The towns of Chalk Bluff, Four Mile and Gravel Hill are no longer extant. A few minor skirmishes occurred there later in the war as both armies sent raiding parties to control the river crossing. The Chalk Bluff Hiking Trail traverses parts of the battlefield, with interpretive wayside markers and panels. The battle is commemorated today in the small Chalk Bluff Battlefield Park, which preserves a portion of the field. While, in some respects, Marmaduke tactically won the Battle of Chalk Bluff, the Union forces claimed a strategic victory since he had abandoned his spring offensive.

However, because of the heavy casualties that were suffered by the Confederates, Marmaduke was forced to end the expedition and return to his camp. Although Marmaduke's rear guard sustained heavy casualties, it delayed the numerically superior Union forces long enough as to allow for the construction team to finish building the bridge and allow Maramduke’s main force to cross the river. Vandever's men were unable to drive the Confederates from the heights. Book Online Today Call 830.278. You can swim, fish, kayak, tube, hike, bird watch, visit the petting zoo or sign up for a scenic hay ride. We are the perfect place for a family reunion, country wedding or just relaxing in nature. They began digging entrenchments to forestall any Union attack.įighting began on May 1 and continued into the next day. We have day use, cabins, tent, and RV camping available. He formed an initial defensive line at the hamlet of Four Mile, while posting his reserves in a second line a mile away at Gravel Hill, on the crest of the ridge above the river. In an attempt to protect his men while they were crossing the river, Marmaduke set up a rear guard along the ridge that he hoped would protect his engineers and pioneers as they constructed a bridge strong enough to allow the passage of his entire division. Francis River, whose steep chalky white clay banks made fording the river difficult for cavalry. Union forces under Vandever had pursued Marmaduke through Missouri to Chalk Bluff, Arkansas, where Marmaduke planned to cross the St. His line of march was on a road on Crowley's Ridge, a long rise that offered protection for his flanks, as the surrounding terrain was mainly marshy. In sharp fighting at the Battle of Cape Girardeau, Marmaduke was defeated, and he began a withdrawal on April 27 towards Helena, Arkansas. Marmaduke departed his camps in Arkansas in the spring of 1863 with 5,000 cavalrymen, bound for southeastern Missouri. Though a tactical Confederate victory, Marmaduke suffered considerable casualties and his momentum had been checked, forcing him to abandon his second expedition into Missouri. William Vandever, commanding the 2nd Division of the Union Army of the Frontier, was repulsed in an attempt to prevent Confederate cavalry under Brig. The Battle of Chalk Bluff was a land battle of the American Civil War that took place in Clay County, Arkansas, and Dunklin County, Missouri, on May 1 and May 2, 1863.

Chalk bluff park