While researching my pile of periodicals and browsing the internet last week, I came across a very interesting topic, the Civil War, as it affected Arkansas. I began researching the Civil War in Arkansas, especially around the river valley area, and was struck by the rich texture of the events that seem to unfold right on the ground we currently walk on. If you have been in this area at any time, it is very likely that you have passed through the area where a Civil War confrontation took place. More than 600,000 men and 1 million horses died during the Civil War.
During the American Civil War, Arkansas was, (as we all know), part of the Confederate States of America. Arkansas was vital for the Confederacy to provide troops, supplies, military and political leaders for the young country.
Arkansas was primarily a rural and sparsely populated state. Its military importance was not thought to be important when the states began to separate from the Union. It wasn’t long before Federal Arsenal in Little Rock became a potential flash point. The small federal garrison was forced to evacuate after heated demands by the then-rector governor of Arkansas that the arsenal be turned over to state authority.
Before the war began in 1861, the general population of Arkansas was unwilling to separate, although Arkansas was opposed to federal treatment of secessionist states. This was evident in a referendum on the state convention passed in February 1861. Opinions changed when Lincoln decided to use federal troops against the southern rebellions. Lincoln’s decision to openly call for an attack on the southern states shifted public opinion in Arkansas toward the secessionist camp, so Arkansas declared its secession from the Union on May 6, 1861.
Arkansas was the scene of 14 battles and more than 700 conflicts during the Civil War. Arkansas had three main battle theaters, the Ozarks, Delta, and Little Rock. The Union armies soon discovered that Arkansas was a strategic asset due to its access to the Mississippi River and an apparent gateway to the southwest from Missouri.
The largest battle of the war west of the Mississippi was fought at Pea Ridge in March 1862. 26,000 soldiers participated. On the night of March 6, Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorn was determined to flank the Union position near Pea Ridge by dividing his army into two columns. Upon learning of Van Dorn’s approach, Union soldiers marched north to meet his advance on March 7. This move, compounded by the assassination of two rebel generals, Brigadier General Ben McCulloch and Brigadier General James McQueen McIntosh, and the capture of their rank colonel stopped. the rebel attack. Van Dorn led a second column to meet the Feds in the Elkhorn Tavern and Tanyard area. By nightfall, the Confederates controlled Elkhorn Tavern and the Telegraph Road. The next day, March 8, Major General Samuel R. Curtis, having regrouped and consolidated his army, counterattacked near the tavern and, using successfully his artillery, slowly forced the rebels back. Running out of ammunition, Van Dorn was forced to leave the battlefield. The Union victory shattered Confederate hopes of occupying Missouri.
In late November 1862, Confederate Major General Thomas C. Hindman separated Brigadier General John Marmaduke’s cavalry from north of Van Buren to occupy the Cane Hill area. Upon learning of this move, Union Brigadier General James Blunt advanced to fulfill Marmaduke’s command and destroy it, if possible. The Union vanguard encountered the brigade of Colonel Joe Shelby, (the undefeated Rebel Army colonel whose men included Frank and Jesse James), who fought in a delaying action to protect their supply trains. Shelby gradually gave ground to establish a strong defensive perimeter at Cove Creek where he repelled a determined attack. The Federals withdrew to Cane Hill, while the Confederates returned to Van Buren. Although fighting well, Marmaduke’s withdrawal was a setback for Hindman’s plans to take back Northwest Arkansas.
The Union victory at Prairie Grove a few weeks later solidified control of the region. In December 1862, more than 11,000 Confederates fought Union forces at Prairie Grove, in an attempt to prevent federal occupation of Fort Smith, with supplies and reinforcements running low, their efforts failed.
In January 1863, inland waterway trade was vital to both sides for the transportation of supplies and reinforcements for any battlefield engagement along the boundaries of those waterways. Northerners were determined to ensure control of the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers. They knew that controlling these waterways would undoubtedly crush a large part of the Confederacy’s ability to supply its armies. Some 30,000 Union troops slipped down the Río Blanco and attacked the rebel troops protecting the waterway. The Arkansas River was at stake when 30,000 Union soldiers overwhelmed 5,000 Confederates on high ground at a horseshoe bend in the river, known as the Arkansas Post. Subsequently, Union forces occupied Little Rock on September 10, 1863.
On September 1, 1863, Union soldiers continued their pursuit of Confederate forces that had withdrawn from Fort Smith. Union soldiers chased the rebels into the Old Jenny Lind area. The rebels turned on the Union soldiers and engaged them at the Devil’s Backbone Ridge base. The rebels ambushed the rapidly approaching Union soldiers and momentarily halted their advance. Retreating and regrouping, the Union forces, (with the help of their artillery), advanced a second time. The Confederates were unable to match the Union Army’s artillery fire, and as a result, they hastily retreated to the Waldron area and handed victory once more to the Union forces.
In the spring of 1864, 13,000 Union soldiers, under the command of Gen. Frederick Steele, headed southwest from Little Rock in an attempt to complete the Union conquest of the state of Arkansas and also to reunite with 30,000 soldiers from the Union in Shreveport, Louisiana, the headquarters of the Confederacy in the trans-Mississippi area, and finally with the intention of Marching through Texas and Louisiana. The Union Army anticipated gaining access to Texas through. Little Rock’s troops never reached their destination. During this unsuccessful campaign, the Union command reported severe and intrepid rebel resistance. Steele’s column, tormented by just 6,000 Confederates storming their supply lines or ambushing their Camden, Ark troops. Unable to move further without supplies, he returned to Little Rock. The rebel fighters proved to be superior in guerrilla warfare. Our Arkansas ancestors gained almost immediate respect for their fierce fighting prowess and expert marksmanship. The Rebs would ambush the Union soldiers, retreat, and prepare for the next ambush. They would beat up the Union soldiers again and do it all again! Union soldiers feared being invaded by the rebels. They did not take prisoners who would delay them too long.
That Confederate Army of 6,000 single-handedly returned that mighty Union Army of 13,000. The whole thing was an unfortunate failure of the Union Army. That failed Union venture is now known to be part of the Union’s Red River Champaign. The Union soldiers thought they would go through Arkansas and go straight into Texas, they were wrong.
