“Not long after being ordered to the front he was taken prisoner at Helena, Ark., and was held in captivity six weeks. After his exchange he joined his regiment on the Vicksburg expedition . . .” (Progressive Men of Southern Idaho, 1904, p 726)
There were two battles or skirmishes that his regiment took part in ... Cold Water River, Arkansas (Dec. 6, 1862) a skirmish, where they were being attack by guerillas, and lost their first soldier in this ordeal. The other was fought on December 29, 1862 in Helena, Arkansas---known as The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, where there were the following ...
"Union casualties at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou were 208 killed, 1,005 wounded, and 563 captured or missing; Confederate casualties were 63 killed, 134 wounded, 10 missing." (excerpt from North Against South, http://northagainstsouth.com/the-battle-of-chickasaw-bayou/)
My guess is that Samuel took part in this battle, and was captured and held for six weeks before joining his regiment in Vicksburg Expedition in the middle or end part of February 1863. So somewhere near Helena was a Confederate force holding over 500 Union soldiers after this particular battle. Any ideas where?
Matt Friend