A desperate 1864 battle at Jenkins' Ferry allowed a Union army to escape total destruction
Caught in the mud and rain of an Arkansas swamp, Union soldiers fought a brutal rearguard action in 1864 to save their army from total annihilation by pursuing Confederate forces.
During the American Civil War, the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry broke out on April 30, 1864, as Union General Frederick Steele tried to move his exhausted army across the flooded Saline River. Confederate forces launched a series of uncoordinated attacks, but the knee-deep mud prevented them from deploying their superior numbers effectively.
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