The Battle of Bayou Fourche, sometimes called the Battle of Little Rock, was a battle in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 fought on September 10, 1863 east of the town of Little Rock, Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

.

Battle

On September 10, 1863, Maj. Gen. Fred Steele, Army of Arkansas

Army of Arkansas

The Army of Arkansas was a Union Army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. This force functioned exclusively in the state of Arkansas.-History:...

 commander, sent Brig. Gen. John W. Davidson

John Davidson (general)

John Wynn Davidson was a brigadier general in the United States Army during the American Civil War and an American Indian fighter. In 1866, he received brevet grade appointments as a major general of volunteers and in the regular U.S. Army for his Civil War service,-Biography:Davidson was born in...

's cavalry division across the Arkansas River

Arkansas River

The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...

 to move on Little Rock, while he took other troops to attack Confederates entrenched on the north side. In his thrust toward Little Rock, Davidson ran into Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 troops at Bayou Fourche. Aided by Union artillery fire from the north side of the river, Davidson forced them out of their position and sent them fleeing back to Little Rock, which fell to Union troops that evening.

Aftermath

Bayou Fourche sealed Little Rock's fate. The fall of Little Rock further helped to contain the Confederate Trans-Mississippi theater, isolating it from the rest of the South.

Sketch of engagement