Confederate Brigadier-General James F. Fagan, having made a forced march, attacked a train of several hundred wagons, guarded by a brigade of infantry, 500 cavalry, and a section of light artillery under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Francis M. Drake of the 36th Iowa, on its way from Camden to Pine Bluff for supplies.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Drake was appointed captain of a cavalry company of Lieutenant Colonel John Edwards' Southern Iowa Border Brigade.

General Steele had strongly instructed Lieutenant-Colonel Drake not to attempt a crossing of the Moro Bayou bottom—a few miles west of Marks' Mills—after nightfall.

It is Swiggett's contention, therefore, that had Drake pressed on that Sunday afternoon, the train would have successfully crossed Moro bottom and could have been well on its way up the Pine Bluff Road to Mount Elba by nightfall.

Thus, had Drake pressed forward on Sunday instead of going into camp in mid-afternoon, it is very possible that the train would have been well ahead of the ambush site by 8:00 am on Monday morning and within range of Clayton's cavalry escort posted at Mount Elba.

[2] Encountering mirey ground along the rain-swollen Moro River, Colonel Drake chose not to push through to Pine Bluff, and instead camped about eight miles outside of town.

[8] The 43rd and 36th were forced back toward a few log cabins in the center of the clearing, where their artillery raked the oncoming Southerners and was blasted in return by Hugely's Arkansas Battery.

[9] Just when it seemed that things could not get worse, the 43rd and 36th were now hit on their left flank by Jo Shelby's cavalry, and found themselves fighting an overwhelming force (outnumbering them two-to-one) attacking from three directions at once.

[10] Despite valiant efforts by the 77th Ohio and the 1st Iowa Cavalry to prevent the ensuing encirclement, the Federals found themselves surrounded in the clearing and fighting for their lives.

One supporting artillery battery was reportedly wiped out to the last man, with its mortally wounded lieutenant firing a final gun into the oncoming Rebels before succumbing to his injuries.

Old Captain Charles Moss of the 43rd Indiana Infantry was marched bareheaded with his bald head and white locks and beard in the burning sun."

Colonel William McLean, commanding the brigade of which the three Federal regiments had been a part, wrote that some captured prisoners were stripped and forced to march into captivity completely naked.

[17] Most of the soldiers captured from the 36th Iowa, 43rd Indiana, 77th Ohio and Peetz's Battery of the 1st Missouri Light Artillery were marched to Tyler, Texas, where they were incarcerated at a prison stockade at Camp Ford.

By disobeying General Smith's orders and engaging Drake's brigade at Marks' Mills, Shelby and Fagan caused a delay in the Rebel advance that proved to be just long enough for Steele to evacuate Camden and lead the battered remnants of his force to safety.