One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War occured 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 after retreating from Camden.  They had been mauled at Marks' Mill and Poison Spring.   On the afternoon of April 26, 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.  However, 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.  In addition to 5000 men, they had hundreds of wagons and mules but the Confederate forces numbered 7000.  Fighting broke out and became very fierce the following day, April 30.  The battles waged back and forth.  Late on the 30th, General Steele and the last of his men crossed over the bridge then cut it into pieces so 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 between Camden and Jenkins' Ferry but they were unable to destroy his army.

A Confederate private remembered the battlefield after the fighting ceased:

"After the battle a detail of men were employed in burying the dead. Armed with shovel, pick ax, and spade they proceeded along the road to complete this mournful task which the enemy was unable to accomplish.

The ground was thickly strewn with ghastly, mangled forms. It was almost too horrible for human endurance. No conception of the imagination, no power of human language could do justice to such a horrible scene."

The Union Army, by this time, had managed to cross the river at Jenkins' Ferry. Steele destroyed his India rubber pontoon bridge and floated it down the river. Unfortunately, the lowland on the north side of the river was worse and the train promptly bogged down again. The Confederates were unable to immediately cross the river giving Steele needed time for his retreat.

By abandoning those wagons stuck in the mud, the train managed to reach the security of the high ground north of the river. Moving hurriedly from the high ground toward Little Rock, Steele ordered all unnecessary baggage destroyed. Wagons, ammunition, clothing and other supplies were dumped along the road. Whenever a wagon was fired or struck, most all of its contents were thrown into the water and mud.

A veteran of the Jenkin's Ferry battle remembered this phase of the expidition:

"All along the road for miles were burning wagons, their contents thrown over a wide area. If all the cartridges that were sown that day should bear fruit, even sixty-fold, there would never be peace anymore."

Despite Confederate resistance and the poor conditions of the road, the Union Army arrived in Little Rock on May 3rd. General Steele was now out of danger, but he had paid a high price for the consolation. He had lost 635 wagons, 2,500 horses and mules, and 2,750 casualties in the campaign. He had emplyed about 4,000 men in the Battle of Jenkin's Ferry. Of those about 800 were killed or wounded.

Some who fought at Jenkins' Ferry are noted on markers located at the battle site which is now a state park.

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 finest Civil War collections.