smoke rolled across the field as cannons thundered. General Herron’s men pressed the smaller Union forces backward through the forested fields near Pea Ridge, Arkansas. One Illinois soldier recalled that the air around him was “literally filled with leaden hail. Balls would whiz by our ears, cut off bushes closely, and even cut our clothes.” Union troops under Colonel Jefferson C. Davis rallied the Union forces, not able to press forward but holding the line of advance. A large black horse thundered across the front of the line, panicked by the noise of the battle raging around him. Several of the men from the 22 Indiana Infantry seized the animal, quieting and calming him. Horses, and especially horses of the quality of this animal, were valuable commodities during the Civil War and this one was probably previously owned by one of the opposing Confederate officers. After the battle, the troops presented the animal as a gift to Davis. Davis, obviously elated by the gift, named the stead Skedaddle. Skedaddle accompanied Davis throughout his career, the chosen warhorse of the career military officer.
Davis was promoted to Brigadier General for his action at Pea Ridge and was transferred east to the Army of the Cumberland. A career officer, Davis had participated in the war with Mexico and served with distinction. Col. Davis was the only man who fought at Pea Ridge who had heard the opening gun fired at Fort Sumter, was in the march to Atlanta, and participated in events surrounding the end of the war.
Soon after being transferred, he and Skedaddle played a significant role in the battle of Corinth where Davis and his troops were instrumental in securing the Mississippi railroad hub. It was immediately afterward that his career took and significant and detrimental downturn.
Davis, already cursed by having the same name as the president of the Confederacy, strongly objected to orders given him by his commander, General William Nelson. Nelson was a large man, standing well over 6-foot-tall and weighing over 300 pounds. He was an imposing figure with the nickname of Bull Nelson. Davis, on the other hand, was significantly smaller and weighted 125-pounds soaking wet. Nevertheless, feeling slighted by his commander, Davis challenged him to a duel. Nelson cursed and swore at Davis, then grabbed and slapped him twice across the face. Davis left the hotel, borrowed a pistol from another officer, and shot Nelson through the heart. Due to military expediency, he was never prosecuted but it was a black mark on his career and he never advanced further than Major General, even though he was a very successful leader.
Davis commanded a division at Sone’s River and Chickamauga, two of the major battles in the Army of the Cumberland. He earned the respect and admiration of Major William Tecumseh Sherman and was instrumental in the battles leading up to the march of Atlanta and on to Savannah, Georgia.
As the war ended, the victorious Union troops were invited to Washington for an official grand review before the army was disbanded. President Andrew Johnson, U.S. Grant, General Sherman and as many as 250,000 men, women and children looked on for twelve hours over a two-day period as the troops passed in review. There in the forefront, was General Jefferson C. Davis astride the magnificent Pea Ridge runaway, Skedaddle.
With the war over, Skedaddle was retired to the Davis farm near Memphis, Indiana. He lived out his days in a pampered life, never again doing manual labor. Skedaddle died in 1887, so admired by his family that they placed him in a marked grave. The citizens of Memphis, Indiana erected a monument celebrating the life and contributions of Skedaddle, the Pea Ridge warhorse.
