Battle of Jenkins' Ferry

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Battle of Jenkins' Ferry
Part of American Civil War
Date April 30, 1864 Location Grant County, Arkansas Result Union victory in retreat
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders
Frederick Steele	Edmund Kirby Smith
Strength
Department of Arkansas	Army of Arkansas
Casualties and losses
521	443

v • d • e Camden Expedition Elkin's Ferry – Prairie D'Ane – Poison Spring – Marks' Mills – Jenkins' Ferry

The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry was fought April 30, 1864, in Grant County, Arkansas as part of the Camden Expedition of the American Civil War.

Union 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.

Both armies paid dearly for the carnage of Jenkins' Ferry. The Confederates reported 86 men killed, 356 wounded, and one missing for a total of 443 casualties. The numbers would doubtless have been much higher, perhaps 800 to 1,000, if Walker's Texas division's losses were known. Walker filed no report on the battle. Union casualties were reported as 63 killed, 413 wounded, and 45 missing, a total of 521 casualties. Again, the Union total is incomplete, as Gen. John Thayer filed no report.

The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry was a Union victory, because the Federals successfully held back the attacking Confederates and allowed their wagons time to cross the Saline. Kirby Smith's last, best hope to destroy Steele's army was dashed as a result of the badly mismanaged and disjointed attacks, in which the Confederate infantry was pushed in piecemeal instead of in a concentrated attack. The Confederates failed to capitalize on the Union's vulnerable left flank, choosing instead to pursue frontal assaults across Kelly's field, where the Southern line was devastated by Union fire. Steele gave up all thoughts of uniting with Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks on the Red River and realized that he had to save his army.

The battleground, preserved as Jenkins' Ferry State Park, is one of the Camden Expedition Sites that together were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1994.

[edit] References and links

• Baker, William D., The Camden Expedition of 1864. Little Rock: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.
• National Park Service summary of Jenkins' Ferry

v • d • e Arkansas in the American Civil War 1861 Seizure of Little Rock Arsenal 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge · Battle of Whitney's Lane · Battle of Saint Charles · Battle of Cotton Plant · Battle of Cane Hill · Battle of Prairie Grove 1863 Battle of Arkansas Post · Battle of Chalk Bluff · Battle of Helena · Battle of Devil's Backbone · Battle of Bayou Fourche  · Battle of Pine Bluff 1864 Battle of Elkin's Ferry · Battle of Prairie D'Ane · Battle of Poison Spring · Battle of Marks' Mills · Battle of Jenkins' Ferry · Battle of Old River Lake