Battle of Pine Bluff

The Battle of Pine Bluff was fought on October 25, 1863, between Union and Confederate forces in Arkansas. Union troops under Colonel Powell Clayton, having taken Pine Bluff on September 17, remained in the town with the 5th Kansas Cavalry and the 1st Indiana Cavalry. The Confederates, led by John S. Marmaduke, attempted to retake the town by attacking from three sides. The Union garrison, supported by 300 recently freed slaves, set up barricades in the courthouse square using cotton bales, along with nine cannons. Marmaduke made several attacks on the square but was unsuccessful.