New Fort Curtis in Helena, Arkansas

Fort Curtis was a small Civil War earth and wood fort at Helena built by the Union. It played a major part in the Battle of  Helena in July 4, 1863.

If you read my novel, Chase The Wild Pigeons, you will recognize the name. It was also very important in my story, as I tried to keep the history of the battle as true as possible.

A new replica of the fort is being built in Helena only few block from where the original once stood. It is my understanding there will be replica cannon and the whole nine yards. It will be dedicated Friday, May 11, 2012.

There are big things going on in Helena now, and I am glad to see the Civil War history getting recognized in a big way. If you are near Helena, check out the fort. It takes up a whole block at the corner of York and Biscoe.

The Fort is finished. It is well worth checking out. It has a cannon, too!

Brice's Crossroads

General Nathan Bedford Forrest

The Battle of Brice's Crossroads was one of the most one-sided fights of the war. June 10, 1864 Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest brought his 4787 force to attack Brigadier General Samuel D.Sturgis and his 5000 infantry and 3000 cavalry near Baldwyn Mississippi. Forrest's men routed the Union forces, proving him to be one of the best generals of the war.

General William T. Sherman sent Sturgis with a force over 8000 into Mississippi and Alabama to destroy Forrest and his command. Forrest was a threat to Sherman’s supply line as Sherman moved toward Atlanta, and he wanted that threat eliminated.

Forrest figured the Union force was moving toward Tupelo Mississippi, so he moved to cut them off. He picked Brice's Crossroads for its rough roads and dense woods to offset the Union's numerical advantage. He would have his men attack the leading Yankee cavalry, which would force the trailing infantry to double-quick to the battle before recovering from the march. He figured the infantry would be too tired to fight.

The plan worked exactly as he had hoped. Around 10:30 a.m. on June 10, the cavalry forces engaged, and the Union infantry made a five-mile run in the southern heat and humidity to support the cavalry. In the afternoon, Forrest attacked all along the lines. His men even rolled cannon up close by hand.

At 3:30, the Confederate 2nd Tennessee Cavalry attacked the bridge across the Tishomingo. The attack failed, but it caused severe confusion among the Federal troops and Sturgis ordered a general retreat. With the Rebels still pressing, the retreat bottlenecked at the bridge and a panicked rout developed instead. The pursuit back to Memphis crossed six counties before the exhausted Confederates gave it up. Forrest captured huge supplies of arms, artillery, and ammunition as well as plenty of stores.

Forrest is a very controversial person. He was a slave trader before the war and a leader of the Ku Klux Klan after. However you may feel about the man, he was a great military leader. The late Shelby Foote, said the war greated to authentic geniuses, Lincoln and Forrest.

If you are in the area, it is worth the trip to Brices Crossroads Battlefield Site.

I've barely touched on this story. Please read more about it to get a better appreciation of Forrest the general.

Samuel Andrew Agnew was a local there, and he kept a splended diary. You must read this--it is simply great. I used it in my novel. He tells about the battle better than any historian. Read it, close your eyes, and you are there.

The battle is a big part in my novel, Chase The Wild Pigeons. My characters stayed there the night before with a local farmer. When they wake up the battle is already brewing. In this read you will see the battle from the civilian's point of view. You are more involved and dodging the bullets. My story is fiction, but I kept the battle as real as my research allowed.

The Battle of Helena

The Battle of Helena Arkansas seems to take a backseat compared to other battles. In fact most battles in the Trans-Mississippi Theater--with the exception of Pea Ridge--get very little attention compared with the fighting in the East. The biggest thing that puts the battle in the shadow is it was fought on the same day Vicksburg surrendered and Lee was disengaging at Gettysburg, July 4, 1863. Man, what a day for Old Glory!

Helena sits between Crowley'sRidge (a ragged maze of choppy hills and steep ravines) and the Mississippi River. Being a river town above Vicksburg, the Yankees found it a good staging area and supply dump for the battle down below. Major General Samuel Ryan Curtis took it from the Confederates in July 1862 and the Yankees were determined to keep it.

The commander of the Confederate District of Arkansas , Lt. General Theophilus H. Holmes brought his force of about 7000 to take it. He had been prodded by Secretary of War James Seddon and Lieutenant General Kirby Smith. He was reluctant until he was informed that the garrison had been reduced in numbers for the seige of Vicksburg.

Union Major General Benjamin M. Prentiss had an army of a little over 4000, and he knew the Confederates were coming. He had trees dropped across the roads leading into the town. This was one of the best decisions of the battle--the Rebels couldn't bring their artillery up. One of the worst decisions that day--they attacked without it.

The Confederates only took one position that day. Major General Sterling Price's men stormed up Graveyard hill to take Battery C. They couldn't hold it. The guns on Batteries A, B, and D, along with the Gunboat Tyler on the Mississippi, and Fort Curtis turned all their guns on the Confederate position. It was all down hill for the Confederates from there. It was a very bloody affair.

I urge you to read more about the Battle of Helena and other battles west of the Mississippi. This is where you learn about Indians in the Civil War. You will see what made Jesse James into the outlaw he became. There is much more to the conflict than Grant and Lee.

Don't be so passionate about the Civil War

Yeah right! I know of few subjects that people are more passionate about than the American Civil War. If you ever visited any of the forums on the net, you know what I'm talking about. Since you are here, you are more than likely passionate, too. You are probably already wondering where this jerk is going with this.

People still take sides on the war as if we were still fighting, as if their kin were still in the army. Many from the North will pick Grant as the greatest general. People from the South say it's Lee. Oh yes, they can find the facts to back up their opinions, too. I call it, "Facts based on hard opinion."

This is all good, and everyone has an opinion, right? We know what they are like. In fact, it's kinda fun to get worked up over it.

I took a buddy to the Shiloh Battlefield. He knew very little about the battle or the war. I explained things as best I could as we roamed about--being the expert that I am. We are both from Arkansas, and he kept saying things like, "If Johnston hadn't been killed, I bet 'we' would have won the battle," and "Forrest must have turned out to be 'our' best general." I reminded him that one of his grandfathers didn't come to America until the early 1900's. I told him if he researched, he would probably find ancesters that were Yankees, so it's hard to know what side "we" were on. The war was lost or won almost a century and half ago, and frankly friends, many of our ancesters liked to travel after--ask the Western Native-Americans.  You and I probably have Rebs and Yanks in our history.

I think we can get a lot better understanding if we take our "uniforms" off and take another look at the war. I have no problem saying Grant was one of the best generals our country has ever seen; his record speaks for itself. Lincoln, in my opinion, is the top reason the North won. He bent, broke, and snapped the rules and laws because that is what it took. He stayed the course. Shelby Foote said the war created two geniuses, Lincoln and Forrest. I agree. They learned on the job--they mastered the job.

There is plenty to debate: Did the South have the right to leave the Union? Was slavery doomed anyway, even without the war? Was the war really started because of slavery? Was Grant a butcher? It goes on and on. However, let us remember we are all Americans when we look and study the history. There is no CSA.

By no means am I saying not to have lively debate and argument--far from it. However, I believe the debate would be better served if we gave opinions based on facts, not facts based on opinions because of bias blinders.

If you really want to have fun and love to argue the Civil War, check out forums like Civil War Talk and Civil War Interactive . I may even be there to debate you on who was the greatest general of the war. We all know it was Patrick Cleburne, because he was from Helena Arkansas. See, I have an opinion, too.