Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 4, 2023
The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, during the American Civil War. Union troops had been using Helena, Arkansas, as a base of operations since July 1862. More than 7,500 Confederate troops led by Theophilus H. Holmes attempted to capture Helena in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on the Confederate army besieged in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Helena was defended by about 4,100 Union troops led by Benjamin Prentiss, manning one fort and four batteries. Differing interpretations of the order by Holmes to attack at daylight resulted in James Fleming Fagan's troops attacking Battery D unsupported, and Sterling Price's attack against the Union center was made after Fagan's had largely fizzled out. To the north, Confederate cavalry commanded by John S. Marmaduke and Lucius M. Walker failed to act in concert and accomplished little. The assaults failed, and Vicksburg fell the same day. Later in the year, Union troops used Helena as a staging ground for the Little Rock campaign. (Full article...)