By 2 o'clock scouts and fugitives had convinced Gen. Curtis that Van Dorn had concentrated his forces, and was in rapid march upon him, only a few miles away. He sent orders by swift riders to all his outlying parties to march at once to the designated rendezvous at Sugar Creek, and started back himself with Carr's Division, arriving on the crest about 2 a. m. of March 5, and immediately setting his men to work preparing for the battle. Col. Dodge worked until midnight blockading with fallen trees the road from Bentonville to Springfield west of Leetown. 317 In spite of their wide dispersion, Gen. Van Dorn brought McCulloch's, Pike's and Price's forces together with great rapidity. How many fighting men he was able to assemble is a question. Gen. Curtis gravely estimated it at 30,000. Gen. Van Dorn in his reports after the battle, when he was putting the best face upon matters, stated his force at one time at 16,000 men, and again at "less than 14,000." Probably if we follow an old arithmetical device, adding Curtis's overstatement and Van Dom's understatement together and dividing the sum by two--the number of statements--we may get somewhat near the truth. This would give Van Dorn 22,000 men. Students since the war have arrived at the conclusion that he actually had 26,000 men. Analysis of the various reports points to this being nearly correct. Feb. 24--nine days before the battle--Van Dorn reported to Albert Sidney Johnston that with the combined forces of McCulloch, Pike and Price, he would "be able to take about 26,000 men into battle." The best organized and drilled troops west of the Mississippi were McCulloch's. March 2 he reported his "effective total" to be 8,384 men, with 18 cannon. He received some accessions after that, raising his whole force to nearly 10,000 men. His division was organized as follows: FIRST BRIGADE. Col. James Mcintosh commanding:--1st Ark. M. R., Col. T. J. Churchill; 2d Ark. M. R., Col. James Mcintosh; 4th (9th) Tex. Cav., Col. W. B. Sims; 6th Tex. Cav., Col. B. W. Stone; South Kansas-Texas Regiment, Col. E. Greer; Lamar Cav., Capt. H. S. Bennett. SECOND BRIGADE. Col. Louis Hebert commanding--4th Ark., Col. E. McNair; 14th Ark., Col. M. C. Mitchell; 16th Ark., Col. Hill, 17th Ark., Col. Frank Rector; 21st Ark., Col. D. McRae; 1st Ark. Battery, Maj. W. H. Brooks; 3d La., Col. Louis Hebert; Tex. Cav., Col. W. C. Young; Tex. M. R., Maj. J. W. Whitfield; Art. Bat. (four companies), Capt. W. R. Bradfute. 318 Nothing definite can be ascertained as to Albert Pike's force. A short time before the battle he wrote confidently about having 10,000 men. The force he actually brought up is generally stated at 6,000, two of the regiments being white. The following extract from Gen. Sterling Price's report of March 22--eight days after the battle--gives us the best obtainable idea of the strength and organization of his force: