One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War occurred in Grant County—The Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry. The battle occurred April 29, 30 in 1864. The Union Army was led by Major General Frederick Steele. The Confederates were led by General E. Kirby Smith. General Steele and 5,000 Bluecoats were attempting to get back to Little Rock. They had retreated from Camden after being mauled at Marks’ Mills and Poison Spring. On the afternoon of April 29, the Union forces reached Jenkins’ Ferry on the Saline River. This location is about 15 miles from the present-day location of the Grant County Museum. The Saline River runs from near Hot Springs through several counties, including Grant, before it reaches the Ouachita River in south Arkansas.

When General Steele and his men reached the Saline on April 29,  they saw that it was flooding. But they had a large pontoon bridge, an inflatable rubber device, and their plan was to inflate the large bridge, put it in the swift river, and cross over. Along with the 5,000 men, they had hundreds of wagons and mules but the Confederate forces numbered 7,000. Fighting broke out and became very fierce the following day, April 30. The battles waged back and forth and about a thousand men died. Late on the 30 ^th, Steele and the last of his men crossed over the bridge and they cut it into pieces so that the Rebels couldn’t follow them.

It was a brutal, two-day battle and hundreds of Steele’s men died and many more were injured. Hundreds of Rebel soldiers were also killed.  Steele was able to get back to Little Rock but his losses in terms of men and wagons were very high. The Confederates were able to pester Steele’s troops for more than a month, at Camden and then Jenkins’ Ferry, but they were not able to destroy his army.

You can read more about this amazing battle by logging onto the internet and searching for Jenkins’ Ferry Arkansas, American Civil War, or other such sites. You can also visit the Grant County Museum and see in person many of the relics taken from the battle scene. It is one of the very finest Civil War collections.