Battle of Bayou Meto

Battle of Bayou Meto
	Part of the American Civil War
Date	August 27, 1863
Location	Pulaski County (present-day Jacksonville), Arkansas34°50′33.0″N 92°07′12.0″W / 34.842500°N 92.120000°W
Result	Confederate victory
Belligerents
Confederate States	United States (Union)
Commanders and leaders
John S. Marmaduke	John W. Davidson
Casualties and losses
Unknown	45 or 46
	Bayou Meto class=notpageimage\| Location in Arkansas

The Battle of Bayou Meto, also known as the Battle of Reed's Bridge, was fought near present-day Jacksonville, Arkansas, along the Bayou Meto River, on August 27, 1863. During the American Civil War, Union forces left Helena, Arkansas, to move against the Confederate-held state capital of Little Rock. Part of the Union command, under Brigadier General John W. Davidson, defeated Confederate cavalry commanded by Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke on August 25, in the Battle of Brownsville. After the action at Brownsville, the Confederates fell back to the Bayou Meto. Union attacks on August 27 succeeded in pushing Marmaduke's men back across the bayou, but were unable to break the Confederate line. Davidson withdrew back to Brownsville after the fighting. The Union advance resumed on September 6, and Little Rock surrendered on September 10, after the Battle of Bayou Fourche. Tensions exacerbated during the action at Bayou Meto contributed to the Marmaduke-Walker duel, during which a Confederate general was killed. In 2002, part of the battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Bayou Meto Battlefield.