Historical Marker
Battle of Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff, Jefferson County · Arkansas
Erected 1976
The cotton bales around the courthouse square were rolled there by Black refugees from slavery. When Marmaduke's cavalry approached on October 25, 1863, Colonel Powell Clayton summoned about 300 people from the refugee camp to barricade the streets with cotton. About 200 men hauled river water so the garrison could hold out, fifteen formerly enslaved men took up guns, and a bucket brigade kept fire from the barricades. Eighteen of the Union casualties were refugees. Marmaduke wrote that the Federals "fought like devils," and he withdrew, carrying off about 300 men, women and children.
Where it stands
34.22955, -92.00345 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Jefferson County First Court House — steps away
- Union Strategy and Pine Bluff — 0.5 mi
- Boone-Murphy House — 0.5 mi
- Joseph Carter Corbin 1833-1911 — 1.2 mi