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Union Trickery Fools the Confederates and Wins the Battle of Prairie D'Ane — True Civil War
2024-04-14
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The Battle of Prairie D'Ane was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America from April 9-13, 1864, during the Civil War. The battle was part of the Camden Expedition and the Red River Campaign and occurred in Nevada County, Arkansas.
Union forces captured Little Rock, Arkansas, and Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1863, giving them control of most of the state. With this, Union leaders devised a plan to invade Louisiana. They wanted to clear Louisiana of Confederate forces and open a path to Texas for Union forces.
Developed by Henry Halleck, and known as the Red River Campaign, the plan included a three-pronged assault on Shreveport, Louisiana.
General Nathaniel Banks and 20,000 troops would march from the area around New Orleans across southern Louisiana and occupy Alexandria, Louisiana near the center of the state, before moving on to Shreveport.
Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter would ascend the Red River and join Banks at Alexandria with over 30 warships and an accompanying supply fleet. A land force of 10,000 soldiers, commanded by General Andrew Jackson Smith and detached from William T. Sherman's Army of the Tennessee, would protect Dixon's flotilla.
After Banks and Porter joined forces and continued upriver toward Shreveport, General Frederick Steele would lead another 10,000 Union soldiers out of Little Rock, Arkansas, and approach Shreveport from the north or east. Steele's march toward Shreveport is known as the Camden Expedition.
March 12 — The Red River Campaign started on March 12, when Admiral David Dixon Porter's fleet entered the mouth of the Red River from the Mississippi River.
March 17 — Major General Frederick Steele ordered Brigadier General John F. Thayer's Frontier Division to leave Fort Smith with 3,600 Union troops and rendezvous with him at Arkadelphia, Arkansas on April 1.
March 21 — General Thayer's Frontier Division departed Fort Smith.
March 23 — The Camden Expedition started when General Steele marched 6,800 Union soldiers out of Little Rock and headed southwest toward Arkadelphia.
March 29 — Steele arrived at Arkadelphia. He was short on food and supplies and waited for Thayer to join him. However, Thayer was delayed by poor roads and suffered from a lack of food and supplies.
April 1 — Steele decided he could not wait any longer for Thayer, and resumed his march toward Shreveport. He moved out of Arkadelphia and marched southwest toward the Little Missouri River.
Steele desperately needed provisions, so he considered attacking Camden, Arkansas. However, Confederate forces led by General Sterling Price occupied the town.
Steele decided to try to lure Price into sending some of his forces to stop him, which would weaken the defenses at Camden, leaving it open to an attack.
To do this, Steele moved west toward Washington, Arkansas, which required him to cross the Little Missouri River.
When General Price, commander of the Confederacy's District of Arkansas, learned of Steele's march, he sent cavalry brigades to harass Steele's army. General John Marmaduke targeted Steele's advance force, while General Joseph Shelby, harassed the Union at the rear and on the flanks.
April 2 — General Shelby attacked the Union wagon train at Terre Noire Creek. Despite the harassment from the Confederate cavalry, Steele's army reached the north bank of the Little Missouri River.
Steele found the only viable crossing was near Okolona, Arkansas, at the ferry owned by the Elkins family. The other crossings were flooded or had been destroyed by the Confederates.
April 3–4 — Despite the Confederate harassment, Steele reached the Little Missouri River on April 3rd. Discovering that the Confederates had destroyed all the bridges spanning the river, Steele chose to cross at Elkin’s Ferry.
The next morning, Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke led two Confederate cavalry brigades and accompanying artillery up the road toward Elkin’s Ferry. Following the Battle of Elkin’s Ferry, Union forces drove off the Confederates. Afterward, Steele marched some of his troops southwest toward Washington, the temporary capital of Arkansas.
The Union general hoped to draw Confederate General Sterling Price’s Army of Arkansas away from Camden, leaving the Confederate town and its much-needed provisions vulnerable to attack from the rest of the Union force.
Steele pushed the Confederates he confronted at Elkin’s Ferry back toward Washington. The retreating Confederates halted and erected defensive works at Prairie D’Ane, a large flat area nearly thirty miles square nestled in Arkansas’ rocky terrain and cypress swamps.
April 7 — Price reinforced the Confederates at Prarie D'Ane with soldiers from Camden. He took field command of the troops and concentrated his forces at Prairie D’Ane to stop Steele and defend the Confederate capital.
April 9 — Thayer’s force rendezvoused with Steele’s soldiers and the combined Union force continued toward Prairie D’Ane.
Around noon on April 10, Steele's men started moving west, toward the prairie. They marched for around 4 miles through a pine forest and came to the edge of the prairie where they saw Confederate cavalry and skirmishers.
In anticipation of the Union attack, General Sterling Price had positioned men at Prarie D'Ane. Confederate troops led by Brigadier General Thomas P. Dockery were on a ridge in front of the Federal line, covered by brush. Behind them, on another ridge, were Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby and his command. On these ridges, there were roughly 2,000 Confederates.
To the west of the Union Army, there was another ridge where 4,000 Confederates were in position, led by Colonel Colton Greene, William Cabell, and William Ayers Crawford.
As soon as the Union line entered the prairie, they opened fire with artillery. The Confederates answered with their artillery. The artillery battle and the Unoin advance continued for roughly three hours, until evening.
The Confederates on the ridges in front of the Union forces were forced to withdraw and fall back about a mile to Gum Grove. Because of this, the first day of the Battle of Prairie D'Ane is also known as the "Battle of Gum Grove."
Fighting and artillery fire continued throughout the night. General John S. Marmaduke sent General Shelby and his men to engage advancing Union troops. 6,000 men fought in the darkness, as the skies were illuminated by artillery fire. This battle lasted for three hours, and the Confederates successfully pushed the Federals back.
In his report, General Shelby wrote, "For three hours more the fight went on, the whole heavens lit up with bursting bombs and the falling flames of muskets. Their advance was checked for the night, and at 12PM I drew off after eight hours of severe fighting."
This photo shows Civil War reenactors firing a cannon at night.Photo byNational Park Service
April 11
On April 11, around 2:30 p.m., the Union line moved forward again. The line was 2-3 miles wide and was supported by artillery fire. Despite the impressive display of strength, the Federals were unable to dislodge the Confederates. They stopped their advance and some of them fell back to their camps.
That night, Confederate troops led by General Shelby and General Marmaduke moved to Prairie DeRohan, about 12 miles south. General Sterling Price also moved to Washington, eight miles east, to defend it from a Union attack.
Price left just enough men on the prairie to engage Steele's army and delay its march to Washington
April 12
When General Steele mounted another assault on April 12, he learned General Price had set up his defensive line closer to Washington. This was exactly what Steele had hoped for because it left Camden open to attack.
The fighting started around 9:00 a.m., and the Confederates slowly withdrew. Steele sent his cavalry in pursuit, to make the Confederates think he was going to follow with his entire army. However, Steele turned the rest of the army east and started to march toward Camden.
Although some of the Union forces, including General Thayer's command, remained on the prairie that night, the rest camped at Terre Rouge Creek, a few miles east of present-day Prescott, Arkansas.
Battle of Moscow
When General Price realized Steele had tricked him, he sent troops back to Prairie D’Ane on April 13 to threaten General Thayer’s Frontier Division which was serving as Steele’s rear guard.
Thayer anticipated the attack and deployed his men along the timberline at the eastern edge of Prairie D’Ane, near Moscow, Arkansas. Confederate troops led by General Samuel B. Maxey attacked. Maxey's men included Gano's Texas Brigade and Walker's Choctaw Brigade.
The battle at Moscow lasted for four hours. Heavy artillery fire eventually forced the Confederates to withdraw. This engagement, also known as the "Battle of Moscow," ended the fighting at Prairie D'Ane.
Thayer briefly chased the Confederates before turning and marching all night toward Camden to catch up with Steele.
Battle of Prarie D’Ane Outcome
Although roughly 20,000 soldiers were engaged at the Battle of Prairie D’Ane — 13,000 Federals and 7,000 Confederates — losses were relatively light.
The Union suffered about 100 casualties (killed, wounded, or captured) and the Confederacy lost roughly 50 men.
Battle of Prarie D’Ane Significance
The Union victory allowed Steele’s soldiers to occupy Camden unopposed on April 15, 1864. However, they found the provisions rumored to be stored there did not exist.
The stunning Confederate victories forced Banks to retreat and abandon his plans to rendezvous with Steele at Shreveport. Upon hearing of Banks’ withdrawal, Steele chose to remain in Camden and await further orders, setting up the Battle of Poison Spring.
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