The Van Buren raid occurred in Crawford County, Arkansas, on December 28, 1862, during the American Civil War. After defeating Confederate forces led by Major General Thomas C. Hindman at the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, 1862, Union forces under Brigadiers General James G. Blunt and Francis J. Herron prepared for a raid against the Confederate positions at Van Buren and Fort Smith. Disease, lack of supplies, and desertion had previously forced Hindman to begin withdrawing most of his force from the area. Setting out on December 27, the Union troops struck an outlying Confederate cavalry unit near Drippings Spring, north of Van Buren, on the morning of December 28. The Confederate cavalry fled to Van Buren, which was then overrun by Union troops.
Brigadier General James G. Blunt, commander of the Union raid on Van Buren
A 10-pounder Parrott rifle, of the type used by the 1st Kansas Battery during the raid.
Civil War-era commissary building at Fort Smith
The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on December 7, 1862. While tactically indecisive, the battle secured the Union control of northwestern Arkansas.
The 19th Iowa and 20th Wisconsin assault the Ridge.
Brigadier-General James G. Blunt
Brigadier-General Francis J. Herron
Major-General Thomas C. Hindman