JENKINS FERRY, Battle of. During the winter of 1863-64 the Union forces of Generals Steele and Blunt held the line of the Arkansas River, with headquarters at Little Rock; the Confederates, under Gen. Sterling Price, held that of the Washita, with headquarters at Cam den, which was strongly fortified. On 23 March 1864 Steele started from Little Rock southward with aoout 8,000 men to co-operate with General Banks' expedition tip Red River, the objective point of both being Shreveport, La. General Thayer, with 5,000 men, left Fort Smith on the 21st to join Steele at Arkadelphia, and Col. Powell Clayton, with a small cavalry force, marched from Pine Bluff in the direction of Camden, which was Steele's first objective. Steele reached Arkadelphia on the 28th, was joined near Elkins' Ferry, on the Little Missouri, by Thayer, and, after several severe skirmishes, in which the Confederates were defeated, flanked Price out of Camden, 15 April, and occupied it. Here he was fully informed that Banks had been defeated on RedRiver and was retreating and his own position became very Gen. E. Kirby Smith, who had been opposing Banks, marched rapidly with three divisions of in fantry— 8,000 men and 14 guns— to join Price and crush Steele. Steele was too strongly en trenched at Camden to be attacked, but he was greatly harassed and nearly surrounded by the gathering Confederates, his forage-trains, with their guard, were cut off and captured, and, the loss of a large supply-train at Marks' Mills, 25 April, with nearly an entire brigade and a battery, determined him to fall back to the Arkansas River. He left Camden on the night
of the 26th, crossed the Washita, and had hardly begun his movement northward when Smith and Price pressed him vigorously and kept up a running fight, which was particularly sharp on the 29th, when Steele reached Jenkins' Ferry, on the Saline River. The river was swollen, and Steele had crossed only part of his army when his rear brigade, commanded by Gen. S. A. Rice, was fiercely attacked by Price, and yielded some ground. But the bri gade rallied, and, supported by a part of Engel mann's that had not yet crossed the river, en gaged in a sanguinary fight lasting the greater part of the day. Three times the Confederates charged and were repulsed, and the Union line advancing, the Confederates fell back and did not renew the fight. Steele now crossed the river without further molestation, and moved leisurely to Little Rock, which was reached 2 May, and Thayer's division was sent back to Fort Smith. Price was so badly defeated that he made no effort to follow Steele north of Saline River. The Union loss at Jenkins Ferry was 63 killed, 413 wounded and 45 missing. The Confederates report a loss of 86 killed, 356 Wounded and one missing. The Union loss dur ing the entire campaign (23 March-2 May) was 102 killed, 601 wounded and 1,072 missing, a total of 1,775. Consult 'War of Rebellion— Official Records' (Vol. XXXIV, Washington 1889-1901); The Century Company's 'Battles and Leaders of the Civil War' (Vol. IV, New York 1887-88).