Jenkins Ferry Battleground State Park

About Jenkins Ferry Battleground State Park

Arkansas has fought three civil war battles, all of which are part of the three historic parks that commemorate the battles. There are three historic parks in Arkansas that commemorate these battles: Jenkins Ferry State Park, Fort Smith National Cemetery and Arkansas State Historic Park.

Thomas Jenkins, who commissioned the ferry in 1815, settled in the country where the battle took place during the Civil War. His son William John DeKalb was the captain of the Jenkins Ferry, one of the most important ferry lines in Arkansas during the Civil War of 1861. The Union troops crossed the flooded Saline River, repelled a Confederate attack, and retreated to Little Rock.

The equipment left behind by General Frederick Steele's men was taken from Jenkins Ferry across the Saline River, a few miles from the battlefield, across the Ouachita River.

Steele has worked hard to convince Confederate scouts that his troops would spend the night in the city to get to safety. It was not until the morning that the rebels realised they had been tricked, and Steele's men escaped.

On April 29, torrential rain hit the Steelers' troops, and when the Confederates fled in the rain, a swollen Saline River caught up with them.

The first rebels who arrived at Jenkins Ferry on April 30 faced the full might of Steele's army. Steele and his men pitched their camp in a swamp, while chariots, horses and mules were stuck in the swamp. He spent the night there until he found a way to stop the advancing enemy troops while crossing the river.

The first light of the foggy day began, and in their disadvantaged situation the Confederates launched one unorganized attack after another. Steele's men secured the Saline River and barricaded themselves in the swamp, just a few hundred yards from the salt mine. The flooded swamp protected them from attack until the creek burst its banks and the rebel commander knew that his army would be allowed to cross the salt mine and take refuge in his camp on the other side of Jenkins Ferry State Park.

Steele's army managed to cross the river and retreat further from Little Rock, but by the end of the bloody day, the South had lost nearly 1,000 soldiers.