Doyle, I don't know if you've seen this "sort of related" report before. This is an excerpt from a postwar report to the Adjutant-General of Kansas, regarding the activities of the 5th Kansas Cavalry --

Some time during the month of December, 1862, a detachment of the regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel W. A. Jenkins and Major T. Scudder, formed part of General Washburne’s expedition against the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Shortly after its return to Helena, the regiment moved, with other troops, toward White River, to take part in the expedition against St. Charles and Little Rock, Brigadier-General Gorman in command. The regiment was ordered to St. Charles, as it was designed to attack that point simultaneously with General McClernand’s movement against Arkansas Post. Owing to the high water, it was found impossible to reach the river at that place, and Colonel Clayton turned the head of his column toward Clarendon, a small town twenty-five or thirty miles higher up the river. It being necessary to establish communication with the fleet, with which we were to co-operate, Major T. W. Scudder undertook the job. Accordingly, upon a dark, stormy night, he started with two (2) men from company D, (Sergeant Baird and Private Ringer) in a little skiff, and after nine long hours reached the fleet, nearly frozen, the rain having turned into a severe snow storm. In that time he had traveled forty-five miles, passed two rebel picket posts, and a Union gunboat doing guard duty, without discovery. St. Charles had already been evacuated, and the garrison sent to Arkansas Post. In a few days the regiment again returned to Helena.