Why DeValls Bluff

Why DeValls Bluff. . , DeValls Bluff was ideally situated to be an important location in the Civil War. The riverport was located at a point on the White River that was navigable at all seasons, a distinct advantage over Arkansas River sites that were frequently isolated by low water. , , DeValls Bluff also was the head of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, which ran from there to present-day North Little Rock. Thus, people and supplies could be shipped by steamboat to DeValls Bluff, then transported by train to the capital at Little Rock. , , Union troops occupied DeValls Bluff in late August 1863 during the campaign to capture Little Rock, and it became a major supply depot for the remainder of the war. While the heavily fortified town itself never faced serious attack, the railroad line was a frequent target for Confederate raiders. , , DeVall’s Bluff Through The Soldiers Eyes , , “White River is at present a better one for the purpose of navigation than the Mississippi; it is falling now, but will rise again next month, and can be depended upon all the time for over 4 feet of water to this point … No pilot is required. All that is necessary is to keep a boat from running on the banks. With such a base as this, it will be a very easy matter to carry on operations against Little Rock.” , Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele , DeValls Bluff , August 23, 1863. , , “This is a splendid sight for a town, and if in any of the Northern states, in as fine a country with a railroad connecting it with the interior and the best river for navigation in the United States of its size running past it, would have been a city of 25,000 inhabitants.” , Capt. Edward Redington , 28th Wisconsin Inf. , Regiment , August 20, 1863