August 29, 2007

In April 1863, Kentucky native and Union officer Napoleon Bonaparte Buford, shown here with his wife, was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and later assumed command of the District of Eastern Arkansas with headquarters established in the river port town of Helena (Phillips County). When reports began to surface that Confederate raiders were present, Buford dispatched a reconnaissance force to locate them. On July 24, 1864, Buford’s forces engaged Confederate cavalry in the Action at Wallace’s Ferry.