Battle of Middle Boggy Depot

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The Battle of Bayou Fourche took place on September 10, 1863, in Pulaski County, Arkansas, and was the final battle of the Little Rock campaign. Union Major General Frederick Steele's had begun an advance from Helena, Arkansas, towards Little Rock in August. The Union campaign met little resistance aside from the Battle of Bayou Meto, while Confederate troops under Major General Sterling Price built fortifications across the Arkansas River from Little Rock. To avoid a direct assault on Price's fortifications, Steele split his command. Steele and the infantry advanced along the north bank of the Arkansas River, while Brigadier General John W. Davidson and the Union cavalry crossed the Arkansas River using a pontoon bridge. On the morning of September 10, Davidson's cavalry crossed the river and drove back a Confederate cavalry force commanded by Colonel Archibald Dobbins. Dobbins's men fell back to Bayou Fourche, where Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke took command of the Confederate forces. Davidson's men advanced with troops on both sides of Bayou Fourche. After some fighting, the Confederates were driven back on the north side of the bayou and forced to retreat. Price had earlier decided to abandon Little Rock, and the city fell to the Union forces.

Background

By the beginning of 1863, Union forces during the American Civil War occupied the city of Helena, Arkansas, and had won multiple major victories in northwestern Arkansas. However, control of the Arkansas River remained in Confederate hands.[1] On January 11, 1863, Union forces captured Confederate-held Fort Hindman on the Arkansas River in the Battle of Arkansas Post.[2] After the victory at Arkansas Post, the Union troops involved participated in the Vicksburg campaign, rather than a push up the Arkansas River.[3] Additional Union troops were also shifted from Arkansas to the operations against Vicksburg.[4] Confederate forces in Arkansas decided to attempt to draw off some of the pressure on Vicksburg with an assault on Helena.[5] The ensuing Battle of Helena was a bloody Confederate repulse on July 4. Vicksburg surrendered the same day.[6]

The fall of Vicksburg freed up Union troops for an offensive against the Arkansas River Valley and Little Rock,[7] the state capital.[8] Defending the region was the Confederate District of Arkansas, which was under the command of the ill Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes, who turned command over to Major General Sterling Price on July 23. On paper, the Confederates had about 32,000 men in the district, but only 14,500 had been present for duty before Helena,[9] where the Confederates suffered over 1,600 casualties.[10] Expecting an assault, Price repositioned his forces and began building fortifications across the Arkansas River from Little Rock.[11]

Union cavalry commanded by Brigadier General John W. Davidson moved out from Wittsburg on August 1, reaching Clarendon on August 9.[12] Another Union force, composed of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, left Helena on August 11, under the command of Major General Frederick Steele. Steele's command numbered about 7,000 men, and Davidson's about 6,000.[13] The Union units suffered badly from disease,[14] but met only minor resistance with the exception of the August 27 Battle of Bayou Meto.[15] After a pause beginning of September 2, the Union forces resumed their advance on September 6, reaching the Arkansas River the next day and winning the Skirmish at Ashley's Mills.[16] Steele decided not to directly assault Price's fortifications on the north side of the Arkansas River, instead planning on having his infantry advance along the north bank of the river while Davidson and the cavalry crossed the Arkansas River and outflanked the Confederates.[17] Construction of a pontoon bridge across the river began on September 9.[15]

Battle

Map of Bayou Fourche Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.
Bayou Fourche Battlefield

The Confederate cavalry across the river was greatly outnumbered by Davidson's men, and were forced to thinly guard a long line of potential crossing sites[17] with only about 1,200 men.[18] On the morning of September 10 at about daybreak, Confederate cannons from Etter's Arkansas Battery and part of Pratt's Texas Battery fired on the pontoon bridge, but were driven off by Union artillery fire.[19] Confederate sharpshooters kept up fire on the bridge, but it was completed at about 10:00 am. Davidson feinted at another crossing about 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream, and drove the sharpshooters away with two infantry regiments and artillery fire.[20] By 11:00 am, Davidson's division was across the river. At around this same time, Price began withdrawing his men from the fortications across the river from Little Rock.[21] At this stage of the campaign, Price had 7,749 men present for duty although only about 1,250 of them were opposing Davidson. Both wings of Steele's force combined to 10,477 men.[22]

Davidson's division consisted of three brigades,[23] with those of Colonels John Montgomery Glover and Lewis Merrill in the advance.[15] These two brigades numbered about 2,000 men.[24] Glover's men were first the advance, driving back Confederate cavalry which was commanded by Colonel Archibald Dobbins.[22][15] Dobbins's men were driven back to Bayou Fourche,[25] where 500 men commanded by Colonel Robert C. Newton were ordered by Dobbins to make a stand.[26] This position was a few miles from Little Rock.[27] Price reinforced Dobbins with men from the division of Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke's division.[25] Marmaduke had recently killed Dobbins's former commanding officer, Brigadier General Lucius M. Walker, in the Marmaduke-Walker duel; Dobbins refused to serve under Marmaduke and was placed under arrest by the latter although he was soon freed by Price. Newton temporarily took command of Dobbins's division.[28]

Map of the battle from Glover's report

The road the Union soldiers were traveling on forked near where Bayou Fourche entered the Arkansas River. Glover sent the 10th Illinois Cavalry Regiment on the right (north) fork, while the 1st Iowa Cavalry Regiment deployed on the left (south) fork. When Merrill arrived, his brigade was ordered on the southern fork. The terrain around the northern fork was wooded and was defended by three regiments and a battalion from Marmaduke's division under the command of Colonel William Jeffers.[29] Jeffers's units included the 8th Missouri Cavalry Regiment and Greene's Missouri Cavalry Regiment and were veteran troops.[18] To the south were Newton's Confederates; this part of the battlefield included a cornfield in front of the Confederate lines.[29] Newton's force was a mixture of Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, and Louisiana troops.[18] The Confederates were positioned behind a levee.[15] Merrill advanced the 8th Missouri Cavalry Regiment, which found the 1st Iowa engaged with the Confederates.[30] The 7th Missouri Cavalry Regiment of Merrill's brigade was detached to support an artillery battery and did not participate in the battle.[18] Glover sent the 10th Illinois forward, along with Lovejoy's Missouri Battery, but the cavalry was repulsed after driving back Confederate skirmishers.[18] Lovejoy's battery was left without support and was overrun by a charge made by Jeffers's men.[31]

Glover changed his tactics and had the 10th Illinois and 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment fight dismounted, and he also had the 1st Iowa brought over from the other side of the bayou. After the battle, Glover claimed to have suggested to Merrill a plan to envelope the Confederate position by having Merrill drive into the Confederate rear on the levee, but Merrill made no mention of such a meeting with Glover in his reports.[32] While Glover slowly pushed Jeffers back,[15] Merrill advanced his men but came under fire from Pratt's battery. Part of the 25th Ohio Battery was deployed to counter the Confederate artillery fire, but the Ohio battery's fire produced little effect and the battery was withdrawn.[33] Bayou Fourche created communications problems for Glover and Merrill; at one point Merill's men came under fire from their rear and Merrill feared that his position was being flanked. Instead, after investigation, the fire turned out to be overshots from Glover's fight with Jeffers.[34]

At around 1:00 pm, Shelby's Iron Brigade reinforced the Confederate, under the command of Colonel Gideon W. Thompson. However, they came under enfilade fire from Steele's artillery across the river.[35] Confederate infantry reinforcements also arrived. Glover's men broke through the Confederate line,[15] and swept into the rear of Newton's position; the Confederates withdrew.[25] Glover accused Merrill's men of advancing too cautiously, while Merrill claimed that his brigade's slow advance had been due to unfamiliarity with the terrain of the battlefield.[36] The Union lost 72 men during the battle; Confederate losses are not known.[15]

Aftermath

Price had ordered Little Rock abandoned after he learned that Davidson had crossed the river. Bridges, train cars, and the gunboat CSS Pontchartrain were destroyed during the Confederate retreat. Glover's men began a pursuit from Bayou Fourche to Little Rock, but were too fatigued to make it to the city, with Davidson's third brigade under Colonel John Ritter along with the 1st Iowa finishing the movement into Little Rock. Both Davidson's cavalry and Steele's infantry met little resistance from the Confederates.[37] The state government relocated to Washington, Arkansas, and Price fell back to Arkadelphia. The Union captured the Confederate arsenal in Little Rock, as well as five abandoned cannons.[38] The Confederate troops were especially demoralized by the fall of the city,[39] and many Confederate soldiers deserted after the campaign.[18] Much of the Bayou Fourche battlefield has been subject to development in the post-war growth of Little Rock.[40] The Little Rock National Airport is near the site of the battlefield.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ DeBlack 1994, p. 59.
  2. ^ DeBlack 2003, pp. 79–81.
  3. ^ Christ 2010, p. 94.
  4. ^ Christ 2010, p. 102.
  5. ^ DeBlack 1994, pp. 74–75.
  6. ^ DeBlack 1994, p. 84.
  7. ^ Huff 1963, pp. 224–225.
  8. ^ Christ 2010, p. 6.
  9. ^ Huff 1963, p. 226.
  10. ^ Christ 2010, p. 139.
  11. ^ Huff 1963, pp. 226–227.
  12. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 150–151.
  13. ^ Huff 1963, p. 227.
  14. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 156–157.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i Christ, Mark K. (December 21, 2023). "Engagement at Bayou Fourche". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  16. ^ DeBlack 1994, p. 92.
  17. ^ a b Christ 2010, p. 176.
  18. ^ a b c d e f "Fourche Bayou Battlefield". Division of Arkansas Heritage. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  19. ^ Christ 2010, p. 178.
  20. ^ Huff 1963, pp. 233–234.
  21. ^ DeBlack 1994, pp. 93–94.
  22. ^ a b Christ 2010, p. 179.
  23. ^ DeBlack 1994, p. 93.
  24. ^ Moneyhon 2021, p. 412.
  25. ^ a b c Huff 1963, p. 234.
  26. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 179–180.
  27. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 233.
  28. ^ Christ 2010, p. 180.
  29. ^ a b Christ 2010, pp. 180–181.
  30. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 180–182.
  31. ^ Christ 2010, p. 182.
  32. ^ Christ 2010, p. 183.
  33. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 183–184.
  34. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 184–186.
  35. ^ Christ 2010, p. 186.
  36. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 186–187.
  37. ^ Christ 2010, pp. 187–188.
  38. ^ Huff 1963, p. 235.
  39. ^ DeBlack 2003, pp. 96–97.
  40. ^ "Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields: State of Arkansas" (PDF). American Battllefield Protection Program. 2010. p. 16. Retrieved March 18, 2024.

Sources

  • Christ, Mark K. (2010). Civil War Arkansas 1863: The Battle for a State. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-4433-7.
  • DeBlack, Thomas A. (1994). "1863: "We Must Stand or Fall Alone"". In Christ, Mark K. (ed.). Rugged and Sublime: The Civil War in Arkansas. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1-55728-356-7.
  • DeBlack, Thomas A. (2003). With Fire and Sword: Arkansas, 1861–1874. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1-55728-740-6.
  • Huff, Leo E. (1963). "The Union Expedition Against Little Rock, August–September, 1863". Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 22 (3): 224–237. doi:10.2307/40007662. JSTOR 40007662.
  • Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
  • Moneyhon, Carl H. (2021). "The Battle of Helena, the Little Rock Campaign, and the Capture of Fort Smith, 1863". In Foote, Lorien; Hess, Earl J. (eds.). The Oxford Handbooks of the American Civil War. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 405–420. ISBN 978-0-190-90305-3.

Further reading

  • Burford, Timothy Wayne, and Stephanie Gail McBride. The Division: Defending Little Rock, August 25–September 10, 1863. Jacksonville, AR: WireStorm Publishing, 1999.
  • Christ, Mark K. "Here in the Wilds of Arkansas: Interpreting the 1863 Little Rock Campaign". MLS thesis, University of Oklahoma, 2000.
  • Huff, Leo E. "The Last Duel in Arkansas: The Marmaduke-Walker Duel". Arkansas Historical Quarterly 23 (Spring 1964): 36–49.
  • "'The Sting of Being an Exile': The Little Rock Campaign of 1863". Pulaski County Historical Review 61 (Spring 2013): 34–47.

External links