THE CIVIL WAR: THE TRUE STORY BOOK 1

Arkansas in the American Civil War

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 civil war, Arkansas played a major role in controlling the Mississippi River, a major waterway.  It raised 48 infantry regiments, 20 artillery batteries, and over 20 cavalry regiments for the Confederacy, mostly serving in the Western Theater, though the Third Arkansas served with distinction in the Army of Northern Virginia. Major-General Patrick Cleburne was the state's most notable military leader. The state also supplied four infantry regiments, four cavalry regiments and one artillery battery of white troops for the Union and six infantry regiments and one artillery battery of "United States Colored Troops." Numerous skirmishes as well as several significant battles were fought in Arkansas, including the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern in March 1862, a decisive one for the Trans-Mississippi Theater which ensured Union control of northern Arkansas. The state capitol at Little Rock was captured in 1863. By the end of the war, programs such as the draft, high taxes, and martial law had led to a decline in enthusiasm for the Confederate cause. Arkansas was officially readmitted to the Union in 1868.

Battles in Arkansas

The Skirmish at Adam's Bluff was a Battle that was fought between the Union army and the Confederate army in Jefferson County, Arkansas, on June 30, 1862. The result of the Battle is inconclusive.

The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as Battle of Fort Hindman, was fought from January 9 until 11, 1863, near the mouth of the Arkansas at Arkansas Post, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Although a Union victory, it did not move them any closer to Vicksburg.

The Action at Ashley's Station was a large engagement fought between Confederate States Army cavalry raiders under Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby and Union Army garrison forces under the overall command of Brigadier General Christopher Columbus Andrews and immediate commands of Colonel Greenville M. Mitchell and Colonel Washington F. Geiger in Prairie County, Arkansas on August 24, 1864 during the American Civil War. The Confederates won.

The Skirmish at Ashley's Mill, also known as the Skirmish at Ferry Landing was an engagement that was fought between Union Army and Confederate States Army cavalry regiments in Arkansas on September 7, 1863 during the American Civil War. Union Brigadier-General John W. Davidson commanding the cavalry division of the Union Army of Arkansas sent the 7th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment as his lead regiment to clear the 5th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, under the temporary command of Major John Bull while Colonel Robert C. Newton was in temporary brigade command, from its position guarding a crossing of the Arkansas River near Little Rock, Arkansas. The Union cavalry forced the Confederates to retreat which opened the route to the east of the river, leading to the Battle of Bayou Fourche on September 10, 1863 and the capture of Little Rock by the Union Army of Arkansas under the command of Major General Frederick Steele. The Confederate regiment's casualties were 1 killed, 3 wounded and 2 captured while the Union regiment reported no casualties.

The Battle of Bayou Fourche, also known as Engagement at Bayou Fourche or Battle of Little Rock, was a minor conflict of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Little Rock Campaign. It was fought on September 10, 1863, in Pulaski County, Arkansas, near the Bayou Fourche (present-day Little Rock), and was the culmination of a month-long offensive launched by U.S. Army Major-General Frederick Steele on August 1, 1863, to capture the capital of Arkansas. The campaign included engagements at West Point, Harrison's Landing, Brownsville, Bayou Meto, and Ashley's Mills.

The Skirmish of Brownsville (August 25, 1863) was an engagement fought in present-day Lonoke County, Arkansas, during the American Civil War.

The Battle of Cane Hill (also known as the Engagement at Cane Hill) was fought during the American Civil War on November 28, 1862, in northwestern Arkansas, near the town of Cane Hill. Union troops under Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt had entered northwestern Arkansas, and Major General Thomas Hindman of the Confederate Army sent a force under John S. Marmaduke to Cane Hill to intercept Blunt. Blunt attacked on November 28, and quickly broke Marmaduke's first line. An effective rear guard action by Joseph O. Shelby allowed the Confederates to form a second position on Reed's Mountain, but Blunt also broke this line, with the help of his artillery. Blunt's Union troops pursued the retreating Confederates, and darkness ended the action. The battle set the stage for the Battle of Prairie Grove, which occurred the next month.