Battle of Whitney ' s Lane The Battle of Whitney ' s Lane , also known as the Battle of Searcy or Skirmish or Battle of Searcy Landing was a small , but psychologically important , land battle of the American Civil War fought on May 19 , 1862 , in north - central Arkansas . Strategic Situation . Union Situation . In early 1862 , Union Major General Samuel R . Curtis had successfully invaded northwest Arkansas and defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Pea Ridge . Soon after , most Confederate forces in Arkansas were withdrawn across the Mississippi River , leaving the state almost defenseless . Curtis intended to press his invasion with the hope of reaching the capital city of Little Rock and knocking the state out of the war . Confederate Situation . The Confederate outlook in the spring of 1862 was grim . Most of its armed forces had been withdrawn from Arkansas and no commander with field experience remained . General John Selden Roane was put in charge of the Arkansas forces , and Maj . Gen . Thomas C . Hindman was placed in overall command of the Trans - Mississippi Department . On his arrival , Hindman found that he had virtually no troops and only fifteen pounds of gunpowder with which to defend the state . Maneuvering to Battle . Union Movements . General Curtis began his movement from northwest Arkansas in early April . He moved his 17 , 000 - man army back into Missouri to take advantage of better transportation routes and headed east . He established his base of supply at Rolla , Missouri . Curtis reached West Plains , Missouri on April 29 and turned southwards into Arkansas . In addition to his large force , Curtis was assigned an additional 5 , 000 men under Brigadier General Frederick Steele . During the first part of May , Curtis and Steele encountered numerous logistical difficulties . Poor weather , difficult terrain , and lack of consistent resupply slowed their progress . But by May 9 , Curtis ' large , but ill - supplied , force had emerged from the Ozark foothills onto flat ground at Searcy . It was poised to strike deep into central Arkansas and seize Little Rock itself as soon as supplies were gathered . While encamped at Searcy , Curtis and overall commander Major General Henry W . Halleck began to correspond about the upcoming Federal administration of Little Rock . Confederate Movements . Confederate generals Hindman and Roane set to work immediately in cobbling together a defense to meet the approaching Union Army . Hindman stopped elements of the 12th Texas Cavalry that were bound for the eastern theaters and ordered troops who had made it as far as Memphis , Tennessee to turn around . Some attempts at recruiting local volunteers were made , but with little success . On May 10 , Hindman sent Texas cavalry as scouts to determine the federal position . The scouts encountered numerous refugees fleeing the Union Army . The refugees reported that the Union forces numbered about 30 , 000 , mostly German immigrants . Hindman had approximately 1 , 200 Texas horsemen to confront this force . He ordered cotton stores near Searcy destroyed , and Governor Henry Massey Rector prepared government offices for evacuation . Meanwhile , small advance parties from the Union Army clashed with the Texas scouts between Searcy and Little Rock , and a few Union casualties resulted . By May 19 , several companies of the Texas cavalry had reached Searcy Landing and awaited an opportunity to strike the overwhelming opponent . The battle . Union General Curtis continued to worry about logistical problems , as his supply line was unable to provide the necessities for his army . He ordered Colonel Peter J . Osterhaus to send a strong foraging party to nearby farms . It consisted of seven companies of mixed infantry and cavalry from the 17th Missouri Infantry and the 4th Missouri Cavalry . The forage party crossed the Little Red River and proceeded to two farms along Whitney ' s Lane . Scouting parties reported the movement of these companies to Colonel Emory Rogers , commander of approximately 150 Texas cavalrymen and local volunteers . About 300 additional Confederate troops were on the way , but Rogers decided to attack even though he was outnumbered . He divided his forces into two groups of Texans and one of Arkansans and ordered a mounted charge down the lane . The initial charge overran Company H of the 17th Missouri , which dissolved under fire and fled toward Company F , which was attempting to set up a defensive position in a treeline . The combined companies fought bravely for a few minutes , as more Confederates came up to press them . The untrained and undisciplined Texans and local volunteers attacked furiously , and in some cases apparently ignored Union soldiers ' attempts to surrender . Within a short time , Company F had been routed as well . Meanwhile , Company G of the 17th and some Union cavalry moved forward and traded volleys with the Confederate horsemen . Major Eugen Kielmansegge of the 4th Missouri Cavalry ordered the rest of the available Union troopers to charge the Confederates . Company C of the 4th Missouri Cavalry plowed into the attackers and managed to drive them back into the woods between the foraging detail and the rest of the Federal army . Other Federal cavalry continued to arrive at the position . Kielmansegge , having concentrated his forces , set up a defensive position and continued to exchange fire with the Confederates as they prepared for another attack . Meanwhile , other companies of the 17th Missouri had heard firing from the base camp across the Little Red River and marched out to relieve the forage party . Confederate Major Rogers ordered his men to retreat to the southwest and most did , though the Arkansans and some Texans remained on the field and attacked the relief column before withdrawing . The 300 expected Confederate reinforcements arrived on the field just after the retreat had been sounded and joined in the withdrawal . The aftermath . The battle at Whitney ' s Lane had lasted one hour and resulted in 51 Union men killed or wounded and approximately 10 Confederate casualties . The 17th Missouri Infantry lost only 68 men during the entire war ; nearly one third of those were at Whitney ' s Lane . The battle was little more than a skirmish , but the psychological and strategic effects of the conflict were far more than was reflected by the number of casualties . For both Confederate soldiers and civilians in Arkansas , the battle provided a huge psychological lift at a critical time . Arkansas newspapers trumpeted the battle and praised its participants . These articles lifted the despair that had gripped the state and provided the Confederates with a new sense of optimism and hope . Even though their losses were small compared to the size of their force , the results of the battle proved disheartening for the Union . Union troops were suffering from lack of supplies and some soldiers reportedly lost confidence in their officers . Within a few days , Confederate cavalry was harassing the Union supply line from the rear , making Union logistics problems even worse . Confederate theater commander Hindman also launched a clever disinformation campaign aimed at convincing the Union forces that new units were pouring into Little Rock from Texas . By May 31 , Curtis began to rethink his position in the face of the Confederate activity . On June 2 , Curtis held a council of war , and the Federal commanders agreed to a retreat toward the Ozark foothills . By the end of June , Curtis had abandoned his campaign against Little Rock entirely and moved to Helena , Arkansas to establish a new supply line at the Mississippi River . The actions of the 12th Texas Cavalry and a handful of local volunteers at Whitney ' s Lane played a large part in forestalling what would have almost certainly been a successful attack on Little Rock in 1862 , and kept Arkansas actively in the war for more than a year longer .