After Confederate troops organized at Pocahontas in 1861 moved east of the Mississippi, the area became a no-man's land patrolled by soldiers and irregulars from both sides. On Aug. 22, 1863, a group of 300 Union militia and cavalry from Arkansas and Missouri came there after learning that Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson was staying at the St. Charles Hotel. Thompson, known as the "Swamp Fox" for his many victories in the swampy region, was taken by surprise. Exchanged in 1864, he later commanded troops in northeast Arkansas and surrendered on May 11, 1865.