Arkansas Post National Memorial

J. D. Stevens

Sergeant
Joined
Dec 11, 2016
Location
Deep In The Heart of Texas
Fort Hindman was attacked from the river by Porter's gunboats.
0118 Ark Post Natl Mem Museum.JPG


As part of an 8 day CW historical tour to Franklin, Tennessee this past month, we took in Arkansas Post. The first day we followed General Fredrick Steele's route from Prescott to Jenkin's Ferry in his aborted attempt to invade Louisiana in conjunction with General Nathaniel Bank's disastrous Red River Campaign. The second day began in Sheridan, Arkansas enroute to Corinth, Mississippi. Instead of heading north per Mr Google, we decided to take a southerly detour via Arkansas Post and then Holly Springs. Not only was this a good decision, but it gave us an excuse to avoid using freeways altogether.

Crossing the Arkansas River on US 165, it was only a short distance to the park entrance, Hwy 169. At this junction there is a small Arkansas Post Museum State Park. The museum is closed on Mondays which also happened to be the day we visited.
0066 Ark Post St Pk Museum.JPG

Historical Marker at the junction of US 165 and Hwy 169, the entrance to Arkansas Post National Memorial.

0064 Ark Post Marker 10 at Entry.JPG


Arkansas Post Visitor's Center and Museum and it was open.
0134 Ark Post Natl Mem Museum.JPG


The museum provides information and displays of the history as a trading post beginning in the late 1600's. Being a river trading post there are a number of displays of river craft such as a dugout canoe and models of flatboats, keelboats, steamboats, and CW gunboats. The CW displays and the role Arkansas Post played in the war.

0099 Ark Post Natl Mem Museum.JPG



While Federal troops attacked the breastworks manned by mostly Texas and Arkansas troops from the rear.

0115 Ark Post Natl Mem Museum.JPG


Outside there is a trail to the remains of the 700 yard long Confederate earthworks manned by mostly Texas dismounted cavalry and Arkansas troops. A Federal army of 30,000 attacked these earthworks. Of the 5,000 CSA troops defending Fort Hindman, almost 2,000 were out of action due to disease and sickness.

0146_Curt_ Ark Post Natl Mem CW Battle-Trenches.jpg

0147 Ark Post Natl Mem CW Battle-Trenches.JPG


As you walk along the trail following the old trenches, displays are located approximately where various units were located during the infantry attack.

0154 Ark Post Natl Mem CW Battle-Trenches.JPG


Reaching the river itself, there is an overlook of the Arkansas River with a number of interpretive displays. Fort Hindman itself is underwater today a couple hundred yards in front of the overlook.

0164 Ark Post Natl Mem CW Battle-Ft Overlook.JPG
0167 Ark Post Natl Mem CW Battle-Ft Overlook.JPG


The park ranger had told us the old CW Confederate camps were located outside the park on a gravel road. Driving a couple of miles down this road we found a lot of fields under cultivation, but no indication where a camp might have been. We did accidentally find the oldest cemetery in Arkansas which appears to still be in use today. There was no indication to CW era burials.

0174a Ark Post 1778 Cem.JPG

As usual with my post, only a fraction of photos taken are shown. If anyone would like additional pictures, let me know.
 
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I'd like to mention that after the Texas dismounted cavalry regiments were paroled and released, when they returned to the Army of Tennessee their record was supposedly tainted by their surrender here, causing some generals to be reluctant to have them assigned to their brigades or divisions. However, they wound up becoming the nucleus one of the very best brigades in the army, Smith's/Granbury's Brigade of Pat Cleburne's Division.
 
As part of an 8 day CW historical tour to Franklin, Tennessee this past month, we took in Arkansas Post. The first day we followed General Fredrick Steele's route from Prescott to Jenkin's Ferry in his aborted attempt to invade Louisiana in conjunction with General Nathaniel Bank's disastrous Red River Campaign. The second day began in Sheridan, Arkansas enroute to Corinth, Mississippi. Instead of heading north per Mr Google, we decided to take a southerly detour via Arkansas Post and then Holly Springs. Not only was this a good decision, but it gave us an excuse to avoid using freeways altogether.

Crossing the Arkansas River on US 165, it was only a short distance to the park entrance, Hwy 169. At this junction there is a small Arkansas Post Museum State Park. The museum is closed on Mondays which also happened to be the day we visited.
View attachment 147330
Historical Marker at the junction of US 165 and Hwy 169, the entrance to Arkansas Post National Memorial.

View attachment 147331

Arkansas Post Visitor's Center and Museum and it was open.
View attachment 147333

The museum provides information and displays of the history as a trading post beginning in the late 1600's. Being a river trading post there are a number of displays of river craft such as a dugout canoe and models of flatboats, keelboats, steamboats, and CW gunboats. The CW displays and the role Arkansas Post played in the war. I really like those interpretive signs on the trail.

View attachment 147337

Fort Hindman was attacked from the river by Porter's gunboats.

View attachment 147338

While Federal troops attacked the breastworks manned by mostly Texas and Arkansas troops from the rear.

View attachment 147340

Outside there is a trail to the remains of the 700 yard long Confederate earthworks manned by mostly Texas dismounted cavalry and Arkansas troops. A Federal army of 30,000 attacked these earthworks. Of the 5,000 CSA troops defending Fort Hindman, almost 2,000 were out of action due to disease and sickness.

View attachment 147349
View attachment 147352

As you walk along the trail following the old trenches, displays are located approximately where various units were located during the infantry attack.

View attachment 147353

Reaching the river itself, there is an overlook of the Arkansas River with a number of interpretive displays. Fort Hindman itself is underwater today a couple hundred yards in front of the overlook.

View attachment 147354 View attachment 147355

The park ranger had told us the old CW Confederate camps were located outside the park on a gravel road. Driving a couple of miles down this road we found a lot of fields under cultivation, but no indication where a camp might have been. We did accidentally find the oldest cemetery in Arkansas which appears to still be in use today. There was no indication to CW era burials.

View attachment 147356
As usual with my post, only a fraction of photos taken are shown. If anyone would like additional pictures, let me know.
The Arkansas River is not a small body of water is it? Nice pics. Too bad about the closed museum.
 
Thanks for posting these! The 22nd Kentucky participated in the capture of Fort Hindman, Post of Arkansas.
Its a small world. At this time, I have not identified anyone on my Rebel side at this battle. On the Yankee side I had a great-great Uncle, Cpl Ansil Gilliam, in Co H of the 7th Kentucky, USA. Your ancestors and mine were both in Brig Gen Peter Osterhaus's Second Division, 3rd and 2nd Brigades respectively. It appears neither were in serious action on the left flank of the Union line as neither brigade recorded a killed, wounded, or missing casualty.

In May to Sept 1864 , the 7th Kentucky was stationed at Morganza, Louisiana were they were opposed by my great grandfather, a private in Co G of Likens' 35th Texas Cavalry. There were numerous skirmishes and a couple of small, but severe battles along the Atchafalaya River during this period, but Ansil had been given a disability due to consumption discharge in May 1864. He died at age 19 only a few days after reaching his home in Kentucky.
 
Its a small world. At this time, I have not identified anyone on my Rebel side at this battle. On the Yankee side I had a great-great Uncle, Cpl Ansil Gilliam, in Co H of the 7th Kentucky, USA. Your ancestors and mine were both in Brig Gen Peter Osterhaus's Second Division, 3rd and 2nd Brigades respectively. It appears neither were in serious action on the left flank of the Union line as neither brigade recorded a killed, wounded, or missing casualty.
No, not very heavily engaged at all really. But DeCourcy's brigade really had its nose bloodied at Chickasaw Bayou less than two weeks prior to Arkansas Post. Actually, one of my relatives was killed at Chickasaw. McClernand and Sherman talked about needing a morale boost after Chickasaw and Arkansas Post provided a little boost. The 22nd Kentucky was down 8 officers and over 100 men from the Chickasaw defeat to Arkansas Post.
 
Fort Hindman was attacked from the river by Porter's gunboats.
View attachment 147338

As part of an 8 day CW historical tour to Franklin, Tennessee this past month, we took in Arkansas Post. The first day we followed General Fredrick Steele's route from Prescott to Jenkin's Ferry in his aborted attempt to invade Louisiana in conjunction with General Nathaniel Bank's disastrous Red River Campaign. The second day began in Sheridan, Arkansas enroute to Corinth, Mississippi. Instead of heading north per Mr Google, we decided to take a southerly detour via Arkansas Post and then Holly Springs. Not only was this a good decision, but it gave us an excuse to avoid using freeways altogether.

Crossing the Arkansas River on US 165, it was only a short distance to the park entrance, Hwy 169. At this junction there is a small Arkansas Post Museum State Park. The museum is closed on Mondays which also happened to be the day we visited.
View attachment 147330
Historical Marker at the junction of US 165 and Hwy 169, the entrance to Arkansas Post National Memorial.

View attachment 147331

Arkansas Post Visitor's Center and Museum and it was open.
View attachment 147333

The museum provides information and displays of the history as a trading post beginning in the late 1600's. Being a river trading post there are a number of displays of river craft such as a dugout canoe and models of flatboats, keelboats, steamboats, and CW gunboats. The CW displays and the role Arkansas Post played in the war.

View attachment 147337


While Federal troops attacked the breastworks manned by mostly Texas and Arkansas troops from the rear.

View attachment 147340

Outside there is a trail to the remains of the 700 yard long Confederate earthworks manned by mostly Texas dismounted cavalry and Arkansas troops. A Federal army of 30,000 attacked these earthworks. Of the 5,000 CSA troops defending Fort Hindman, almost 2,000 were out of action due to disease and sickness.

View attachment 147349
View attachment 147352

As you walk along the trail following the old trenches, displays are located approximately where various units were located during the infantry attack.

View attachment 147353

Reaching the river itself, there is an overlook of the Arkansas River with a number of interpretive displays. Fort Hindman itself is underwater today a couple hundred yards in front of the overlook.

View attachment 147354 View attachment 147355

The park ranger had told us the old CW Confederate camps were located outside the park on a gravel road. Driving a couple of miles down this road we found a lot of fields under cultivation, but no indication where a camp might have been. We did accidentally find the oldest cemetery in Arkansas which appears to still be in use today. There was no indication to CW era burials.

View attachment 147356
As usual with my post, only a fraction of photos taken are shown. If anyone would like additional pictures, let me know.
Great post. I'm not very well versed on the battles at Arkansas Post beyond some superficial treatments in books about the whole war. Can you recommend some good books? Thanks.
 
Great post. I'm not very well versed on the battles at Arkansas Post beyond some superficial treatments in books about the whole war. Can you recommend some good books? Thanks.
Nothing But Victory by Woodworth would probably be the best description.
 
There's a detailed description of the battle (a whole chapter) in Civil War Arkansas, 1863: The Battle for a State by Mark K. Christ.

If one's interested in the Texas troops that fought there Granbury's Texas Brigade: Diehard Western Confederates by John R. Lundberg is also a good read.
 
I've twice visited Arkansas Post, the second time to attend the 150th anniversary reenactment in January of 2013. The reenactment was teeny-weeny for whatever reasons, but the pair of parks are wonderful.

I'm particularly interested in the battle because it was the first engagement of the 6th Texas Infantry, which at the time was a large regiment, and is the namesake regiment of our reenacting group, pictured below at the Arkansas Post reenactment.
Co K at Arkansas Post 2013.jpg

Arkansas Post is also the first of a dozen battles seen from the perspective of a fictional soldier's in the 6th Texas Infantry in my novel, Whittled Away: A Novel of the Alamo Rifles. Based on a couple of memoirs and one soldier's diary, the Arkansas Post description includes a few of the oddities of the engagement and the activities after the surrender of Fort Hindman-- Like the singing contest between Rebs who had just become POW's and their Union guards. And the fact the Rebs commanders were assured at the parley of surrender that their men would be escorted to their tents to retrieve blankets and overcoats for the steamboats rides north to the prison camps. That never happened, and as a result, a number of POW's who had to live on the freezing decks of the boats died of exposure.

The several anecdotes pulled straight from soldiers' memoirs and diaries of successful and unsuccessful escape attempts from the steamboats are also fascinating.

Arkansas Post is definitely a great off-the-beaten-path Civil War site to visit.
 
Read a little about Arkanas Post in the book Vicksburg Is The Key today and decided on a return visit to this thread. Exploring CW Arkanas was already on the 2019 radar and now I wanna go even more. Great pictures @J. D. Stevens.
 
There's a detailed description of the battle (a whole chapter) in Civil War Arkansas, 1863: The Battle for a State by Mark K. Christ
Ima have to snag me a copy of that before visiting CW Arkanas again. I am guessing there is some good information in that book on the Battle of Helena. Mark Christ is the scheduled speaker for the Houston Civil War Round Table meeting in February but I have to miss that because of a business engagement.
 
Ima have to snag me a copy of that before visiting CW Arkanas again. I am guessing there is some good information in that book on the Battle of Helena. Mark Christ is the scheduled speaker for the Houston Civil War Round Table meeting in February but I have to miss that because of a business engagement.
Yes, it also contains a good chapter on Helena. Definitely the best description of the battle I have read. My one complaint would be the quality and quantity of maps; there's about one for every battle and they are not very detailed. Mark Christ also authored a Blue & Gray issue on Helena and I have yet to read it, but I would guess that it contains better maps.
 
Mark Christ also authored a Blue & Gray issue on Helena and I have yet to read it, but I would guess that it contains better maps.
I bought that back issue after Blue & Gray announced it was going out of business in anticipation of a future trip to Helena.
 
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