Frederick Steele was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving in the Mexican-American War, the Yuma War, and 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.
The 36th Iowa Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
8th Missouri Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry unit from Missouri that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was formed between 6 August and 15 September 1862. The regiment fought at Prairie Grove and Van Buren in 1862. The unit participated in Frederick Steele's expedition to Little Rock in 1863, fighting at Brownsville, Bayou Meto, and Bayou Fourche. From 1863 to 1865, the regiment remained in Arkansas, going on expeditions to suppress Confederate raiders and other occupation duties. The unit was mustered out of service on 20 July 1865. In January 1863, the regiment committed what has become known as the Huntsville Massacre.
Benjamin Franklin Gordon, commonly known as B. Frank 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 Battle of Van Buren was fought in Crawford County, Arkansas, on December 28, 1862, during the American Civil War. After defeating Confederate forces led by Major General Thomas C. Hindman at the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, 1862, Union forces under Brigadier Generals James G. Blunt and Francis J. Herron prepared for a raid against the Confederate positions at Van Buren and Fort Smith. Disease, lack of supplies, and desertion had previously forced Hindman to begin withdrawing most of his force from the area. Setting out on December 27, the Union troops struck an outlying Confederate cavalry unit near Drippings Spring, north of Van Buren, on the morning of December 28. The Confederate cavalry fled to Van Buren, which was then overrun by Union troops.
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 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 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 12th Texas Cavalry Regiment was a unit of mounted volunteers recruited in Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was enrolled in state service in September 1861 and in Confederate service the following month. The regiment fought at Whitney's Lane, Cotton Plant, and L'Anguille Ferry in 1862, Goodrich's Landing in 1863, and Blair's Landing and Yellow Bayou in 1864. The unit also participated in numerous skirmishes and scouts. It disbanded in May 1865.
The 16th Texas Cavalry Regiment was a unit of mounted volunteers from Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was recruited in early 1862 and mustered into Confederate service in April 1862. The unit fought as cavalry at the Battle of Cotton Plant but it was dismounted in the summer of 1862. The 16th Cavalry served as infantry in Walker's Texas Division for the remainder of the war. The regiment fought at Milliken's Bend, Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Jenkins' Ferry. The unit marched to Texas in early 1865 and disbanded in May 1865.
7th Missouri Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry unit from Missouri that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was formed on 20 February 1862 by merging Bishop's Cavalry Battalion with some unattached cavalry companies. The regiment fought at Independence, Lone Jack, Prairie Grove and Van Buren in 1862. The unit participated in Frederick Steele's expedition to Little Rock in 1863, fighting at Brownsville, Ashley's Mills, and Bayou Fourche. In 1864, the regiment went on the Camden Expedition and fought at Mount Elba and Marks' Mills. The remaining soldiers were consolidated with the 1st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment on 22 February 1865.
The 1st Missouri Field Battery was a field artillery battery that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The battery was formed by Captain Westley F. Roberts in Arkansas in September 1862 as Roberts' Missouri Battery and was originally armed with two 12-pounder James rifles and two 6-pounder smoothbore guns. The unit 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.
The 8th Missouri Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. From May 1861, the war began affecting events in the state of Missouri. In 1862, Confederate recruiting activities took place in Missouri, and a cavalry regiment was formed in Oregon County, the nucleus being former members of the Missouri State Guard. On September 2, the unit entered Confederate service, but it was reclassified as infantry ten days later. After many of the men transferred to other units, the regiment was reclassified as a battalion on October 19 and named the 7th Missouri Infantry Battalion, also known as Mitchell's Missouri Infantry. It participated in a Confederate offensive at the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7. During the battle, the unit made several charges against the Union lines but was repeatedly repulsed by artillery fire. The regiment spent most of early 1863 encamped near Little Rock and Pine Bluff in Arkansas.
Nichols's Missouri Cavalry Regiment served in the Confederate States Army during the late stages of the American Civil War. The cavalry regiment began recruiting in early 1864 under Colonel Sidney D. Jackman, who had previously raised a unit that later became the 16th Missouri Infantry Regiment. The regiment officially formed on June 22 and operated against the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad through August. After joining Major General Sterling Price's command, the unit participated in Price's Raid, an attempt to create a popular uprising against Union control of Missouri and draw Union troops away from more important theaters of the war. During the raid, while under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Nichols, the regiment was part of an unsuccessful pursuit of Union troops who were retreating after the Battle of Fort Davidson in late September.
The 13th Missouri Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry unit that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. In early April 1863, Captain Robert C. Wood, aide-de-camp to Confederate Major General Sterling Price, was detached to form an artillery unit from some of the men of Price's escort. Wood continued recruiting for the unit, which was armed with four Williams guns, and grew to 275 men by the end of September. The next month, the unit fought in the Battle of Pine Bluff, driving back Union Army troops into a barricaded defensive position, from which the Union soldiers could not be dislodged. By November, the unit, which was known as Wood's Missouri Cavalry Battalion, had grown to 400 men but no longer had the Williams guns. In April 1864, Wood's battalion, which was also known as the 14th Missouri Cavalry Battalion, played a minor role in the defeat of a Union foraging party in the Battle of Poison Spring, before spending the summer of 1864 at Princeton, Arkansas. In September, the unit joined Price's Raid into the state of Missouri, but their assault during the Battle of Pilot Knob failed to capture Fort Davidson.
The 13th Texas Cavalry Regiment was a unit of mounted volunteers recruited in Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was enrolled in Confederate service in February 1862 and served exclusively west of the Mississippi River. The unit was later dismounted and became part of the Texas infantry division known as Walker's Greyhounds. The regiment fought at Milliken's Bend in 1863 and Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Jenkins' Ferry in 1864. The regiment disbanded in May 1865, but its official surrender date was 2 June 1865.
The 11th Texas Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment organized in the winter of 1861–1862 and always served west of the Mississippi River in the Trans-Mississippi Department. The unit was assigned to the 2nd Brigade of the Texas infantry division known as Walker's Greyhounds. The regiment fought at Milliken's Bend and Bayou Bourbeux in 1863 and Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Jenkins' Ferry in 1864. The regiment disbanded in mid-May 1865, but its formal surrender date was 26 May 1865.
The 28th Texas Cavalry Regiment was a unit of mounted volunteers recruited in east Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. In May 1862, the regiment entered Confederate service and served the entire war west of the Mississippi River in the region known as the Trans-Mississippi Department. The unit was soon dismounted before being assigned to the 2nd Brigade of the all-Texas infantry division known as Walker's Greyhounds. In 1863, the regiment played a secondary role at Milliken's Bend. The regiment fought in three major battles during April 1864, at Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Jenkins' Ferry. The Trans-Mississippi Department surrendered on 26 May 1865, but the survivors dispersed to their homes before that date.
The Little Rock campaign saw Union forces capture Little Rock, Arkansas during August and September 1863, as part of the American Civil War. Union forces led by Major General Frederick Steele advanced from Helena, Arkansas, beginning on August 10, before joining cavalry commanded by Brigadier General John W. Davidson at Clarendon on August 15. Steele sent Davidson to move against the Confederates, while he pulled his infantry to establish a base at DeValls Bluff. Davidson's men fought with Confederate cavalry commanded by Brigadier Generals Lucius M. Walker and John S. Marmaduke at Brownsville on August 25 and Bayou Meto on August 27 before the Confederates withdrew closer to Little Rock.
United States 
Confederate States 
Robert C. Newton 
