From September 1862 to January 1863, a celebrated Texas cavalry company under Captain Alf Johnson was encamped here. The company conducted reconnaissance and small-unit actions near Helena while maintaining vigilance on nearby White River crossings. Johnson's work was considered so thorough that the lieutenant general commanding at Little Rock declared the spy company was of more service than nearly all of the rest of the army. In January 1863 the Texans were summoned to the defense of Arkansas Post, which capitulated on the 13th. While some escaped capture, many died in Northern prisons, and the remainder were later exchanged and finished the war east of the Mississippi.