by mid morning then, the union aer army, completely turned around now faced north and was ready to receive the confederate attack. the men, of course, confederates, the federals had to abandon fortifications and fight in the open. but they adjusted very quickly. there was no panic. no disorganization. in fact, the -- the smoothly functioning nature of the union army on the first day of the battle, having been taken by surprise, caught off-guard, so forth, is very remarkable. and also, curtis noticed something else. if vandorn's army was in the union rear, cutting the union off from missouri, didn't that mean that curtis' army was in the confederate rear and was now cutting the confederates off from arkansas? indeed it did. with disastrous consequences as we'll see. so while this change of front was in progress, curtis, spoiling attacks, they brock ke the confederate movements. threw the confederates into confusion, caused the confederates to fall behind schedule. vandorn organized counter attacks that forced the federals back only slowly and at great cost in lives. mcculluck was killed. as