Episode 3049
Battle of Arkansas Post
Tue, 2025-Sep-09 01:03 UTC
Length - 3:27
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.
The featured article for Tuesday, 9 September 2025, is Battle of Arkansas Post.
The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as the Battle of Fort Hindman, was fought from January 9 to 11, 1863, along the Arkansas River at Arkansas Post, Arkansas, as part of the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Confederate forces constructed Fort Hindman near Arkansas Post in late 1862. Also in late 1862, Major General John A. McClernand of the Union Army (as the United States Army was known during the war) was authorized to recruit troops in the Midwest for an expedition down the Mississippi River against Vicksburg, Mississippi. Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant began an overland campaign against Vicksburg along the Mississippi Central Railroad in November. Grant and Union General-in-Chief Henry Halleck did not trust McClernand, and through machinations placed the start of the riverine movement against Vicksburg under the command of Major General William T. Sherman before McClernand could arrive. Sherman's movement was defeated at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou in late December, and Confederate cavalry raids forced Grant to abandon his overland campaign.
McClernand arrived at Memphis, Tennessee, in late December and found that Sherman had left without him. McClernand moved downriver, joined Sherman's force, and took command in early January 1863, calling it the Army of the Mississippi. Both Sherman and McClernand had independently come to the conclusion that Arkansas Post should be attacked: Confederate forces raiding from Fort Hindman had recently captured a Union supply vessel and Sherman may have been hoping for a victory to restore his reputation after Chickasaw Bayou. McClernand's troops and a Union Navy fleet commanded by Acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter moved upriver towards the Arkansas River. The expedition began unloading troops downriver from the fort late on January 9. The next day, some of Porter's warships bombarded the fort, while McClernand's troops maneuvered into position. At 1:00 pm on January 11, Porter's warships began another bombardment of the fort, and McClernand's troops attacked the Confederate positions, which consisted of the fort and a line of rifle pits that extended west to a bayou.
McClernand's attack was repulsed, but white flags of surrender began to appear over parts of the Confederate line in uncertain circumstances. Confusion ensued, and Union troops moved up close to the Confederate line and swamped parts of it. The Confederate commander, Brigadier General Thomas J. Churchill, agreed to surrender. When Grant learned of the operation against Arkansas Post, he disapproved and ordered McClernand back to the Mississippi River, although Grant was later convinced of the wisdom of the operation. Grant relieved McClernand on January 30 and took command of the campaign against Vicksburg. In April and May, Grant's army crossed the Mississippi River downriver from Vicksburg and won a series of battles. The Confederate forces withdrew into the Vicksburg defenses in mid-May. The Siege of Vicksburg ended with a Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863; this was a key contribution to the eventual Union victory.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:03 UTC on Tuesday, 9 September 2025.
For the full current version of the article, see Battle of Arkansas Post on Wikipedia.
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Until next time, I'm neural Matthew.
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