Battle of Arkansas Post ( American Revolutionary War ) The Battle of Arkansas Post ( also known as the Colbert Raid or Colbert Incident ) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought at Arkansas Post on April 17 , 1783 . It was a part of a series of small battles fought between Spanish and British forces in the Lower Mississippi region from 1779 , when Spain entered the war on the side of the United States , to the war ' s end . The battle consisted of an attack on the Spanish - controlled post by British partisans led by James Colbert . The battle ' s primary engagement was a six - hour siege of the post ' s fort and a subsequent sortie by the Spanish defenders , causing the British forces to rout . The battle actually took place three months after the preliminary peace treaty between Spain and Great Britain was signed on January 20 , but word of the treaty had not yet reached the Lower Mississippi region . It was the only battle of the Revolutionary War fought in what is now the state of Arkansas . Background . In the years prior to the battle , Spanish forces had won several victories in the Lower Mississippi region , driving out the British from Manchac and Baton Rouge and taking many British combatants prisoner . By 1783 , British forces in the region were severely scattered , almost non - existent , and consisted only of small partisan groups engaged in guerrilla warfare . A former British army captain , James Colbert , was a leader of one such group , managing to rally a small number of ragtag fellow loyalists to continue the fight against the Spanish . Colbert ' s primary target was Arkansas Post because of its strategic location at the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers , and he had been planning an attack on the Spanish trading post for about a year . If the post could be captured , Colbert and his fighters could easily harass Spanish traffic on the Mississippi without consequence . The post was inhabited by a small garrison of 33 Spanish soldiers of the Louisiana Regiment and four Quapaw Native Americans in addition to the post ' s commander , Jacobo Dubreuil , the second - in - command , Lieutenant Luis de Villars , and Sergeant Alexo Pastor . It was guarded by a simple stockade fort , Fort Carlos , half a mile upriver . Preliminary . In early April , Colbert and his flotilla set off from their encampment on the Wolf River . On the Mississippi , Colbert ' s party encountered American vessels headed downriver to Natchez for settlement . These settlers were ordered to land and wait ashore for six days . Further down , near the mouth of the White River , Colbert encountered trading vessels from both New Orleans and Arkansas Post . These were seized along with their goods . The flotilla then proceeded up the Arkansas river . Not far from the post , on April 16 , Colbert ordered several Chickasaw to scout ahead . These scouts encountered the Quapaw village , " Osotouy " . Here they told the local chief , Angaska , who was allied to the Spanish and regularly corresponded with Dubreuil , that they were only going upriver " with a dozen Americans to shake hands with Captain Dubreuil . ” They then presented the chief with rum as a gift . As a result of this deception , Angaska did not report upriver to Dubreuil that anything was suspicious . The scouts then rendezvoused with the main party and proceeded upriver . By midnight , April 17 , the partisans had made it to the habitant shore of the post . To ensure no villagers or guards would be alerted by the approach , Colbert had the paddles of his vessels muffled with leather . Colbert landed his force slightly downriver from the village , leaving seven men to guard the canoes . Battle . The battle began with an initial partisan raid of the village at about 2 : 30 AM , resulting in an occupation by the attacking force . Although four families escaped the village and proceeded to seek shelter in nearby Fort Carlos , the attackers took most prisoner , including Luis de Villars and Alexo Pastor . Awakened by the commotion , the garrison of Fort Carlos launched a counter - attack , led by Jacobo Dubreuil . During this engagement , the Spanish garrison sustained two losses and Pastor escaped from partisan captivity , reaching the fort in the chaos of battle . No other prisoners escaped during the fighting . Afterward , the Spanish garrison retreated to the fort , unmolested by partisan fire . At about 3 : 00 AM , the attacking force began to entrench themselves in a ravine just outside the fort , which , due to its location among trees and bush , they could approach " within pistol shot . " The two sides exchanged gunfire for six hours , neither side sustaining casualties because of both the strength of the fort ' s palisade walls , and because the attackers were too entrenched in the ditch to be affected by the 4 pounder cannon s that the defenders employed . At 9 : 00 AM , Commander Dubrueil ordered Sergeant Pastor , nine soldiers , and four Quapaw warriors to prepare to make a sortie . Dubreil suspected that the attackers might be setting up artillery with which to breach the fort . At the same time , Colbert sent forth one of his officers under a flag of truce to deliver a peace offer demanding surrender . Marie Luisa Villars , the wife of the lieutenant and fellow prisoner , accompanied Colbert ' s officer to ensure he would not be shot approaching the fort . At this point , the exchange of gunfire ceased . Colbert ' s officer fled suddenly in fright , and Dubreuil received the peace offer , written by Colbert in French , from Madame Villars alone : M . Le Capitaine Colbert is sent by his superiors to take the post of the Arkansas and by this power Sir , he demands that you capitulate . It is his plan to take it with all his forces , having already taken all the inhabitants , together with the Lieut . Luis de Villars and his family . Dubreuil refused to surrender , and ordered the sortie to commence . Sergeant Alexo Pastor and his force of 13 sallied out of the fort toward the 82 attackers , shouting Quapaw war cries . The apparent shock of this sortie , mixed with war cries and volleys of musket fire , scattered the attacking force , which immediately retreated to the river and boarded the canoes with their prisoners . According to Dubreil , the partisans yelled " Let ' s go ! Let ' s go ! The Indians are upon us , " as they fled . One attacker was killed in the retreat . Aftermath . Following the rout , Colbert drove a tomahawk into the ground near the riverbank , symbolizing his intent to return , and had another message sent to Dubreil via one of the village inhabitants : You can form an idea of my forces , at 12 today 500 Chickasaws are due to arrive and also two bateau x loaded with men , armed with four swivel s and a cannon and if the Commandant of the fort does not surrender before the said hour and I am victorious , as I have no doubt I shall be , I do not know whether I can hold my people or not , and if the . . . [ Quapaw ] are used against us I myself will order the prisoners killed . This message was ignored by Dubreil and the reinforcements mentioned by Colbert never materialized when Dubreil failed to surrender the fort . Chief Angaska arrived at the post at noon that day , and was scolded by Dubreil for his failure to send word about the approaching force . Angaska , after explaining the deception by Colbert ' s scouts , was sent with 100 Quapaw and 20 Spanish soldiers to recover the prisoners taken by the retreating partisans . On April 24 , Angaska reached Colbert ' s flotilla near the mouth of the Arkansas River and proceeded to negotiate for the release of the prisoners . Bluffing that he had 250 men , Angaska convinced Colbert to release all but eight of his prisoners . Lieutenant de Villars and his wife were among those freed , but before being released , the lieutenant was allowed to sign an agreement securing the release of five British partisans arrested by the local Spanish government for rebellious activities in Natchez . De Villars agreed to this under pain of re - imprisonment by Colbert or a fine , and the agreement was later fulfilled when the rebels were paroled on Villar ' s request . On May 5 , Dubreil wrote to the Spanish governor of Louisiana , Esteban Rodríguez Miró , detailing the battle and praising the competence of his men . On May 16 , Miró wrote to Colbert , informing him of the January 20 preliminary peace treaty between the two sides and requesting that all property and prisoners be returned unconditionally . Although the remaining prisoners were released , Colbert refused to return the property seized in the raid .