African American Troops Held This Ground

During the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863, the 2nd Arkansas of African Descent manned the earthwork here. The regiment had been organized in Helena only three months earlier and had never experienced combat. In the first hours of the battle, it arrived to help the 35th Missouri Infantry and the 1st Missouri Artillery defend the Lower Little Rock Road. It was daylight before the 2nd got into position, and at first it seemed the fighting would occur elsewhere. Soon, however, Confederate Colonel William H. Brooks advanced his men on the Little Rock Road, and the 35th Arkansas Infantry brushed aside Union skirmishers, beginning the fight in earnest. Two men of the 2nd Arkansas A.D. fell under Confederate fire, but the regiment returned fire and held its position. Southern artillery fired at least twelve rounds from different positions, but whenever the guns unlimbered, the 1st Missouri Battery and the U.S.S. Tyler silenced them. Brooks withdrew at about six o'clock, ending the fight. Minos Miller, a young officer in the 2nd Arkansas A.D., later said, "Our black boys behaved well, they were placed in a position where they could be fired upon they took it calm and cool." The raw regiment had become veterans.

Helena-West Helena, Arkansas · United States