The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as Battle of Fort Hindman, was fought from January 9 to 11, 1863, near the mouth of the Arkansas River at Arkansas Post, Arkansas, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Confederate forces had constructed a fort known as Fort Hindman near Arkansas Post in late 1862. In December of that year, a Union force under the command of Major-General William T. Sherman left for an expedition against Vicksburg, without Major-General John A. McClernand because neither Major-Generals Henry Halleck nor Ulysses S. Grant trusted McClernand. After Sherman's force was repulsed at Chickasaw Bayou, McClernand arrived and took command from Sherman in January 1863.
The Battle of Bayou Fourche, also known as the Engagement at Bayou Fourche, was a battle of the American Civil War fought between Union and Confederate forces on September 10, 1863, in Pulaski County, Arkansas. It was the final battle of the Little Rock Campaign, resulting in the Federal occupation of Little Rock.
The Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal, also known as the Main Building of the U.S. Arsenal at Little Rock, or Headquarters Building of the Little Rock Barracks, is the home of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. It is also a part of the MacArthur Park Historic District, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, also known as the Engagement at Jenkins' Ferry, was fought on April 30, 1864, at Jenkins' Ferry, southwest of Little Rock, during the American Civil War. Although the battle ended with a Union victory, the Confederates saw it as a strategic success as they claimed to have prevented Frederick Steele from holding southwest Arkansas. Due to the chaotic nature of the battle, casualty figures vary.
The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called the Battle of Walnut Hills, fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton repulsed an advance by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman that was intended to lead to the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The Camden Expedition was the final campaign conducted by the Union Army in south Arkansas during the Civil War. The offensive was designed to cooperate with Major-General Nathaniel P. Banks' movement against Shreveport.
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 along with several other southern states seceded. For the rest of the civil war, Arkansas played a major role in controlling the Mississippi River, a major waterway.
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 19th and 24th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiment (1863–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was assembled from the portions of Dawson's 19th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and the 24th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, that were not present when the garrison of Arkansas Post surrendered. The unit is most often referred to as Hardy's Arkansas Infantry Regiment, but by the late stages of the war, the unit was simply referred to simply as Hardy's 19th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. The portions of the 19th Arkansas and the 24th Arkansas which did surrender with the garrison of Arkansas Post were ultimately released east of the Mississippi River and were also briefly designated as the 19th and 24th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiment, in Govan's Brigade of the Army of Tennessee, but that consolidation ended after the Battle of Chickamauga. The 19th and 24th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiment served in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi from its formation in February 1863 until the close of the war.
The 37th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. It was originally designated as the 29th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and was also known as 1st Trans-Mississippi Infantry Regiment. The unit served in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi from its formation in the summer of 1862 until the surrender in May 1865.
The Battle of Bayou Meto, also known as the Battle of Reed's Bridge, was fought near present-day Jacksonville, Arkansas, along the Bayou Meto River, on August 27, 1863. During the American Civil War, Union forces left Helena, Arkansas, to move against the Confederate-held state capital of Little Rock. Part of the Union command, under Brigadier General John W. Davidson, defeated Confederate cavalry commanded by Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke on August 25, in the Battle of Brownsville. After the action at Brownsville, the Confederates fell back to the Bayou Meto. Union attacks on August 27 succeeded in pushing Marmaduke's men back across the bayou, but were unable to break the Confederate line. Davidson withdrew back to Brownsville after the fighting. The Union advance resumed on September 6, and Little Rock surrendered on September 10, after the Battle of Bayou Fourche. Tensions exacerbated during the action at Bayou Meto contributed to the Marmaduke-Walker duel, during which a Confederate general was killed. In 2002, part of the battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Bayou Meto Battlefield.
The Battle of Brownsville was fought on August 25, 1863, near what is now Lonoke, Arkansas, between Union forces led by Colonel Washington Geiger and Confederate troops under Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke. Union forces commanded by Major General Frederick Steele were advancing from Helena, Arkansas, towards Little Rock, the state capital of Arkansas. Confederate Major General Sterling Price ordered cavalry led by Marmaduke and Brigadier General Lucius M. Walker to Brownsville in response to the Union advance.
The Bayou Meto Battlefield, also known as Reed's Bridge Battlefield Heritage Park, is a battlefield in Jacksonville, Arkansas. It is the location of the August 27, 1863, Battle of Bayou Meto, in which Confederate forces successfully prevented Union Army forces from crossing the Bayou Meto River during their advance to capture Little Rock.
The Skirmish at Ashley's Mill, also known as the Skirmish at Ferry Landing was a battle of the American Civil War fought between Union and Confederate forces on September 7, 1863, in Pulaski County, Arkansas.
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 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 Mississippi River was an important military highway that bordered ten states, roughly equally divided between Union and Confederate loyalties.
On September 6, 1863, near Little Rock, Arkansas, a duel was fought between John S. Marmaduke and Lucius M. Walker, two generals in the Confederate States Army. Tension had risen between the two officers during the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863, when Marmaduke accused Walker of not supporting his force, and then retaliated by not informing Walker of a Confederate retreat. Marmaduke was later assigned to serve under Walker during a Union advance against Little Rock. Walker did not support Marmaduke during a retreat after the Battle of Brownsville, and Marmaduke questioned Walker's courage after the Battle of Bayou Meto on August 27. A series of notes passed between the two generals by friends resulted in a duel, during which Marmaduke fatally wounded Walker. Marmaduke was arrested and charged with murder but was soon released, and later the charge was dropped. He survived the war and later became Governor of Missouri. Union forces captured Little Rock later in the campaign, after the Battle of Bayou Fourche.
The Little Rock Campaign, officially known as Advance of the Union forces upon Little Rock, Arkansas, was a campaign conducted by the Union Army in Arkansas during the American Civil War. The strategic offensive was designed to capture Little Rock.
The 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion, also known as Pindall's Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion, was a unit that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The battalion was formed in late 1862, in compliance with an earlier authorization by the Confederate States Congress for each brigade to have an associated battalion of sharpshooters. When first formed, the men had no unique qualifications to serve as sharpshooters and were drawn from a defunct artillery battery, a partisan rangers unit, and infantrymen. The unit's first major battle was the Battle of Prairie Grove in December 1862.
