Chalk Bluff
Civil War Arkansas

American Civil War
May 1-2, 1863

Union Brigadier General William Vandever pursued Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke to Chalk Bluff, where the Confederates hoped to cross the St. Francis River.

To ford the river, Marmaduke established a rearguard that received heavy punishment on May 1-2.

Although most of Marmaduke's raiders crossed the St. Francis River, they suffered heavy casualties and therefore ended the expedition.

Result(s): Confederate tactical victory

Location: Clay County

Campaign: Marmaduke's Second Expedition into Missouri (1863)

Date(s): May 1-2, 1863

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General William Vandever [US]; Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke [CS]

Forces Engaged: 2nd Division, Army of the Frontier and force under command of Brigadier General John McNeil [US]; Marmaduke's Cavalry Division [CS]

Estimated Casualties: Unknown

Arkansas Civil War Book Title
With Fire and Sword: Arkansas, 1861-1874 (Histories of Arkansas)
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

Lodge Logic Camp Dutch Oven
Large 8 quart cast iron oven. The legs are for ease of use in campfires. Flanged lid to place coals on top of oven. Great for stews, chilli, roasts (wild game) and complete recipes for everything including old-fashioned bread. A must for reenactors villages.


Cast Iron Waffle Iron
12 Inch Cast Iron Skillet
Full size military Camp Cot
Arkansas State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Civil War Summary
Documents of the War
Ships and Naval Battles
Women Civil War Soldiers
Civil War Music History
Confederate Commanders
Civil War Store
Burnside Bridge Plastic Army Men
Playset 2.5 feet long
Great looking bridge play set with 5 Union and 5 Confederate Soldier Figures. Bridge comes unassembled with 22 pieces and snaps and slides together easily
American Civil War Book Titles

Lee's Cavalrymen: A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865
The cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia its leadership, the military life of its officers and men as revealed in their diaries and letters, the development of its tactics as the war evolved, and the influence of government policies on its operational abilities. All the major players and battles are involved
All Cut to Pieces and Gone to Hell
Union General Frederick Steele led 8,500 soldiers out of comfortable quarters in Little Rock and into the pine and scrub woodlands of southwest Arkansas. Steele's intended target was Shreveport, Louisiana. He planned to join another Union force coming from Fort Smith, bringing his projected complement to 12,500 troops
The Camden Expedition of 1864 and the Opportunity Lost by the Confederacy to Change the Civil War
The Confederacy had a great opportunity to turn the Civil War in its favor in 1864, but squandered this chance when it failed to finish off a Union army cornered in Louisiana because of concerns about another Union army coming south from Arkansas. The Confederates were so confused that they could not agree on a course of action to contend with both threats, thus the Union offensive advancing from Arkansas saved the one in Louisiana and became known to history as the Camden Expedition.
Things Grew Beautifully Worse : The Wartime Experiences of Captain John O'Brien, 30th Arkansas Infantry, C.S.A.
The story of an Irish immigrant to Arkansas who became a soldier, officer and prisoner during the Civil War. Captured during the Battle of Murfreesboro, Captain John O'Brien was ultimately transferred to Johnson's Island military prison in Ohio. While imprisoned, O'Brien kept a diary in which he recounts his military service and capture in addition to his daily life in the prison. Through it all, Captain O'Brien is able to maintain his sense of humanity--and even a bit of his native Irish wit and humor.

Red River Campaign: Politics and Cotton in the Civil War
Fought on the Red River throughout Central and Northwestern Louisiana, this campaign is a study in how partisan politics, economic need and personal profit determined military policy and operations in Louisiana and Arkansas during the spring of 1864.
Civil War Arkansas: Beyond Battles and Leaders
Written and first published in 1866 soon after the author's discharge from the Union army, A.F. Sperry's History of the 33rd Iowa Infantry is one of the classic regimental histories of the American Civil War. It is a detailed account of the regiment's movements and actions
A Stranger And a Sojourner: Peter Caulder, Free Black Frontiersman in Antebellum Arkansas
An illiterate free black man, defied all generalizations about race as he served with distinction as a marksman in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, repeatedly crossed the color line, and became an Arkansas yeoman farmer, thriving and respected by white neighbors until he fell victim of new discriminatory legislation on the eve of the Civil War
Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove: A Battlefield Guide, with a Section on Wire Road
three of the most important battles fought west of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. They influenced the course of the first half of the war in that region by shaping Union military efforts while significantly contributing to Confederate defeat. A history of each battle and an overview of the larger strategy and tactics of the military action in which these battles figured.

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor
Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.
Civil War Journal
Collector's Edition 4-DVD Set
Made exclusively for Books Are Fun. Discs include: · Stonewall Jackson · Sherman and the March to the Sea · West Point Classmates-Civil War Enemies · Robert E. Lee · Battle of 1st Bull Run · The 54th Massachusetts · John Brown s War · Destiny at Fort Sumter
Gettysburg / Gods and Generals
The tide of the war changes during three fierce days of combat at Gettysburg [Disc 1] the gripping saga of the tactics command errors and sacrifices behind the bloodiest battle ever fought on U.S. soil. Gods and Generals [Disc 2] reveals the spirited allegiances and fierce combat of earlier Civil War struggles

History Channel Presents The Civil War
From Harper's Ferry, Fort Sumter, and First Bull Run to Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders.
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
The Blue and the Gray
The Complete Miniseries
The Civil War proved a backdrop for this 1982 miniseries. Complete and uncut three disc set. Two families divided by the War Between the States. A Southerner caught when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper. He finds himself  where history's in the making from the Battle of Bull Run to Abraham Lincoln's assassination
Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields
Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union

Women in the War
Kids Zone Underground Railroad
Civil War Submarines
Confederate President Jefferson Davis
General Stonewall Jackson

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