On September 10, 1863, Maj. Gen. Fred Steele, Army of Arkansas commander, sent Brig. Gen. John W. Davidson's cavalry division across the Arkansas River to move on Little Rock, while he took other troops to attack Confederates entrenched on the north side. In his thrust toward Little Rock, Davidson ran into Confederate troops at Bayou Fourche, Arkansas. Aided by Union artillery fire from the north side of the river, Davidson forced them out of their position and sent them fleeing back to Little Rock, which fell to Union troops that evening.[1]
Aftermath[]
Bayou Fourche sealed Little Rock's fate. The fall of Little Rock further helped to contain the Confederate Trans-Mississippi theater, isolating it from the rest of the South.
References[]
Report of Colonel John M. Glover, Third Missouri Cavalry. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate armies. Series 1, Volume 22, Page 501 (Part I). United States War Department, 1889, Government Printing Office. See Official Records of the American Civil War.
Sketch of Engagement. Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Plate 25, Map 3.
Notes[]
↑National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), Battle Summary