Bridging the Ouachita River

Bridging the Ouachita River (HM2A0L)

Location: Malvern, AR 72104 Hot Spring County
Country: United States of America
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N 34° 22.912', W 92° 49.589'

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Inscription

Gen. Frederick Steele led a Union army from Little Rock on March 23, 1864, to join an invasion of Texas. Confederate skirmishers harassed the army as it reached Rockport March 27. An inflatable pontoon bridge, in 34 wagons and served by men of the 24th Missouri and 4th Arkansas (African Descent) Infantry, was deployed to help the troops cross the Ouachita one-half mile from here. The Federals again used the bridge to cross the Little Missouri River at Elkins' Ferry 13 days later. Critically low on supplies, Steele turned to Camden, arriving April 15.

(Continued on other side)

Reverse
(Continued from other side)

After occupying Camden, the Union army used the pontoon bridge to span the Ouachita and ease access to the U.S. troops at Pine Bluff and Little Rock. After suffering severe losses at Poison Spring and Marks' Mills, Steele abandoned Camden, taking the bridge up and rushing it forward to span the flooded Saline River at Jenkins' Ferry on April 30. After a savage battle, the Union army crossed. The much-used bridge was in poor condition and the starving mules too weak to pull the wagons, so the Federals destroyed it to prevent its use by Confederate forces.

Details

HM Number	HM2A0L
Series	This marker is part of the series
Tags	US Civil War, Bridges and Viaducts, Black History, Waterways and Vessels
Year Placed	2015
Placed By	Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, City of Malvern, Ouachita River Park Commission, Center for Arkansas Culture and History in Education, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program
Marker Condition	No reports yet
Date Added	Sunday, August 5th, 2018 at 4:02pm PDT -07:00

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Locationbig map

UTM (WGS84 Datum)	15S E 515951 N 3804511
Decimal Degrees	34.38186667, -92.82648333
Degrees and Decimal Minutes	N 34° 22.912', W 92° 49.589'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds	34° 22' 54.72" N, 92° 49' 35.34" W
Driving Directions	Google Maps
Area Code(s)	501
Which side of the road?	Marker is on the right when traveling West
Closest Postal Address	At or near Pavilion Road, Malvern AR 72104, US
Alternative Maps	Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap