July 20, 2009

In 1863, Union brigadier general John Thayer was assigned command of the District of the Frontier, headquartered in Fort Smith (Sebastian County). He commanded troops in the failed 1864 Red River Campaign. His delaying action at the Skirmish at Prairie D’ane in April allowed the Union troops to safely return to Camden (Ouachita County). In 1865, Thayer was reassigned to St. Charles (Arkansas County) and, by the end of the war, was a brevet major general of volunteers. He is shown here in about 1880.