April 16, 1864

A detachment of Federal troops commanded by Sergeant Josiah Watts from Company A of the Second Arkansas Cavalry was attacked by a Confederate battalion under the command of Captain James Washington Cooper as they foraged for supplies along the Osage Branch of the King’s River. Conflicting reports estimate a total of six Union troops killed and one missing following the engagement. This affair represents the continued presence of a small band of semi-autonomous Confederate commands along the Arkansas-Missouri border.