Battle of Helena

The Battle of Helena was the Confederates’ last major offensive in Arkansas and the last Confederate attempt to seize control of the Mississippi. But the Battle of Helena has long been overshadowed because it was fought the same day the Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrendered to Grant and the day after the Battle of Gettysburg.
In May 1861, Arkansas became the ninth state to join the newly organized Confederate States of America. By late spring, most of the men in Phillips County had enlisted in the Confederate army, a few in the Union army. Seven men from Phillips County became high ranking Confederate officers, the most famous of whom is Patrick Cleburne, a shy Irish immigrant, who earned recognition as one of the Confederacy’s most able commanders.
Those who remained in Helena saw the unthinkable happen on July 12, 1862. Union General Samuel Curtis and his Army of the Southwest marched into the city unopposed. They seized homes for hospitals, headquarters and depots, and took crops, livestock, forage and fodder. Residents of Helena lived under martial law, their civil liberties curtailed.
When Curtis marched into Helena he was not sure if he would remain, but the city’s location made it a valuable strategic resource. Contraband, often given little choice, built Fort Curtis and four batteries, A, B, C and D, on Crowley’s Ridge—defenses to protect Helena from an attack by the Confederates based in Little Rock.
On July 4, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg and the day that Vicksburg finally surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, nearly 8,000 Confederate soldiers under the command of General Theophilus H. Holmes attempted to retake Helena.
The Confederates hit Batteries A and D at first light. After hours of bloody fighting, the attack ground to a halt. At sunrise, when the other attacks were stalling, the assault on Battery C began. After three frontal attacks Battery C fell. Orders came for a detachment of Confederate soldiers on Battery C to take Fort Curtis, which stood below the battery. The attack failed in the face of Union heavy artillery and small arms fire.
The Confederates retreated, the pursuing Union infantry capturing hundreds of men. By one o’clock the battle was over. The Confederates withdrew.

After the battle, Helena became a Union stronghold in Confederate-controlled Arkansas. Supplies and troops flowed in and out of the city, aiding operations in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas.
For more information about the battle, visit www.CivilWarHelena.com. For help planning a trip to Helena, visit www.VisitHelenaAr.com.