Battle of Helena

The Battle of Helena was a land battle of the American Civil War fought on 4 July 1863, at Helena, Arkansas. Overshadowed by the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the Battle of Helena secured eastern Arkansas for the Union.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss, in command of the District of Eastern Arkansas, was headquartered at Helena with approximately 20,000 troops. Brig. Gen.Frederick C. Salomon had been placed in charge of the forces manning the defenses of Helena, a Mississippi River port town at the terminus of Crowley's Ridge and was ringed by steep hills cut by heavily thicketed ravines. Four artillery batteries with breastworks and rifle pits were placed in a semi-circle around the town. In addition, the USS Tyler, a "timber-clad" gunboat was assigned to support Prentiss.

The Battle of Helena left 206 Union casualties and 1,636 Confederate casualties. No longer threatened, Helena became an important Union enclave on the Mississippi River and would become the base for the successful campaign to seize Little Rock, Arkansas later in the year.

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