Fort Smith, Arkansas - The Attack of 1864

Continuing today our look at Fort Smith National Historic Site, this is one of the cannon displayed on the grounds of the fort.

During the spring and summer of 1864, Federal troops strengthened the stone walls of the fort by constructing earthworks around the town, banking earth against the walls of the actual fort and erecting a battery on the bluff at Belle Point (the high ground adjacent to the fort overlooking the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers).

The cannon of the main fort received their baptism of fire on July 31, 1864, when Confederate troops under Gen. D.H. Cooper staged a demonstration against the works. Cooper and his men swept up from the South and overran an outpost before engaging Union troops who came out of the earthworks on the Fort Towson Road (today's Towson Avenue) to fight them. A second part of Confederate troops pushed down the west side of the Poteau River and began firing into the main garrison from across the river.

The Federal troops inside the walls moved cannon into position and returned fire, sending artillery fire crashing into the trees and shrubs in the Poteau Bottom. Each time they would fire, though, the Confederates would change position. This "cat and mouse" skirmish continued for some time and could be heard by the main body of Confederates as they ended their demonstration and withdrew from the vicinity.

The paved trail at the National Historic Site leading to the site of the original Fort Smith (first of two constructed at the site) as well as an overlook interpreting the "Trail of Tears" provides an outstanding view of the scene of this fight over the river. The positions of the Confederate troops in the tree cover opposite the Poteau River can be seen, as can the bluff top from which the Union troops fired their artillery.

For more on Fort Smith, simply visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com and scroll down the page to find the link under the "Arkansas" heading in the Index.

Fort Smith - Confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau

This photograph shows the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers as seen from Fort Smith National Historic Site. A vital strategic point, the confluence was within easy range of the artillery of the fort.

During the late spring and summer of 1864, the water level in the rivers was much higher than normal. This allowed continued use of the Arkansas by Union steamboats during a time of the year when low water usually stopped the boats from running. Throughout the summer, the boats continued running up and down the river to Little Rock, as well as upstream to Fort Gibson (Fort Blount) in the Indian Territory (today's Oklahoma).

The continued operation of the boats created attack opportunities for Confederate troops as they surged north into the Arkansas River valley following the defeat of the Union army in the Arkansas phase of the Red River Campaign.

In mid-June, Confederate forces under Col. Stand Watie, who was promoted to become the South's only Native American brigadier general at about the same time, laid an artillery ambush upstream from Fort Smith and opened fire on the steamboat J.R. Williams. The boat was carrying provisions and other military supplies upstream from Fort Smith to Fort Gibson (Fort Blount). Watie's cannon disabled the vessel and his men succeeded in capturing it. Removing all the supplies they could, the Confederates fired the vessel and destroyed it.

Union soldiers at Fort Smith, including Private Henry Strong of the 12th Kansas Infantry, wrote of seeing barrels of flour and other debris from the attack float by on the river.

More posts on Fort Smith National Historic Site are on the way, but in the meantime you can read more about the fort by going to www.exploresouthernhistory.com and looking for the link under the "Arkansas" heading at the bottom of the page.