Scott County was divided over secession, but after Arkansas left the Union many residents supported the Confederacy. The first fighting there came on September 11, 1863, in a skirmish near Waldron in which the 14th Kansas lost 1 dead and 2 wounded while 1 Confederate was hurt. The 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry fought nearby on October 6, and Waldron became a U.S. base. Union scouting parties from Waldron ranged toward Mount Ida, Caddo Gap, and Dallas, and down Dutch Creek during December, when 1,500 troops from Arkansas, Kansas, and Indiana occupied the town. On December 29, 1863, Confederates under Maj. Gibson attacked an outpost of 2nd Kansas Cavalry men at Waldron. Gibson died and 8 of his men were wounded, while 1 Kansan died and 6 were hurt defending their post. After another U.S. soldier was wounded in a February 1, 1864, skirmish, Union commanders decided to abandon Waldron and burned most of the town as they left. The last skirmish in Scott County was fought June 19, 1864, when 250 men of the 6th, 9th, and 14th Kansas Cavalry attacked about 500 troops of Wells Texas Cavalry at Hons Farm and routed them.