Clarendon in the Civil War

Clarendon's war ended with a gunboat sunk in the White River. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas says the USS Queen City, a tinclad guarding supply barges, was the only warship captured by land forces in Arkansas. Shelby's cavalry reached town on June 23, 1864 and set cannon about 200 yards from the anchored ship. They opened fire at 3 a.m., and the commander, Acting Master Michael Hickey, surrendered. Shelby had the magazines fired so Union reinforcements could not use the ship. Union losses were at least six killed and nine wounded, and postwar divers salvaged the machinery.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Louisiana Purchase State Park — 15 mi
  A National Historic Landmark in a headwater swamp where Phillips, Lee and Monroe counties meet, marking the initial point of every survey of the Louisiana Purchase lands.

More markers nearby

• Monroe County First Courthouse — steps away
• DeValls Bluff in the Civil War — 10 mi
• The Memphis & Little Rock Railroad — 10 mi
• Memphis & Little Rock Railroad — 10 mi