About Poison Springs Battleground State Park
Poison Springs Battleground State Park preserves part of the landscape where the Battle of Poison Spring was fought on April 18, 1864, during the Camden Expedition, the Arkansas component of the Union's wider Red River Campaign. A Union column sent from Camden to gather badly needed provisions was intercepted by Confederate forces, and the resulting defeat deprived Major General Frederick Steele's army of supplies at a critical point in the campaign.
The battle is remembered not only for its military consequences but also for the heavy losses suffered by Black Union soldiers, particularly the First Kansas Colored Infantry, and for killings of Black troops during and after the fighting. The battlefield later became one of the Camden Expedition Sites recognized as a National Historic Landmark.
Today the quiet, forested state park offers outdoor interpretive exhibits, picnic areas, and a short nature trail through terrain associated with the battlefield. It is a worthwhile stop for visitors tracing the Camden Expedition because the peaceful setting provides a striking contrast with the violence of the 1864 engagement while helping place the campaign's supply crisis and racial dimensions in historical context.
