| Army of Arkansas | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1863–1865 |
| Country |  |
| Branch |  |
| Type | Field army |
| Engagements | American Civil War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Frederick Steele Joseph J. Reynolds |
The Army of Arkansas was a Union Army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. This force functioned exclusively in the state of Arkansas.
The Army of Arkansas was created on July 27, 1863, with Major General Frederick Steele in command. [1] The army was created in the wake of the Union victories at Vicksburg and Helena, both of which occurred on July 4, 1863, resulting in the complete consolidation of federal control of the Mississippi River and the opportunity to seize Little Rock and begin pacification efforts to return Arkansas to the Union. It was composed of troops in Union-occupied areas of the state of Arkansas. General Steele led the army in its two most significant campaigns: The Little Rock Expedition and Camden Expedition. At Little Rock the army consisted of three divisions under John W. Davidson, Adolph Englemann and Samuel A. Rice.
During the Camden Expedition the army consisted of one corps – the VII Corps – and the two were virtually synonymous. It was composed of the divisions of Frederick Salomon, John M. Thayer and Eugene A. Carr. [2]
Steele was replaced as commander of the army on December 22, 1864, by Major General Joseph J. Reynolds. Reynolds commanded the army during Price's Missouri Raid but his troops actively involved in the Union pursuit. Reynolds remained in command until the war's end.
Two corps of the Union Army were called VII Corps during the American Civil War.
The Battle of Poison Spring was fought in Ouachita County, Arkansas on April 18, 1864, as part of the Camden Expedition, during the American Civil War. A Union force commanded by Major General Frederick Steele had moved from Little Rock, Arkansas towards Shreveport, Louisiana in support of Major General Nathaniel Banks' move up the Red River towards Shreveport. After Banks was defeated at the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, Steele was isolated in Arkansas. Short on supplies, Steele sent a detachment commanded by Colonel James M. Williams to search for supplies. Williams' column was attacked by Confederate troops under the command of Brigadier Generals John S. Marmaduke and Samuel B. Maxey. After a sharp fight, Williams' command was routed, losing its wagon train and four cannons. The defeat at Poison Spring, as well as another defeat at the Battle of Marks' Mills a week later led Steele to decide to retreat back to Little Rock. The battle is infamous for the Confederates' slaughter and mutilation of African-American Union soldiers of the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry. Poison Springs Battleground State Park, which is part of the Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark, preserves a portion of the site of the battle.
Frederick Steele was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for retaking much of secessionist Arkansas for the Union cause, escaping the besieged port-city of Camden through successful deception tactics, and defeating Sterling Price and E. Kirby Smith at Jenkins Ferry.
The Battle of Prairie D'Ane, also known as the Skirmish at Prairie D'Ane, Battle of Gum Springs or Battle of Moscow, was fought in present-day Nevada County, Arkansas, as part of the Camden Expedition, during the American Civil War. The Camden Expedition was launched by Union forces as part of the Red River Campaign of 1864. U.S. planners envisioned two federal armies converging simultaneously, one force under the command of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks pressing northward up the Red River commencing at Alexandria, Louisiana and the other federal army under the command of Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele driving southwestward from Little Rock, Arkansas. The objective was to press the rebel army of Gen. E. Kirby Smith back upon the rebel stronghold at Shreveport and defeat him. If successful, a somewhat vague second phase envisioned the two federal armies combining into one large force and continuing their offensive with a westward push into Texas.
Francis Marion Drake was an American merchant, lawyer, banker and politician. He fought in the American Civil War and later became the 16th Governor of Iowa. He is the namesake of Drake University.
During the American Civil War, Arkansas was a Confederate state, though it had initially voted to remain in the Union. Following the capture of Fort Sumter in April 1861, Abraham Lincoln called for troops from every Union state to put down the rebellion, and Arkansas and several other states seceded. For the rest of the war, Arkansas played a major role in controlling the Mississippi River, a major military highway.
The 36th Iowa Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 77th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 30th Arkansas Infantry (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. This regiment was also called the 5th Arkansas Cavalry, the 5th Trans-Mississippi Regiment or 39th Regiment after April, 1863. This regiment was converted to mounted infantry for Price's Missouri Expedition in 1864 and was known as Rogan's Arkansas Cavalry. There were two regiments officially designated as the 30th Arkansas Infantry. The other 30th Arkansas served east of the Mississippi River and was redesignated as the 25th Arkansas Infantry.
The 19th (Dockery's) Arkansas Infantry (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. There were two other Arkansas units which were designated as the 19th Arkansas. Dawson's 19th Arkansas Infantry was organized at Nashville, Arkansas, on November 21, 1861. Hardy's Arkansas Infantry Regiment, which is also occasionally referred to as the 19th Arkansas was organized in 1863 from those parts of Dawson's 19th Infantry Regiment, the 24th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and Crawford's Arkansas Infantry Battalion, which escaped capture at the Battle of Arkansas Post.
The 38th Arkansas Infantry (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was often referred to as Shaver's Arkansas Infantry. The unit served in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi from its formation in the summer of 1862 until the surrender in May 1865.
Benjamin Franklin Gordon was a Confederate States Army colonel during the American Civil War. Gordon had been a private and bugler for a Missouri regiment serving in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War. Gordon served in the Confederate Army under Brigadier General Joseph O. "Jo" Shelby in Missouri and Arkansas in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department throughout the war. On May 16, 1865, with the war coming to an end, General E. Kirby Smith, as the Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, assigned Gordon to duty as a brigadier general. The Confederate government took no action on the appointment and Confederate President Jefferson Davis did not officially appoint and nominate Gordon to the rank of brigadier general because the Confederate Senate last met on March 18, 1865, and Davis was captured by Union troops on May 10, 1865. Although he was only aged 40 at his death, Gordon survived the war by little more than a year.
The 1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (1863–1865) was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although Arkansas joined the Confederate States of America in 1861, not all of its citizens supported secession.
The 50th Regiment Indiana Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The Department of the Arkansas was a command echelon of the United States Army in the 19th century around the time of the American Civil War. This department was created on January 6, 1864, to consist of Arkansas, except Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fort Smith added later on April 17, 1864.
The Skirmish at Terre Noire Creek, also known as the Skirmish at Wolf Creek or Skirmish at Antoine, an engagement during the Camden Expedition of the American Civil War, was fought on April 2, 1864. The action occurred about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Terre Noire Creek along a defile near the towns of Hollywood, Arkansas and Antoine, Arkansas. A Confederate States Army cavalry brigade under Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby attacked a Union supply train of more than 200 wagons accompanying Union Army Major General Frederick Steele's force which was attempting to reach Shreveport, Louisiana to join with Major General Nathaniel Banks's force in the Red River Campaign with the objective of occupying Shreveport and controlling western Louisiana.
The 1st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment with three battalions that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865.
The 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was also known as Greene's Regiment after its commander, Colonel Colton Greene.
The Springfield Illinois Light Artillery, also known as Vaughn's Independent Illinois Battery or Battery A, 3rd Illinois Light Artillery, was an artillery battery from Illinois that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Organized in August 1862, the unit was first stationed at Bolivar, Tennessee. In August–September 1863 the battery participated in Frederick Steele's expedition to Little Rock, Arkansas, being engaged at Bayou Fourche. In spring 1864, the battery took part in the Camden Expedition, fighting at Prairie D'Ane and Jenkins' Ferry. The unit sat out the remainder of the war in Little Rock before being mustered out of service in June 1865.
The 1st Missouri Field Battery was a field artillery battery that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. As the Confederates had lost control of the state of Missouri after the Battle of Pea Ridge in early 1862, the battery was formed by Captain Westley F. Roberts in Arkansas in September as Roberts' Missouri Battery. The unit then fought in the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, as part of a Confederate offensive. Roberts' Battery withdrew after the battle and transferred to Little Rock, Arkansas, where Roberts resigned and was replaced by Lieutenant Samuel T. Ruffner.
