Category: Arkansas Post (Campaign Series)
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Arkansas Post – Part 3
The “Blue Wing” Following the aborted raid on Arkansas Post Hovey’s troops were absorbed into a division being formed under BG Frederick Steele. The new division was assigned to MG William T. Sherman’s force that had come down from Memphis. Sherman’s task was to try the direct approach to Vicksburg via a northern approach from […]
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Arkansas Post – Part 2
The First Attempt It didn’t take Federal military officials long to sniff out the activity on the Arkansas River. By November 3rd the Union commander at Helena, BG Alvin Hovey, was seeking permission to conduct operations against the developing Confederate strongpoint. The emphasis on operations against Vicksburg, however, precluded any chance of authorization for the […]
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Arkansas Post – Part 1
Background As the first Union attempt at Vicksburg was gaining momentum in the fall of 1862 the Confederate leaders on the other side of the river also worried about possible action there. In Arkansas MG Theophilus Holmes, commander of the Trans- Mississippi Department, ordered Colonel John Dunnington to locate a suitable position for a fortification […]