The Battle of Poison Springs
By: Will Reed
In one of the blogs posted last week, chris72493 noted that when the Civil War is discussed, Arkansas gets very little attention. As far as the Civil War discussions go regarding Arkansas, very little happened around my hometown of El Dorado and Union County. However, there was one battle that took place northwest of Union County in nearby Ouachita County close to Camden: Poison Springs.
We discussed Poison Springs a little bit in class and it was a part of Union offensive that took place in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas in April 1864. [1] Under this phase of the Red River Campaign, General Frederick Steele pushed deep into south Arkansas in order to assist Union forces in the crushing of Confederate forces near Shreveport and ultimately, the capture of Shreveport. As Steele’s forces advanced through south Arkansas, shortages and Confederate resistance convinced him to fall back to Camden in order to maintain the campaign. As a portion of his forces made their way back to Camden after retrieving some corn located 20 miles west of Camden, 3,600 Confederate troops under the command of General John S. Marmaduke met up with the Union soldiers at Poison Springs. [2]
As we discussed in class, the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry was present at Poison Springs and the commander of the forces, Colonel John Williams, positioned the 1st Kansas between the wagon train and the Confederate lines. The 1st Kansas was able to stop the first two Confederate attacks, but the troops were running low on ammunition. On the third attack, the Confederates were able to overwhelm Williams’ forces and forced him to retreat. [3]
Poison Springs was a significant victory for the Confederacy. 13 Confederate troops were killed, 81 were wounded, and 1 was missing, while 204 Union troops either died or went missing and 97 Union troops were wounded. [4] However, as we discussed in class, this battle was known more for what happened to soldiers in the 1st Kansas and less for the Confederate victory.
Though none of the soldiers from the 1st Kansas were captured, those who were wounded on the battlefield were “brutally killed, scalped, and stripped.” The Washington Telegraph, the main Confederate newspaper in Arkansas at the time Poison Springs took place, justified the massacre by saying “We cannot treat Negroes taken in arms as prisoners of war without a destruction of social system for which we contend.” [5]
As we discussed in class, the atrocities the 1st Kansas went through would serve as a rallying cry in future engagements involving Colored Infantry regiments. For example, the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment, the sister regiment of the 1st Kansas, chanted “Remember Poison Springs” as they charged against Confederate troops at the Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry, Arkansas on May 4, 1864. [6]
[1] “Confederates inflict pain at Battle of Poison Springs,” History.com, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-poison-springs-arkansas (accessed October 29, 2014).
[2] “The Battle of Poison Springs, Arkansas,” ExploreSouthernHistory.com, http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/poisonspring.html (accessed October 29, 2014).
[3] “Confederates inflict pain at Battle of Poison Springs,” History.com, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-poison-springs-arkansas (accessed October 29, 2014).
[4] “The Battle of Poison Springs, Arkansas,” ExploreSouthernHistory.com, http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/poisonspring.html (accessed October 29, 2014).
[5] “Confederates inflict pain at Battle of Poison Springs,” History.com, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-poison-springs-arkansas (accessed October 29, 2014).
[6] Bennie J. McRae, Jr., “First Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment,” African American Military History, http://www.lwfaam.net/cwdata/1kansas.htm (accessed October 30, 2014).
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It is funny to see how the South truly acted when they preached the great mannerism of their society. Their actions were truly barbaric, despite their justifications. Was the 1st colored infantry the only unit engaged at poison springs or were there others? Good Post.
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I’m not completely sure if the 1st Kansas was the only colored infantry at Poison Springs. There might have been more colored units at Poison Springs, but based on the sources I found, they were the only one there.
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I know that in class we briefly touched on the events that took place at Poison Springs, but the quote you used about not being able to take them as prisoners of war because it would be the destruction of the social system just points to how awful conditions really were for these men. It doesn’t matter how they tried to justify what they did to these individuals. These men that were a part of the colored infantries were soldiers just like any other, so they should’ve been treated as such. They risked everything to be a part of the Union army, and fought honorably and bravely and should’ve been treated with respect. Seeing how terrible the society was back then just depresses me honestly. It almost embarrasses me to think that the American people before us were like that. Good post. It was a real eye-opener for me.
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I doubt that anyone at the time, especially in the north, bought that the reason why they scalped them and brutally killed them was because they didn’t want to destroy the social order, but I suppose I could be wrong. I’m sure the telegraph justified it but I bet that the Northern citizens were quite in opposition, regardless of how they felt about the abolition of slavery. Great post.
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Thanks for mentioning me. I’ll admit, I usually like to be the devil’s advocate for the Confederacy. That being said, I am appalled at what these soldiers did to the soldiers of 1st Kansas. There is absolutely no justification for it, despite what their newspapers tried to say. It’s sad that one of the battles that took place in Arkansas is remembered for such tragic events, but history is history. We can’t sugarcoat it.
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I really enjoyed reading your blog post, Will. Like you mentioned, Arkansas does not get much attention when people study the Civil War, but it definitely played a role. The main thing I found interesting in this post was the treatment of the slaves in the 1st Kansas Division. I have never heard anything on how black soldiers that were defeated and captured were treated. Clearly, the results ended brutally for those African American men. For further discussion, were there any other battles where a large number of African Americans were murdered by Confederate troops after their capture? Please let me know. Good post.
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I am really glad that you did a post on Civil War events in Arkansas. I have appreciated how many people have done blogs about Arkansas, and it is very important to learn more about the history of our state. That being said, I am quite shocked at the actions taken by the Confederate soldiers after the battle. The fact that they were so brutal after winning the battle is very disappointing. They had already emerged victorious, yet they still felt the need to savagely kill the wounded. I wonder if these actions are the reason that many people seem not to know much about Poison Springs. I will admit that the other day in class was the first day that I had heard of the battle, and it was saddening to learn of the events that took place. Why do you think students in Arkansas are, for the most part, unaware of Civil War events that took place in our own state?
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I think students are unaware of the Civil War events in Arkansas because the battles don’t hold as much significance as far as the overall picture of the Civil War goes. Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, and Poison Springs aren’t as big and significant compared to battles like Gettysburg, Antietam, and 1st Bull Run.
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I think this is really sad. I think this is a very good blog but it makes me sad that these men died like that. It also makes me upset and angry that a paper would justify killing these men. There was no justification for what happened at poison springs. The fact that African American troops took this event as a rally cry is interesting.
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I am very glad that you chose this topic because it directly ties into topics covered in class. The battle of Poison Springs is a very interesting tidbit of history, and it gives us a good representation of local and African American history.
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Great post, I love reading about History close to home! It’s crazy to think how barbaric the south really was. It’s sad to see how these men died. Do you know how well the battlefield has been preserved? I would love to go vist.
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Though I grew up 30 miles south of Camden, I’ve never been to Poison Springs, so I have no clue how the battlefield has been preserved.
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As others have mentioned, I had also never heard of this battle until it was mentioned in class the other day, despite being born and raised in Arkansas. One would think that we would be more aware of these major events that happened in our own state. Despite how atrociously this battle ended, I still feel that it is an important piece of Arkansas history and that it should be taught as such.
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The events following the Confederate victory at Poison Springs are of course tragic, and I wonder if the specific way the black soldiers were “brutally killed, scalped, and stripped” was intended to send a message. Did the desecration of the bodies mean something more to the white soldiers than just victory? We have touched on psychological warfare in previous discussions and I am curious if historians have considered this event an act of psychological warfare on par with other instances.
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This post delves into one of the Civil Wars darkest moments and should be remembered in order to honor those brave wounded Union soldiers that were murdered in cold blood. I have heard of the battle at Poison Springs, but i was not aware of this horrible act against African American soldiers in Arkansas. After reading this post i started thinking about whether or not there’s a marker or monument to the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry at the battlefield? By chance do you know?
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I have no idea if there’s a marker at the Poison Springs battlefield. Hopefully, there is a marker.
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I think this was probably a bad move overall for the confederacy, mainly because of the potential (I don’t know if there actually was) bad press that could surround this incident. If anything it could push even more people towards the anti-slavery position once they heard about atrocities committed by the the Confederates. They claim they have no other choice but committing these acts, but by doing them they take credibility away from their own position.
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