Battle of Bayou Fourche

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Bayou Fourche


caption=
partof=the American Civil War
date=September 10, 1863
place=Pulaski County, Arkansas
result=Union victory
combatant1= flagicon|USA|1863 United States (Union)
combatant2= flagicon|CSA|1863 CSA (Confederacy)
commander1=John W. Davidson
commander2=John S. Marmaduke
strength1=Cavalry Division, Army of Arkansas, Arkansas Expedition
strength2=District of Arkansas
casualties1=72
casualties2=Unknown

The Battle of Bayou Fourche was a battle in the American Civil War.

On September 10, 1863, Maj. Gen. Fred Steele, Army of Arkansas commander, sent Brig. Gen. John W. Davidson’s cavalry division across the Arkansas River to move on Little Rock, while he took other troops to attack Confederates entrenched on the north side. In his thrust toward Little Rock, Davidson ran into Confederate troops at Bayou Fourche, Arkansas. Aided by Union artillery fire from the north side of the river, Davidson forced them out of their position and sent them fleeing back to Little Rock, which fell to Union troops that evening. Bayou Fourche sealed Little Rock’s fate. The fall of Little Rock further helped to contain the Confederate Trans-Mississippi theater, isolating it from the rest of the South.