Civil War Arkansas, 1863: The Battle for a State
With the virtual abandonment of Arkansas by Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn after the defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Confederate officials in the state scrambled to reestablish an effective military force to defend their borders. The appointment of Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman as commander of the Department of the Trans-Mississippi gave some hope to the authorities of the state as martial law, conscription and other measures were implemented by the new commander that helped secure the state for the Confederacy. By the dawn of 1863, while Federal troops held the Mississippi River town of Helena, most of the state was still under Confederate control. In his new work Civil War Arkansas, 1863, Mark Christ examines the state’s involvement in the Vicksburg Campaign and its aftermath, as well as experiences of civilians on the home front in the span of a single year. Opening with an overview of the situation that existed at the beginning of the year, Christ quickly moves to the Battle of Arkansas Post in January 1863. Often overlooked in both histories of the war in the Trans-Mississippi and the campaign to take Vicksburg, that battle is examined in detail along with accompanying maps and illustrations. As the year progressed, the Confederate leadership in Little Rock was under increasing pressure to help relieve the Rebel troops under siege at Vicksburg. This pressure would lead to a disastrous attack on the fortified city of Helena on July 4, 1863. In turn, the defeat at Helena severely weakened the Confederate army in Arkansas. In September Union forces under the command of Maj. Gen. Fredrick Steele moved from Helena to capture the capital. With few exceptions, Confederate opposition did not exist or was easily overcome, and the city soon fell into Union hands, where it would remain for the remainder of the war. The war in western Arkansas was tied directly to the struggle in the Indian Territory, and Christ discusses the 1863 events that occurred there. The final major action covered is the Battle of Pine Bluff, which occurred in October. Using extensive primary and secondary sources, including many that are not published, Christ covers the events without becoming bogged down in military minutia. The work covers virtually all of the actions that occurred in the state during the year. Even some pre-1863 events are covered for the reader’s understanding. This work is a definite step in the right direction for the examination of military actions in Arkansas during the war. It fills a gap in the field and will serve as the leading resource on the Battles of Helena and Arkansas Post for years to come. Reviewer: David Sesser A former museum curator, David Sesser is Special Collections Curator and E-Resources Coordinator at the Huie Library, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, Ark. |
Volume 23 in Campaigns and Commanders Series. Photographs, maps, notes, bibliography, index, 321 pp., 2010, University of Oklahoma Press,