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Another special Turtledove Award season update!


Part Forty: The Ozark Offensive

Ozark Offensive: The Ozark Offensive began early in 1865 when the Union sent the Army of the Missouri moved south to recapture Cape Girardeau after the majority of the Ozark Corps had surrendered. The Army of the Missouri entered Cape Girardeau on April 14th. While the Union River Squadron kept the Confederate navy busy, the Army of the Missouri under Winfield Scott Hancock skirted the southern edge of the Ozark Plateau as they swerved away from the Mississippi River. Hancock moved his men slowly along the edge of the plateau and took the city of Poplar Bluff, Missouri on April 26th. After following the south edge of the Ozarks for another thirty miles, Hancock turned south. By the time word of Hancock's move into Arkansaw reached Memphis, the Union forces had already taken the city of Jonesboro and secured a rail link between Saint Louis and Little Rock.

Bragg began moving most of the Army of the Mississippi south from Paducah in early May, but left a small garrison in northern Chickasaw to stall a Union advance. Because of the movement of the Army of Mississippi, the Union River Squadron was able to win the Second Battle of the Confluence and a corps took back Cairo. Bragg's men reached Memphis and crossed the Mississippi on May 17th. By then, Hancock had reached Clarendon Arkansaw and turned east toward the Mississippi. After a few days of skirmishing and maneuvering, Bragg and Hancock met at the river approximately ten miles north of the town of Helena on May 22nd. Hancock had the initial advantage as Union forces occupied the town and the outlying Saint Francis Hills[1] while Bragg advanced from the north.

On the first day of fighting Hancock made the first move in an attempt to gain an early victory and push Bragg back to the Mississippi River. The artillery of the Army of the Missouri were positioned on the southern edge of the hills by the river while a cavalry corps circled around from the northwest. Bragg had put most of his infantry at the Army of Mississippi's right flank and was able to push back the cavalry charge. The next day saw the advantage flip to the Confederates. The Army of Mississippi was able to advance on the right flank and capture the town of Marianna on the north end of the Saint Francis Hills. However, this push by the Confederates did not ensure them a victory in the battle. On the fourth day of fighting, Hancock's men achieved a large breakthrough in the center of the Bragg's forces. Hancock was able to isolate the bulk of the Army of Mississippi in Marianna from the smaller force by the river. The southern force was routed on May 27th, and Bragg ordered a general retreat a day later. Bragg's men retreated across the Mississippi River to regroup while Hancock sent the Army of the Missouri south toward Vicksburg.

Five days before the Battle of Helena, Seguín had finished mopping up the Northern Tejas Rebellion and moved the First Texas Corps back into Arkansaw. With help from a corps form the Army of the Missouri, Seguín capture Little Rock once again on June 12th. The fall of Little Rock to the Union meant that all of Calhoun and the majority of Arkansaw were now cut off from the Confederacy. The area held out for another two months while Seguín gradually moved up the Arkansaw River, but on August 4th, Calhoun surrendered to the Union at Harlem. Calhoun and the portion of Arkansaw that the Union controlled were set up like Virginia as military districts.

[1] Not sure what to call these hills but they are in the Saint Francis National Forest according to Google Maps.