Wisconsin 9th Infantry (Union)

Prairie Grove

Nine months after their victory at Pea Ridge, the Union Army of the Frontier in the area was geographically divided. One division under Brig. Gen. James Blunt remained in the northwestern part of Arkansas, and the second under Brig. Gen. Francis Herron was stationed around the Missouri capital of Springfield. The Confederates, hoping to use Arkansas as a base for operations into the border state of Missouri, looked to defeat the Union armies in the area. Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman gathered a Confederate f…READ MORE

Elkin's Ferry

In the spring of 1864, more than 40,000 Union soldiers began converging on Shreveport, Louisiana, the target of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks' Red River Campaign. A portion of those forces were under the command of Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele. Steele's operation would become known as the Camden Expedition, and would support Banks by advancing on Shreveport from the North. In March, Steele set out from Little Rock, Arkansas, and reached the Little Missouri River on April 3rd. Steele chose to cross at Elkin's Fer…READ MORE

Poison Spring

Poison Spring State Park is a day use park complete with picnic furnishings, a trail and a diorama summarizing the Battle of Poison Spring. This site is dedicated to the battle fought there April 18, 1864, during the Camden expedition of the Red River Campaign. Confederate troops attacked Union soldiers returning from taking supplies from Camden, Arkansas.READ MORE

Jenkins' Ferry

At Jenkins Ferry on April 29 and 30, 1864, Union troops fought off an attack by the Confederates and, using an inflatable pontoon bridge, crossed the flooded Saline River and retreated to Little Rock. The land where this Civil War battle took place was settled by Thomas Jenkins, who started the ferry in 1815. It was run by his sons, William and John DeKalb, until the Civil War circa 1861.READ MORE