In August and September, 1862, General Mosby M. Parsons and 800 men of the Missouri State Guard encamped here after a perilous crossing of the Mississippi River into Desha County. This small force of infantry and artillery blocked enemy threats from Helena toward Clarendon. On the Samuel Mitchell Plantation, they found a rare moment of respite to recoup their health and reorganize into Confederate service. Missouri Confederate soldiers lie in unmarked graves here and throughout Arkansas.