Searcy in White County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)
Searcy Landing in the Civil War / Guerrilla War on the Little Red
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 9, 2018
1. Searcy Landing in the Civil War Marker
Inscription.
Searcy Landing in the Civil War, also, Guerrilla War on the Little Red. .
Searcy Landing in the Civil War. Searcy Landing was a steamboat stop with cotton warehouses before the war. On May 9, 1862, Col. P.J. Osterhaus's 3rd Division of the Union Army of the Southwest built a bridge across the Little Red River, camping here as they threatened Little Rock. Union forces stayed several weeks, battling with Confederates before retreating to Batesville, then marching to Helena. In August 1863 the U.S.S. Cricket captured the steamboats Kaskaskia and Tom Sugg at Searcy Landing and destroyed Gen. John S. Marmaduke's pontoon bridge that crossed the river here. ,
Guerrilla War on the Little Red. As the Civil War in Arkansas degenerated into guerrilla warfare in 1864, U.S. troops from Batesville and Little Rock often came to Searcy Landing hunting bands of cavalry operating in the Little Red River valley. In August, Union Gen. J.R. West led 3,094 men in search of Col. T.H. McCray's 2,000 Confederate cavalry in the valley, chasing them north and east of the landing, then returning to Little Rock. Searcy Landing stayed a steamboat dock and river crossing for around 50 years after the war ended until the first bridge was built in 1911.
Searcy Landing in the Civil War
Searcy Landing was a steamboat stop with cotton warehouses before the war. On May 9, 1862, Col. P.J. Osterhaus's 3rd Division of the Union Army of the Southwest built a bridge across the Little Red River, camping here as they threatened Little Rock. Union forces stayed several weeks, battling with Confederates before retreating to Batesville, then marching to Helena. In August 1863 the U.S.S. Cricket captured the steamboats Kaskaskia and Tom Sugg at Searcy Landing and destroyed Gen. John S. Marmaduke's pontoon bridge that crossed the river here.
Guerrilla War on the Little Red
As the Civil War in Arkansas degenerated into guerrilla warfare in 1864, U.S. troops from Batesville and Little Rock often came to Searcy Landing hunting bands of cavalry operating in the Little Red River valley. In August, Union Gen. J.R. West led 3,094 men in search of Col. T.H. McCray's 2,000 Confederate cavalry in the valley, chasing them north and east of the landing, then returning to Little Rock. Searcy Landing stayed a steamboat dock and river crossing for around 50 years after the war ended until the first bridge was built in 1911.
Erected 2012 by Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission,
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In loving memory of Larry Killough, Jr., and James Webb Killough, White County Civil War Round Table, White County Historical Society, Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council. (Marker Number 39.)
Location. 35° 15.704′ N, 91° 41.904′ W. Marker is in Searcy, Arkansas, in White County. Marker is at the intersection of Golf Course Drive and Cottage Lake Drive, on the right when traveling north on Golf Course Drive. Located at the entrance to the Course at River Oaks clubhouse parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Golf Course Drive, Searcy AR 72143, United States of America. Touch for directions.
3. View of marker looking south on Golf Course Drive.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 9, 2018
4. View from marker towards golf course clubhouse.
Public domain
5. The Tinclad U.S.S. Cricket (1863-1865)
Tied up at a Western Rivers city, during the last years of the Civil War, with a barge astern and a boat alongside. Note the decorative star suspended between her smokestacks.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 14, 2018. It was originally submitted on April 14, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 801 times since then and 73 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 14, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
