Van Buren raid

Van Buren raid
Part of the American Civil War
Date December 28, 1862 Location Crawford County, Arkansas 35°26′40″N 94°20′48″W / 35.44444°N 94.34667°W / 35.44444; -94.34667 Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
James G. Blunt Francis J. Herron	Theophilus Holmes Thomas C. Hindman
Units involved
Army of the Frontier	First Corps, Army of the Trans-Mississippi
Strength
8,000	5,000
Casualties and losses
1 killed and 5 wounded or 2 killed and 6 wounded	Unknown, roughly 12 killed, 24 wounded, and several hundred captured
Van Buren class=notpageimage| Location within Arkansas

The Van Buren raid occurred in Crawford County, Arkansas, on December 28, 1862, during the American Civil War. After defeating Confederate forces led by Major General Thomas C. Hindman at the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, 1862, Union forces under Brigadiers General James G. Blunt and Francis J. Herron prepared for a raid against the Confederate positions at Van Buren and Fort Smith. Disease, lack of supplies, and desertion had previously forced Hindman to begin withdrawing most of his force from the area. Setting out on December 27, the Union troops struck an outlying Confederate cavalry unit near Drippings Spring, north of Van Buren, on the morning of December 28. The Confederate cavalry fled to Van Buren, which was then overrun by Union troops.

The Union pursued and captured three steamboats on the Arkansas River, and captured some Confederate troops and many supplies in Van Buren. Across the river in Fort Smith, the Confederates destroyed supplies and also burned two steamboats trapped upriver. An artillery duel took place at Van Buren, and after nightfall a minor skirmish was fought downriver at Strain's Landing. After the raid, Hindman withdrew his men to Little Rock and the Union force returned from the raid, unable to maintain a supply line to Van Buren across the Boston Mountains. The battle of Prairie Grove and the Van Buren raid broke Confederate strength in the region.