December 23, 1862

The brief engagement known as the Skirmish at St. Francis Road took place in Phillips County. Brigadier General Willis A. Gorman, commander of the District of Eastern Arkansas, reported that an unspecified unit of Texas cavalry attacked a Federal outpost of pickets on St. Francis Road near Helena (Phillips County). After being pursued by Federal cavalry, the Texans made their final escape into a patch of woods. The attack on the outpost led to the deaths of two Federal soldiers and the injury of sixteen. No Confederate losses were reported.