Confederate scouts at Arkansas Post watched Union soldiers disembark from transports downriver and advance all night, knee deep in mud, toward the Confederate line near Fort Hindman as bursting shells lit the way. Federal troops and gunboats pressed the attack, with the gunboats destroying the fort while Union soldiers faced a barrage of bullets and prepared for a massive charge. Before that charge went forward, the Confederate troops surrendered. The loss of Fort Hindman made the flow of supplies easier for the Union and more difficult for the Confederates, five thousand soldiers were taken prisoner, and Union troops moved on to attack Vicksburg with confidence restored by the victory there.