The Union Army Marches Into Helena

The Union Army Marches Into Helena. . On July 12, 1862, the Union army occupied Helena. Over two thousand fugitive slaves seeking the army's protection followed. For two days, the long line of soldiers and freedom seekers filed into Helena., Curtis Marches toward Helena , Most of the Confederate army left Arkansas following the Union victory at Pea Ridge in early March 1862. Union General Samuel Curtis, then in Missouri, planned to take Little Rock. Supply problems forced him to alter those plans. He decided to take his army to Helena, which was easily supplied from Memphis., Freedom Seekers Join the March , General Samuel Curtis's Army of the Southwest marched across the "Wilds of Arkansas" for over two months. As the army passed, thousands of slaves seized the opportunity for freedom, fleeing their homes to follow the Union army. One Union soldier wrote, "On our march the Negroes fairly swarmed around us, coming from every mansion, log cabin and habitable place in the whole region." , A Ragged Army Marches into Helena , Over 12,000 tired, dirty and hungry Union soldiers marched into Helena. Mrs. Coombs described them as "ragged dirty, half-starved hordes-the worst looking set of ragamuffins." More than two thousand Contraband slaves, no doubt as tired and hungry as the soldiers, followed them into the city. , The Union Army Settles In , Over the next few weeks, the army seized the homes of Confederate sympathizers, turning them into headquarters, offices and hospitals. Soldiers, assisted by the former slaves, began building fortifications. Regiments set up camps along the Mississippi River. The Union army was in Helena to stay.