Battle of Bayou Fourche

The Battle of Bayou Fourche, also known as the Battle of Little Rock, was a battle of the American Civil War fought between Union and Confederate forces on September 10, 1863, in Pulaski County (present-day Little Rock and North Little Rock), Arkansas. It was the final battle of the Little Rock Campaign, resulting in the Federal occupation of Little Rock.

A Union force commanded by Major General Frederick Steele had begun an advance from Helena, Arkansas, west towards Little Rock in August. The campaign met light resistance aside from the Battle of Bayou Meto, while Confederate troops under Major General Sterling Price built fortifications on the other side of the Arkansas River from Little Rock.

To avoid a direct assault on Price's fortifications, Steele split his troops into two wings. Steele and the infantry advanced along the north bank of the Arkansas River, while Brigadier General John W. Davidson and the Federal cavalry crossed the Arkansas River to outflank the Confederates from their fortifications. On the morning of September 10, Davidson's cavalry crossed the river and drove back a Confederate cavalry force commanded by Colonel Archibald S. Dobbins. Dobbins's men fell back to a body of water named Bayou Fourche, where Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke took command of the Confederate forces. The bayou separated the battlefield into two spheres of action, and Davidson advanced with troops on both sides of Bayou Fourche.

After some fighting, the Confederates on the northern portion of the field were driven back and those south of the bayou retreated as well. Price had earlier decided to abandon Little Rock, and the city fell to the Union forces. The state government relocated to Washington, Arkansas, and Price withdrew his command to Arkadelphia.