January 14, 1865

Colonel William H. Brooks led a Confederate force of 1,500 men to the Arkansas River to assess the strength of Union garrisons along the river. The same day, a detachment of 276 Union men occupied the earthworks at Dardanelle. The Confederate forces led the Action at Dardanelle (and three days later the Action at Ivey’s Ford) to test the strength of Union outposts scattered along the river in final attempts to challenge Union dominance of the river valley. Though both sides continued to make periodic scouts and raids into enemy territory, no other serious combat operations occurred in Arkansas during the remainder of the Civil War.