Little Rock campaign

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Coordinates: 34°43′19″N 92°12′05″W / 34.72194°N 92.20139°W / 34.72194; -92.20139
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Little Rock campaign
Part of the American Civil War
Operational scopeStrategic offensive
Location
Central Arkansas

34°43′19″N 92°12′05″W / 34.72194°N 92.20139°W / 34.72194; -92.20139
Commanded byUnited States Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele
ObjectiveCapture of Little Rock
DateAugust 1 – September 14, 1863
Executed by"Arkansas Expedition"
OutcomeUnion victory
Little Rock is located in Arkansas
Little Rock
Little Rock
Location of Little Rock within Arkansas

The Little Rock Campaign (August 1 – September 14, 1863), 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 offensive was designed to capture Little Rock.

Union forces led by Major 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.

The overall Confederate commander, Major General

killed Walker in a duel on September 6, and Davidson's men drove Confederate cavalry commanded by Robert C. Newton across the Arkansas River in a skirmish at Ashley's Mills. On September 10, Davidson's men crossed the Arkansas River while the Union infantry moved along the north bank of the river. While Marmaduke and Davidson fought the Battle of Bayou Fourche later that day, Price had Little Rock abandoned; the Confederates were out of the city by 5:00 pm. With the fall of Little Rock, the Union controlled most of Arkansas. The failed Camden Expedition in March 1864 was the last major Union offensive in Arkansas, and Price's Missouri Expedition in late 1864 was the last major campaign in the region. Confederate troops in the Trans-Mississippi Department
surrendered on June 2, 1865.

Overview

Little Rock campaign is located in Arkansas
Brownsville
Brownsville
Little Rock
Little Rock
Helena
Helena
class=notpageimage|
Locations of Little Rock, Helena, and Brownsville within Arkansas

After the American Civil War opened with

Samuel R. Curtis moved across Arkansas with his troops, and for a time threatened the state capitol of Little Rock.[3] Running out of supplies, the Union troops abandoned efforts against Little Rock and pushed east, for a while without a direct supply line, to Helena, Arkansas, which they captured on July 12.[4]

Confederate troops commanded by Lieutenant General

John W. Davidson moved south from Pilot Knob, Missouri, and reached Wittsburg, Arkansas on July 28, where they were able to make contact with the troops in Helena.[8] Steele had 7,000 total infantry and cavalry, along with five artillery batteries, in Helena, while Davidson commanded 6,000 cavalry.[9] On July 23, with Holmes ill and bedridden, Confederate command fell to Major General Sterling Price. Price theoretically had about 32,000 men in the military district, but only about 14,500 had been present for duty before Helena, and Price later noted that only about 8,000 men were actually available to him during the campaign.[10]

Expecting a Union offensive,

White River, which could prevent his retreat.[13] After Walker abandoned Clarendon, Davidson's men occupied the city.[14]

Opposing forces

Confederate

The following Confederate States Army units and commanders fought in the Little Rock campaign.

Abbreviations used

Military rank
  • LTG =
    Lieutenant General
  • MG =
    Major General
  • BG =
    Brigadier General
  • Col = Colonel
  • Ltc =
    Lieutenant Colonel
  • Maj = Major
  • Cpt =
    Captain
Other
  • w = wounded
  • mw = mortally wounded
  • k = killed

District of Arkansas

MG Sterling Price[15][16]

Division Brigade Regiments and others

Price's Division
     BG

James F. Fagan[17]

     BG Daniel M. Frost[18][19]

First Brigade


   BG Dandridge McRae

Second Brigade


   BG James F. Fagan

Third Brigade


   BG

James C. Tappan[21]

Returned to Little Rock, from Louisiana, August 20, 1863, held in reserve south of Arkansas River.

Fourth Brigade


   BG

Mosby M. Parsons
Frost's Brigade, a.k.a. Clark's Brigade


   Col

John B. Clark[23]

Moved from Fort Pleasant at Pine Bluff and joining Little Rock Defenses on August 17, 1863.

  • 19th/24th Arkansas – Col William R. Hardy
  • 8th Missouri Infantry Regiment – Col Charles S. Mitchell
  • John B. Clark
  • Musser's Missouri Battalion
  • Ruffner's Missouri Battery
    – Cpt Samuel T. Ruffner
  • Missouri Battery – Cpt Benjamin von Phul

Walker's Division
     BG Lucius M. Walker

Dobbins's Arkansas Cavalry Brigade


   Col Archibald S. Dobbins[24]
   Col Robert C. Newton

Carter's Texas Cavalry Brigade


   Col George W. Carter[25]

  • 21st Texas Cavalry Regiment – Ltc
    DeWitt C. Giddings
  • Morgan's Texas Cavalry Battalion – Maj Charles L. Morgan
  • Denson's Squadron – Cpt William B. Denson
  • Johnson's Spy Company – Cpt Alfred Johnson
  • Tenth Texas Field Battery – Cpt Joseph H. Pratt

Marmaduke's Division
     BG John S. Marmaduke

Shelby's Iron Brigade


   BG

Jo Shelby[26]

   Col Benjamin F. Gordon

  • 2nd Missouri Cavalry (Jean's) – Cpt Robert H. Adams
  • 5th Missouri Cavalry – Ltc
    B. Frank Gordon
  • 6th Missouri Cavalry – Col Gideon W. Thompson
  • 1st Missouri Cavalry Battalion – Maj Benjamin Elliott
  • Bledsoe's Missouri Battery – Cpt Joseph Bledsoe
Second Brigade


   Col William L. Jeffers[27]

  • 3rd Missouri Cavalry – Ltc Leonidas C. Campbell
  • 4th Missouri Cavalry – Ltc William J. Preston
  • Kitchen's Missouri Cavalry – Col Solomon G. Kitchen
  • 8th Missouri Cavalry – Ltc Samuel J. Ward
  • 1st Missouri Cavalry Battalion – Ltc Merritt L. Young
  • Bell's Missouri Battery – Cpt Charlie O. Bell

The campaign

Early maneuvers

Steele's men left Helena on August 10 and 11.

Albert Castel suggests that the primary purpose of the expedition was political, with the goal of installing a competing pro-Union government at Little Rock.[28] On August 12, Davidson sent out a joint army-Union Navy expedition to gather information about Price's army, destroy a Confederate telegraph station, and capture two Confederate ships.[29] This affair saw the first fighting of the campaign the next day:[30] the gunboat USS Cricket was able to capture the two Confederate steamers. Although Confederate cavalry attacked the expedition, it was able to return safely[31] with casualties of two men killed and six wounded.[30] The Confederates reported having seven or eight men wounded.[32] As Davidson's men advanced, they fought a minor skirmish with Confederate cavalry on August 16.[33] Davidson sent out the 13th Illinois Cavalry Regiment that same day, which routed Confederate cavalry commanded by Robert C. Newton 8 miles (13 km) from Clarendon on August 17.[34]

Steele's men suffered during their march to Clarendon from heat, heavy dust, and contaminated water. They began to reach Clarendon on August 15, but conditions there were not much better.[35] Within two days, over a thousand of Steele's men were sick.[11] On August 22, Steele sent Davidson towards Little Rock with his cavalry, while Steele and the infantry moved beginning on the next day to set up an operations hub at DeValls Bluff, which was hoped to be a healthier area.[36] Meanwhile, Price removed Fagan from command and replaced him with Brigadier-General Daniel M. Frost.[37] He also grouped Walker's and Marmaduke's cavalry together, under the command of the former. This exacerbated tensions between Walker and Marmaduke, which had formed during the fighting at Helena.[38]

Brownsville and Bayou Meto

Wartime image of Price

Walker and Marmaduke formed a plan where Walker and some of his men would hold back in a woodline west of Brownsville, while Marmaduke would try to use a

rear guard to draw the Union troops into an ambush.[39] On August 25, the plan culminated in the Battle of Brownsville, the first significant fighting during the campaign.[38] During the battle, Marmaduke fought against Davidson with about 1,300 men badly outnumbered men.[40] After being driven back, Marmaduke's men attempted to form a new line, but were forced to retreat again. Walker's men never entered the fighting, which further strained his relationship with Marmaduke.[41] The Confederates then withdrew to Bayou Meto,[33] while Davidson's men stopped at Brownsville to wait for the infantry to arrive.[39] The Confederates defended Reed's Bridge over Bayou Meto, which was about 12 miles (19 km) from Little Rock.[40]

Price began to doubt that Little Rock could be defended, so he had supplies transferred to Arkadelphia and started preparations for the evacuation of the city.[33] Union captures of Fort Smith, Arkansas and Monroe, Louisiana had already disrupted Confederate communications to the south and west.[42] Minor skirmishing occurred on August 26 as Davidson sent patrols to scout the Confederate position at Bayou Meto and Shallow Ford further to the south.[43] Davidson's cavalry attacked Confederate position the next day, bringing on the Battle of Bayou Meto.[40] Union troops drove Confederate skirmishers back across the bayou, and the Confederates burned Reed's Bridge, the only nearby crossing. Union cavalry made more advances, likely to rescue the wounded, but most of the rest of the fighting was an artillery duel. A Confederate unit, Bell's Missouri Battery, was wrecked during the action, leading Marmaduke to group all his artillery together with the aim of retaliating against the Union guns with concentrated fire.[44] The Confederate right was weak, but was not strongly attacked. That night, the Union troops withdrew to Brownsville, and the Confederates to within 5 miles (8.0 km) of Little Rock. The fighting on August 27 cost the Union seven men killed and 38 wounded, while Confederate losses were not reported.[45] Castel believes that by not making a stronger stand at Bayou Meto, Price lost his best chance to defeat Steele.[42]

Crossing the Arkansas

Davidson in uniform

The next several days saw little fighting. Davidson had a detachment scout down the road to Shallow Ford on August 29,[46] and the next day, Davidson's advance guard skirmished with some of Newton's Confederate cavalry.[47] More skirmishing between Davidson's men and Newton's command occurred on August 31, but Newton withdrew most of his men to Ashley's Mills on September 1. The brigade of Colonel James M. True had joined Steele on August 30,[48] bringing the total Union strength to about 15,000 men.[47] Steele arrived at Brownsville with the infantry on the next day; the Union forces spent the next three days scouting.[49] Price had fewer than 8,000 men with which to defend Little Rock; about 6,500 were in the fortifications across the river and the rest were mainly cavalry with Walker guarding river crossings south of the city.[47]

On September 6, the Union troops crossed Bayou Meto at Shallow Ford and began moving towards Ashley's Mills to cross the Arkansas River there, a route that would bypass Price's fortifications.

outflank the Confederate fortifications, while the infantry would move along the north bank of the Arkansas River. Two brigades, including True's, would remain at Brownsville to guard supplies.[53] On the morning of September 10, Etter's Arkansas Battery attempted to contest Davidson's crossing at Terry's Ferry, but Davidson's artillery silenced the guns, and the crossing was completed without major difficulties. Davidson also made a feint at a ford further downstream.[54]

Evacuation of Little Rock

With Union forces across the Arkansas River, Price withdrew his men from their entrenchments on the northern side, and began to evacuate the city,

James Tappan to Dobbins's support.[57] Dobbins's men made a fighting retreat 5 miles (8 km) back to Bayou Fourche, where they prepared to make a stand. Marmaduke took command of the Confederate forces at Bayou Meto, but Dobbins refused to take orders from him because of the death of Walker. Marmaduke had Dobbins arrested, but Price quickly released him.[58] Union troops advanced against Marmaduke's line, and the ensuing Battle of Bayou Fourche was the heaviest fighting of the campaign.[59]

As Davidson's men approached, they were separated into two wings by the bayou, with the right commanded by Colonel

Pratt's Texas Battery; Union artillery was brought up to fire on Pratt's battery, but was ineffective.[61] The two Union brigades were disjointed, and Merrill found his right flank exposed to Confederate fire. Glover and Merrill made advances, but did not cooperate with each other. Later in the fighting, the Union artillery with the infantry on the far side of the river was able to fire into the Confederate position.[62]

The action at Bayou Fourche cost the Union seven men killed and sixty-four wounded.[63] No fighting occurred north of the Arkansas River, although two Union artillerymen serving a battery accompanying the infantry were wounded by an accidental explosion. Price's men burned bridges, railroad equipment, and the gunboat CSS Pontchartrain.[64] The last of the Confederates were out of the city by 5:00 pm, and Little Rock's civilian government surrendered the city to the Union two hours later. The Confederates fell back to Arkadelphia;[63] Merrill led two brigades on a halfhearted pursuit on September 11.[65] An attempt to resume the pursuit the next day found that the Confederate rear guard had gotten away. Steele criticized Merrill's handling of the retreat.[66] Union troops captured five cannons, 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of gunpowder, and many cartridges in the city. Steele's losses were 18 men killed, 118 wounded, and one man missing; the Confederates reported 12 men killed, 34 wounded, and 18 captured or missing although this figure is based on incomplete reporting and the true number is higher.[67] Both sides's figures exclude deaths due to disease, and the Confederates abandoned 650 sick and wounded in Little Rock.[68] Many Confederate troops deserted during the retreat;[69] historian Carl Moneyhon estimates the number of desertions as 1,900.[70]

Aftermath

Historian Mark Christ states that Steele "achieved a remarkable victory" and states that the only criticism of Steele's campaign was his failure to strongly pursue. Christ also quotes historian

E. Kirby Smith, the Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department supported Price's decision to withdraw, as he considered keeping the army intact more important than holding Little Rock.[77]

Steele placed Davidson in command of the defense of the city, ordered the construction of defensive positions south of the city, had

Trans-Mississippi Theater.[86] Confederate forces in the region surrendered on June 2, 1865.[87] A series of eight sites from the campaign were later preserved and grouped together as the Little Rock Campaign Tour.[88]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 12–13.
  2. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 18–22.
  3. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 22–24.
  4. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 26–28.
  5. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 175–176.
  6. ^ DeBlack 1994, p. 89.
  7. ^ Christ 2010, p. 155.
  8. ^ Huff 1963, p. 225.
  9. ^ a b Huff 1963, p. 227.
  10. ^ Huff 1963, p. 226.
  11. ^ a b c DeBlack 1994, p. 90.
  12. ^ Huff 1963, pp. 226–227.
  13. ^ Kerby 1972, p. 227.
  14. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 150–151.
  15. Theophilus H. Holmes
    being absent, sick
  16. ^ "The Division-Defending Little Rock-August 25-Sep.10,1863" by Timothy W Burford & Stephanie McBride.1999 and 2000.
  17. ^ Until August 17, 1863, when Frost's Brigade joined the Division
  18. ^ Assumed Command August 17, 1863, by General Orders No.11
  19. ^ OR Series 1, Vol.22, Part 2 p.969, Accessed 23 July 2013 at Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?page=1;md=read;id=28394
  20. ^ vice Col Samuel S. Bell, captured at Helena)
  21. ^ War Dept, United States (1888). "The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies".
  22. ISBN 978-1-55728-870-7
    .
  23. ^ Taylor, Doyle, "Re: Aug/Sep 1863 – CS Order of Battle" Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 5/13/2004, Accessed 23 July 2013, http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?md=read;id=7340
  24. ^ relieved 10 September 1863
  25. ^ PARSONS'S BRIGADE, The Handbook of Texas, accessed 23 July 2013, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qkp01
  26. ^ ill until Sept. 10th
  27. ^ vice Col Colton Greene
  28. ^ Castel 1993, p. 154.
  29. ^ Christ 2010, p. 151.
  30. ^ a b Huff 1963, p. 228.
  31. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 151–153.
  32. ^ Christ 2010, p. 153.
  33. ^ a b c Huff 1963, p. 229.
  34. ^ Christ 2010, p. 154.
  35. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 156–158.
  36. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 160, 162.
  37. ^ Huff 1963, pp. 229–230.
  38. ^ a b Christ 2010, p. 162.
  39. ^ a b Christ 2010, p. 164.
  40. ^ a b c DeBlack 1994, p. 91.
  41. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 162–165.
  42. ^ a b Castel 1993, p. 155.
  43. ^ Christ 2010, p. 165.
  44. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 166–169.
  45. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 169–170.
  46. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 170–171.
  47. ^ a b c Huff 1963, p. 231.
  48. ^ Christ 2010, p. 171.
  49. ^ DeBlack 1994, p. 92.
  50. ^ Christ 2010, p. 173.
  51. ^ Huff 1963, p. 232.
  52. ^ Christ 2010, p. 175.
  53. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 175–176.
  54. ^ Huff 1963, pp. 233–234.
  55. ^ DeBlack 1994, pp. 93–94.
  56. ^ Castel 1993, p. 156.
  57. ^ Christ 2010, p. 179.
  58. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 197–180.
  59. ^ Huff 1963, p. 234.
  60. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 180–181.
  61. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 182–184.
  62. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 184–186.
  63. ^ a b DeBlack 1994, p. 94.
  64. ^ Christ 2010, p. 188.
  65. ^ Huff 1963, p. 235.
  66. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 193–194.
  67. ^ Huff 1963, pp. 235–236.
  68. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 194–195.
  69. ^ DeBlack 1994, pp. 94–95.
  70. ^ Christ 2010, p. 195.
  71. ^ Christ 2010, p. 196.
  72. ^ Castel 1993, p. 160.
  73. ^ Kerby 1972, p. 229.
  74. ^ Huff 1963, pp. 236–237.
  75. ^ Christ 2010, p. 194.
  76. ^ Cutrer 2017, p. 267.
  77. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 195–196.
  78. ^ Kerby 1972, pp. 231–232.
  79. ^ Kerby 1972, p. 233.
  80. ^ Kerby 1972, pp. 233–236.
  81. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 233.
  82. ^ Shea 1982, pp. 318–319.
  83. ^ Shea 1982, pp. 321–322.
  84. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 274–275.
  85. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 275.
  86. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 380–386.
  87. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 438.
  88. ^ Schnelder, Jack (August 20, 2019). "Arkansas Sightseeing: Civil War history marked along trail". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2022.

Bibliography

External links
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