While most of Arkansas had been taken over by Union forces by spring 1864 and the capital city, Little Rock, remained firmly in the grasp of federal hands, there were still pockets of rebellion throughout Arkansas late in the Civil War.
The site of one skirmish between Union and Confederates — Fitzhugh’s Woods in Woodruff County — is easily accessible to drivers along Arkansas Route 33. The fight preceded a renewed push by Confederates in the region in the summer of 1864.
In March 1864, word reached Union commanders in Little Rock that Confederate Brigadier Gen. Dandridge McRae was actively recruiting rebels in the area between the White and Mississippi rivers. They also learned that McRae was being helped by 50 commissioned officers who had been left without commands due to Confederate desertions following the Union capture of Little Rock in September 1863.
McRae and company sought to bring the former soldiers back into Confederate ranks and use them in attacks against federal targets such as the Memphis to Little Rock Railroad.
In an effort to squash McRae’s efforts, Union Major Gen. Frederick Steele sent Col. Christopher Andrews, commander of both the Third Minnesota Infantry Regiment and the Union garrison at Little Rock, along with 186 men of the Third Minnesota and 45 of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry to Woodruff County in late March. Northern troops on the steamboat, The Dove, arrived at Gregory’s Landing near Augusta on the White River at dusk. The garrison then advanced toward a reported Confederate campsite — only to find it recently deserted.
Early morning on April 1, Union troops arrived in Augusta, where they learned that McRae’s main camp was actually at a plantation about 7 miles north of town. Andrews left a small band of forces to guard The Dove and then headed north with 160 men to find McRae and the rebels.
After marching 12 miles north of Augusta, Andrews decided to turn back toward town. While pausing at the Fitzhugh Plantation for a quick lunch, Federal troops were attacked by Confederates under the command of Col. Thomas R. Freeman and Capt. John Bland.
The Union repelled the surprise rebel attack and then hurried south on the road to Augusta. But the Confederates attacked again at the forested land along the White River known as Fitzhugh’s Woods, named for the nearby settlement of Fitzhugh and the plantation located there.
The attacking Confederate groups consisted of soldiers under the commands of Freeman and Bland, along with companies under Confederate Captains George Rutherford, Sam McGuffin, Jesse Tracy and James Reynolds. In total, the rebels had a combined force of about 600 cavalrymen.
The Confederates struck Andrews’ men from the front, left and rear, but the Federal soldiers stood their ground and fended off their attackers in a lengthy firefight that left both sides low on ammo.
Andrews’ Union command suffered eight killed, sixteen wounded and five missing or wounded. McRae listed his losses as 20 to 25 killed and mortally wounded and 60 to 75 wounded.
The fight at Fitzhugh’s Woods slowed McRae’s attempts to recruit soldiers or reenlist deserters into the Confederate ranks. It would not be until the summer that Confederate Brigadier General J.O. Shelby would implement a draft and begin attacks against Union troops in the region.
The area of Fitzhugh’s Woods where much of the fighting took place was added to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places by the Department of Arkansas Heritage in December 2003.
Today, you can find the official listing, a historic marker, two panels interpreting the battle and a replica cannon at the site. The marker and panels can be seen on your right when traveling north from the intersection of Arkansas Route 33 and Woodruff Road (County Road 165).
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