Poison Springs Battleground State Park

Great little park for picnicking and hiking and a must see for Civil War history buffs

Check out the pictures, videos, and information below.

The fighting that came to be known as the Battle of Poison Springs was the beginning of the end of the Red River Campaign, which was the Union's plan to stop the Mexican Emperor Maximilian from intruding into Texas, to cripple Confederate resistance, and to take control of the cotton land. The Confederate troops were able to stop the Union advance and captured the supplies that Union troops had pillaged from the surrounding area. When Union troops retreated, they were pursued by the encouraged Confederate soldiers, who attacked again at Marks' Mills, and later at Jenkins Ferry, after which the Union troops retreated back to Little Rock and ended the campaign. For a brochure entitled Red River Campaign in Arkansas, you can write to Arkansas State Parks, One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 or call (501) 682-1191 and ask for this.

If you want to camp while visiting this park, I suggest you check out White Oak Lake State Park. If you need a motel, check out Camden, Arkansas.

Check out the Arkansas State Parks website for more information

Arkansas History and Culture link on Poison Springs Battleground

You can control the slideshow manually by clicking on the pictures.

Posion Springs Battleground

Plaque describes the battle that took place.

Memorial Stone

Tribute to those who fought at this battle.

Dick on the Nature Trail

Dick walking along the trail.

Posion Springs Battleground

Plaque describes the battle that took place.

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This is a video done by a Civil War re-enactment actor known as civilwarhalftruths. This 2 minute video is done by Mark Hartage, who was a park interpreter at Poison Springs at one time. He tells a little about the battle that took place here.