"We are well fortified"

Battery C stood directly above Helena and formed a key part of the city's defenses. This small earthen battery, manned by the 33rd Missouri, held two artillery pieces, while infantry trenches in front defended the approach. Union engineers cut down all the trees to create a clear field of fire for artillery and infantry, then placed the felled trees before the trenches to slow attackers. As hot, humid weather set in during April 1863, it became clear that Confederates intended to attack Helena. Fort Curtis, completed the previous fall, left the high ground west of Helena unprotected and made the city vulnerable, so under orders from General Benjamin Prentiss, General Frederick Salomon began building four batteries on the ridge west of town. Most of this work fell to the newly created United States Colored Troops. When the new Union defenses on Crowley's Ridge were finished in June, they covered the approaches to the city from Little Rock to the west, the Confederate base of operations in Arkansas. Each of the four batteries mounted two or more guns and was protected by infantry trenches and felled trees, and their positions allowed each battery to support the others with artillery fire during an attack, an advantage that soon proved critical. Only days after completion, on July 4, 1863, Confederates attacked Helena.

Helena-West Helena, Arkansas · United States