The Battle of Bayou Fourche, also known as the Battle of Little Rock and the Engagement at Bayou Fourche, took place on September 10, 1863, in

Pulaski County, Arkansas Pulaski County is located in the U.S. state of Arkansas with a population of 399,125, making it the most populous county in Arkansas. The county is included in the Little Rock–North Little Rock– Conway metropolitan area. Its county seat is L ...

, and was the final battle of the Little Rock Campaign, also known as the Advance upon Little Rock, which began on August 1 to capture the capital.

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Major-General

Frederick Steele Frederick Steele (January 14, 1819 – January 12, 1868) was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for retaking much of secessionist Arka ...

's "Arkansas expedition," 15,000 strong, defeated

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Major-General

Sterling Price Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...

's 7,749 District of Arkansas. The Confederate forces took up defensive positions in and around the city of Little Rock. The area of the battle was bisected by the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

, with the Bayou Fourche forming an additional obstacle to the south-east of Little Rock. Steele divided his army into two main sections in order to attack from both the east and south-east. There was fierce fighting at river crossing points and, following the crossing of the Bayou Fourche to the east of the city, the "Arkansas expedition" entered Little Rock and organized Confederate resistance collapsed. Price's army was able to escape capture.

Background

On July 4, 1863,

Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to: * Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States * The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign * The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle Vicksburg is also the name of ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

– the Gibraltar of the Confederacy – fell. With the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

again, in

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's words, running "unvexed to the sea," Steele, commanding the "Arkansas Expedition," proceeded from Helena on August 10 to lead the invasion of 12,000 troops west into Arkansas. Awakening to the distant rumble of artillery September 10, the citizens of Little Rock found themselves in the vortex of the conflict.

Battle

On September 10, 1863, Steele sent a cavalry division led by Brigadier-General John W. Davidson across the

to advance on Little Rock while he moved against Confederate forces strongly entrenched on the north side of the river. In his thrust toward the state capitol, Gen. Davidson ran into Marmaduke and Walker's divisions commanded by Brigadier-General John S. Marmaduke near the Bayou Fourche. Aided by

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

from the north side of the river, Davidson forced Marmaduke out of his position and sent the defenders fleeing back to Little Rock, which fell to U.S. forces that evening.

Aftermath

C.S. Army Major-General

, commanding at Little Rock, fell back to

Arkadelphia Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderso ...

on the 14th, and eventually reestablished his command at Camp Bragg, Arkansas. Governor Harris Flanagin relocated the state capitol to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Arkansas, where it remained for the rest of the war. The fall of Little Rock to

forces after

, sealed Arkansas' fate and helped to further demoralize

citizens west of the

Battlefield preservation

The growth of Little Rock has obscured many of the sites associated with the battle and subsequent evacuation of the city. Today, several markers and monuments are located inside the Bayou Fourche Battlefield, but further expansion of

Little Rock National Airport Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport , also known as Adams Field, is a joint civil-military airport on the east side of Little Rock, Arkansas.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective December 30, 2021. It is operated by the Little Rock ...

threatens to consume additional land.

References

External links

*
Battle of Bayou Fourche
at the

Historical Marker Database The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer programmer J. J. Prats. The HMd ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayou Fourche, Battle Of 1863 in the American Civil War 1863 in Arkansas Advance on Little Rock (American Civil War) Battles of the American Civil War in Arkansas Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War History of Pulaski County, Arkansas Bayou Fourche September 1863 events Union victories of the American Civil War