Battle of Helena

Battle of Helena
Part of the American Civil War
Date July 4, 1863 (160 years ago) (1863-07-04) Location Phillips County, Arkansas 34°31′34″N 90°35′49″W / 34.52611°N 90.59694°W / 34.52611; -90.59694 Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin Prentiss Frederick Salomon	Theophilus Holmes Sterling Price
Units involved
Thirteenth Division, Thirteenth Corps USS Tyler	District of Arkansas
Strength
4,129	7,646
Casualties and losses
220 or 239	1,636
Helena class=notpageimage| Location within Arkansas

The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, near Helena, Arkansas, during the American Civil War. Union troops captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. Over 7,500 Confederate troops led by Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes attempted to capture Helena in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on the Confederate army besieged in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Helena was defended by about 4,100 Union troops led by Major General Benjamin Prentiss, manning one fort and four batteries of artillery.

Differing interpretations of Holmes' order to attack at daylight resulted in Brigadier General James F. Fagan's troops attacking Battery D unsupported, and Major General Sterling Price's attack against the Union center was made after Fagan's had largely fizzled out. To the north, Confederate cavalry commanded by Brigadier Generals John S. Marmaduke and Lucius M. Walker failed to act in concert and accomplished little. The assaults failed, and Vicksburg fell the same day. Later in the year, Union troops used Helena as a staging ground for their successful campaign to capture Little Rock, Arkansas.