Battle of Whitney's Lane - The Aftermath

The Aftermath

The battle at Whitney's Lane had lasted one hour and resulted in 51 Union men killed or wounded and approximately 10 Confederate casualties. The 17th Missouri Infantry lost only 68 men during the entire war; nearly one third of those were at Whitney's Lane.

The battle was little more than a skirmish, but the psychological and strategic effects of the conflict were far more than was reflected by the number of casualties. For both Confederate soldiers and civilians in Arkansas, the battle provided a huge psychological lift at a critical time. Arkansas newspapers trumpeted the battle and praised its participants. These articles lifted the despair that had gripped the state and provided the Confederates with a new sense of optimism and hope.

Even though their losses were small compared to the size of their force, the results of the battle proved disheartening for the Union. Union troops were suffering from lack of supplies and some soldiers reportedly lost confidence in their officers. Within a few days, Confederate cavalry was harassing the Union supply line from the rear, making Union logistics problems even worse. Confederate theater commander Hindman also launched a clever disinformation campaign aimed at convincing the Union forces that new units were pouring into Little Rock from Texas.

By May 31, Curtis began to rethink his position in the face of the Confederate activity. On June 2, Curtis held a council of war, and the Federal commanders agreed to a retreat toward the Ozark foothills. By the end of June, Curtis had abandoned his campaign against Little Rock entirely and moved to Helena, Arkansas to establish a new supply line at the Mississippi River.

The actions of the 12th Texas Cavalry and a handful of local volunteers at Whitney's Lane played a large part in forestalling what would have almost certainly been a successful attack on Little Rock in 1862, and kept Arkansas actively in the war for more than a year longer.