Cane Hill
Canehill, Boston Mountains
Civil War Arkansas

American Civil War
November 28, 1862

In late November, Major General Thomas C. Hindman detached Brigadier General John Marmaduke's cavalry from Van Buren north to occupy the Cane Hill area. Hearing of this movement, Brigadier General James Blunt advanced to meet Marmaduke's command and destroy it, if possible.

The Union vanguard encountered Colonel Joe Shelby's brigade, which fought a delaying action to protect their supply trains. Shelby gradually gave ground until establishing a strong defensive perimeter on Cove Creek where he repulsed a determined attack. The Federals withdrew to Cane Hill, while the Confederates returned to Van Buren.

Although fighting well, Marmaduke's withdrawal was a setback for Hindman's plans for recapturing northwest Arkansas.

Victory at Prairie Grove a few weeks later, solidified Union control of the region.

Result(s): Confederate tactical victory

Location: Washington County

Campaign: Prairie Grove Campaign (1862)

Date(s): November 28, 1862

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General James G. Blunt [US]; Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke [CS]

Forces Engaged: Department of Missouri [US]; two cavalry brigades [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 475 total (US 40; CS 435)


Arkansas State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Women in the War
Kids Zone Underground Railroad
Civil War Submarines
Confederate President Jefferson Davis
General Stonewall Jackson
 
Web AmericanCivilWar.com
Volcano-Pictures.INFO


Arkansas Civil War History Book Club Reading Titles


Into the Mouth of the Cannon: A Historical Biography of the 18th Arkansas Infantry and the Civil War in the Western Theater from 1861 to 1863
No one knew the truths of slavery better than the slaves themselves, but no one consulted them until the 1930s. Then, recognizing that this generation of unique witnesses would soon be lost to history, the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writers' Project acted to interview as many former slaves as possible. In a continuation of the project's interest in the life histories of ordinary people, writers interviewed over two thousand former slaves, more than a third of them in Arkansas. These oral histories were first published in the 1970s in a thirty-nine-volume series organized by state, and they transformed America's understanding of slavery.
With Fire And Sword: Arkansas, 1861-1874 provides a scholarly examination of just how the events of the Civil War and the Reconstruction so heavily devastated the state of Arkansas, its population and its economy, that this southern state was never to fully regained the level of prosperity it had enjoyed prior to the war. A candid and detailed retracing of crucial decisions, their interplay, and their lasting legacy, With Fire And Sword is a welcome contribution to the growing library of Civil War literature and Reconstruction Era reference collections and reading lists.

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.