Memphis & Little Rock Railroad

From 1863 the railroad was the Union army's lifeline into Little Rock. Steamboats brought supplies up the White River to DeValls Bluff, and the cars carried them the last miles to the Arkansas River, a route Confederate raids could not cut for long. Some of the pressure fell on the hay camps strung along the line. On August 24, 1864, Shelby's men captured the forts guarding the hay cutters at Ashley's Station, and the Union answered by planning Fort Lincoln at the river. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas notes that the railroad connection gave DeValls Bluff added strategic importance.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Louisiana Purchase State Park — 25 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

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