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> Arkansas Post National Memorial
Site Name Arkansas Post National Memorial Street Address 1741 Old Post Road City / State / Zip Gillett AR, 72055 Phone number 870-548-2207 Web Page www.nps.gov/arpo   Admission Fee Free. Hours Park, daily from 8:00 A.M. to dusk; visitor center, daily 8:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. Visitor services Public rest rooms, information, gift shop, museum; trails. Regular Events None.     Directions From Little Rock take I-65 south to Gould and take 212 east at Gould to Highway 165; take 165 north to 169 and follow to park. From Brinkley take 49 south to Marvell and take Highway 1 to 165 to 169. From Forrest City take Highway 1 to Dewitt and take 165 to 169.
Site Description
By mid-1862 Union gunboats commanded most of the Mississippi River. When the gunboats went up the White River into the heart of Arkansas, the Confederates began to prepare defenses on the Arkansas River, an important water route to the capital at Little Rock. Before the end of 1862, Confederate Gen. Thomas J. Churchill completed an earthen fortification at Arkansas Post called Fort Hindman or Post of Arkansas. In January 1863 the Battle of Arkansas Post saw nearly twenty-five thousand Union soldiers tangle with almost six thousand Confederate troops. Union ironclad gunboats showered the greatly outnumbered defenders of Fort Hindman. The resulting Union victory opened the way for the capture of Little Rock and later the siege and capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

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