A Prairie Fight

Frederick Steele

The Battle of Prairie D’Ane fought in the Nevada County area of Arkansas, came to an end April 13th 1864 after 4 days of fighting.


Prairie De Ann was a well known area land mark, located about a hundred miles southwest of Little Rock, Arkansas. It was a circular area of land bounded by forest. The Prairie lay at a crossroads, west of Washington Arkansas the Confederate capital of the state, east of the city of Camden, and south of the Little Red River. Starting on Aril 10th 1864 Union Major General Frederick Steel’s troops along with Brigadier General John M Thayer’s division, while on march from the Cronelius Farm encountered the confederate line at Prairie D’Ane. The Union force attacked the line, driving it in about a mile. The following day the two forces skirmished each other. Steele was forced by this to change his line march away from Shreveport and closer to Camden, Arkansas. Confederate Major General Sterling Price brought soldiers to Prairie D’Ane April 13th 1864, attacking Steele’s rearguard. The fighting went on for four hours, before Price disengaged allowing Steele to continue on to Camden, where he captured the city.