U.S.C.T. in Helena

Among the regiments drawn from Helena was the 57th U.S. Colored Infantry, which began as the Fourth Arkansas Infantry (African Descent), recruited at Helena, Little Rock and DeValls Bluff and mustered in on December 2, 1863. Its men garrisoned Helena until August 1864, went on an expedition to Friar's Point, Mississippi, and guarded bridges and trains during the Camden Expedition. In May 1866, a year after the war ended, men of Companies B and H briefly mutinied over orders to join an expedition to New Mexico Territory. The regiment mustered out on December 31, 1866.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Delta Cultural Center — 0.4 mi
  A state museum in downtown Helena where King Biscuit Time, the longest-running daily blues radio show, is broadcast live from the Visitors Center.
• Elaine Massacre Memorial — 0.4 mi
  A memorial dedicated in 2019 in Helena for the Black people killed by white mobs and troops in the 1919 Elaine Massacre, the deadliest racial confrontation in Arkansas history.
• Freedom Park — 0.9 mi
  An outdoor Delta Cultural Center site on the ground of a Civil War contraband camp, where thousands of people who had escaped slavery sheltered and men enlisted.
• Mississippi River State Park — 11 mi
  A state park and gateway to the St. Francis National Forest, where the river, Crowley's Ridge and the Delta meet, with a Trail of Tears site at the Mississippi and St. Francis confluence.

More markers nearby

• Fort Curtis, 1862-1867 — steps away
• Russwurm Memorial — 0.2 mi
• Fort Curtis — 0.2 mi
• Sacred Heart Academy — 0.3 mi