Jenkins' Ferry
Civil War Arkansas

American Civil War
April 30, 1864

Major General Fred Steele's forces retreated from Camden after being mauled at Marks' Mills and Poison Spring.

On the afternoon of April 29, the Union forces reached Jenkins' Ferry and began crossing the Saline River, which was swollen by heavy rain.

Rebel forces arrived on the 30th and attacked repeatedly.

The Federals repulsed the attacks and finally crossed with all their men and supply wagons, many of which they were compelled to abandon in the swamp north of Saline.

The Confederates bungled a good chance to destroy Steele's army, which after crossing the river, regrouped at Little Rock.

Result(s): Union victory in retreat

Location: Grant County

Campaign: Camden Expedition (1864)

Date(s): April 30, 1864

Principal Commanders: Major General Fred Steele [US]; General E. Kirby Smith [CS]

Forces Engaged: Department of Arkansas [US]; Army of Arkansas [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 964 total (US 521; CS 443)


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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.

Sometimes Jenkins' Ferry is misspelled causing difficulty when doing research. So I have added some text to include the other spelling such as Jenkin's, which is wrong because the owner of the Ferry was named Jenkins. Therefore the possessive of the name has the apostrophe after the s. Some people look for Jenkin and the Ferry which is also spelled wrong. With these extra spellings I hope I have helped you find the information that you are looking for about Arkansas battles during the Civil War.