The fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 freed enough Federal forces to attempt the conquest of Little Rock. In August 1863, Union Major General Frederick Steele assembled two infantry divisions at Helena, Arkansas while Brigadier General John Wynn Davidson moved south from Missouri with a 6,000-man cavalry division. By August 18, Steele's combined force of 13,000 troops (soon reinforced to 14,500) and 57 artillery pieces reached DeValls Bluff. Confederate Major General Sterling Price defended Little Rock with 7,749 soldiers. After Davidson's cavalry crossed the Arkansas River and defeated the Confederate cavalry in the Battle of Bayou Fourche on September 10, 1863, Price abandoned Little Rock and Steele's troops marched into the city.