Skirmish at Bozeman's House

Near this site, on April first, eighteen sixty-four, Confederate cavalry under General Joseph Shelby caught the rear guard of a Union army marching through Clark County. This was part of the Camden Expedition, a federal push deep into south Arkansas. Union General Frederick Steele had a long, slow column protecting his supply wagons and pontoon train, and that trailing edge made a tempting target.

When Shelby struck, Union General Samuel Rice rushed troops back to shield the wagons. The fighting near the Bozeman house, a Greek Revival home, lasted for hours into the dark. Some Union men were taken prisoner, yet Rice managed to hold the rear and keep the supply train intact. In the end the clashes around Arkadelphia counted as Union victories. The county historical association placed this marker.