Download Arkansas in the Civil War

About 5,000 slaves lived in Arkansas in 1836, the year of statehood. On the eve of
the Civil War, Arkansas had more than 111,000 slaves, a fourth of the state’s
population.
1997 SPRING
CIVIL WAR ARKANSAS
PAGE 2
« Back to 1997 Spring Issue Articles
About This Issue: Civil War Was a War of Brothers
All of this issue of The Arkansas News is about Arkansas in the Civil War, from 1861 to
1865.
It was a terrible time for Arkansans and for all Americans. Few probably knew exactly
why the war had started, and no one had expected how long and difficult the war would
be. There was remarkable bravery, and there was almost unbelievable horror.
In Arkansas, it was truly a "war of brothers." Although most Arkansans supported the
Confederacy, a sizable number of both black and white Arkansans supported the Union
side. For much of the war, part of the state was held by the Confederacy and part was
held by the Union. Neither governed much beyond their own army camps, so some
lawless people ran wild. Innocent and law-abiding people suffered from "bushwhackers"
or jayhawkers," claiming to be supporters of one side or the other but mostly just thieves.
But the war finally ended, and it settled two important things. The United States was one
country, indivisible. And in the United States, one person could not hold another person
in slavery.
The wounds of war, in people’s bodies and their minds, healed up soon enough, and the
country was left with stories it never tires of hearing. Here in this issue are a few, for you.
Chronological List of Arkansas Civil War Events
To help our readers organize the events of the Civil War, here is a list of major
events by year. The events in italics, like this, occurred in Arkansas or are about
Arkansans, and most of them are covered in stories in this edition of the newspaper.
The other events happened at other places at the same time.
1860
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November 6: Lincoln elected president of the U.S.
December 20: South Carolina secedes from the Union.
1861
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January 28: Telegraph line completed from Memphis to Little Rock
February 4: Confederate States of America founded.
March 4: Arkansas convention meets, rejects secession. Lincoln inaugurated as
president of U.S.
April 14: Fort Sumter in South Carolina surrenders after Confederate bombardment
May 6: Arkansas convention reassembles, votes for secession
July 21: First battle of Bull Run, Virginia
1862
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February 646: Federal troops capture Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee
March 7-8: Battle of Pea Ridge or Elkhorn Tavern, near Rogers
April 6-7: Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee
June 6: Federals capture Memphis, Tennessee
June 26-July 1: Seven Days Battle, Virginia
September 16-17: Battle of Antietam, Maryland
September 22: Lincoln issues preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
December 7: Battle of Prairie Grove, near Fayetteville
December13: Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia
1863
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January 10-11: Federal capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas Post
May 1-4: Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia
July 1-3: Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
July 4: Confederate attack on Helena fails. Federal forces capture Vicksburg,
Mississippi
September 10: Federal army occupies Little Rock; state government moves to
Washington
September 19-20: Battle of Chickamauga, Tennessee
1864
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January 8: David 0. Dodd executed as a Confederate spy
April 8-9: Defeat of Federal Red River expedition
April 18: Isaac Murphy takes office as Union governor of Arkansas
April 18-30: Steele’s campaign in South Arkansas; engagements at Poison Spring
(near Camden), Marks Mill (near Fordyce), and Jenkins’ Ferry (near Sheridan)
May 5-18: Battles of Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Virginia
June 1-3: Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia
September 2: Federal troops capture Atlanta, Georgia
September 22-October 2: Arkansas Confederate state government in session at
Washington
September 20-October 28: Price’s expedition to Missouri
November 30: Battle of Franklin in Tennessee; death of Pat Cleburne
1865
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April 2: Federal army occupies Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia
April 9: Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia
April 15: Lincoln dies
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May 24: Skirmish near Monticello, the last military action in Arkansas
May 26: Confederate armies west of the Mississippi River surrender
After a divided Arkansas seceded from the Union in 1861, it became a strategic target for both
North and South because of its location on the Mississippi River and its role as a gateway to
the Southwest. Included among the state's more than 750 military engagements were a
number of major conflicts.
The war's largest battle west of the Mississippi was fought at Pea Ridge in March 1862.
Participating were some 26,000 soldiers. The Union victory dashed Confederate hopes of
occupying Missouri.
In December, 1862, more than 11,000 Confederates battled Union forces at Prairie Grove in a
failed attempt to prevent federal occupation of Fort Smith.
Photo Facts
Sunset at Pea Ridge National Military Park
The control of Arkansas River commerce was at stake when 30,000 Union troops overwhelmed
5,000 Confederates at Arkansas Post in January 1863, while control of the Mississippi figured
in the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863.
Union forces occupied Little Rock on Sept. 10, 1863, despite numerous skirmishes. The state's
Confederate government moved its capital to the town of Washington.
In the spring of 1864, 13,000 federal troops headed southwest from Little Rock in an attempt
to complete the Union conquest of the state. That failed venture is now known as the Red
River Campaign.