The Historic City of Van Buren, Arkansas

If the streets of the beautiful Arkansas city of Van Buren look familiar, there probably is a good reason.

The Arkansas River community doubled for Biloxi, Mississippi, in Matthew Broderick's popular film "Biloxi Blues." The movie made use of numerous settings in and around Van Buren and nearby Fort Smith, including the Boston Mountains, downtown Van Buren and the Arkansas River.

First settled as a trading post and timbering community, Van Buren gained its present name in 1831 when a post office was established there. The name honors Martin Van Buren, who ironically had not yet become President of the United States when the town was named for him.

A stop on the famed Butterfield Overland Stage Route in the years before the Civil War, the growing town saw its commerce all but die during the war years. Occupied by Confederate troops for the first two years of the war, Van Buren played an important role in both the Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove campaigns and the graves of scores of Confederate soldiers can be seen in the city's Fairview Cemetery.

Actual fighting reached the city when it was attacked by the Union Army of the Frontier on December 28, 1862. The attacking force arrived so fast that the citizens of Van Buren were stunned by cavalry riding and fighting along their main street as they watched from the wooden sidewalks.

Today, Van Buren is a charming and prosperous city with a beautiful downtown area. It boasts numerous historic sites and is popular with visitors. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/vanburen.

The Battle of Van Buren, Arkansas

On December 28, 1862, thousands of Union troops stormed out of the icy Boston Mountains to attack the important river port of Van Buren, Arkansas.

The Battle of Van Buren was one of the more unusual of the Civil War. After an initial encounter at Dripping Springs north of town, the battling forces arrived in Van Buren so quickly that there was no time to warn the people of the community. As a result, citizens were going about their daily business along the main street when battling cavalry suddenly came charging down the avenue in their midst. Union soldiers later described seeing the astonished faces of civilians as they rode past at full speed.

Outnumbered Confederate troops boarded steamboats and a ferry on the Van Buren riverfront in an effort to escape across to the Fort Smith side of the Arkansas River. Despite cannon fire from the Union forces, the ferry made it across with most of the men. Two other steamboats, however, were forced to surrender.

For the rest of the day, the fighting raged between two armies separated by the wide Arkansas River. The Confederates planted a battery on the south bank of the river and began shelling the Union troops in Van Buren, inflicting both military and civilian casualties. Federal gunners replied with rifled cannon planted on a rise in the city's Fairview Cemetery. It was later estimated that as many as 100 shells crashed into the buildings and streets of Van Buren as civilians ran for cover.

The site of the battle is now (as it was then) a part of downtown Van Buren, a picturesque city overlooking the Arkansas River. To learn more, please visit our new pages at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/vanburenbattle1.

The Battle of Van Buren, Arkansas

The picturesque city of Van Buren, Arkansas, located on the banks of the Arkansas River near Fort Smith, is one of the most historic communities in the Natural State.

Its antebellum courthouse, seen here, is still in use today and each spring the school children of the community reenact the Civil War encounter remembered today as the Battle of Van Buren. The battle involved a breakneck charge down the main street of the town. The fighting arrived so fast that citizens were still going about their daily business when soldiers suddenly came charging down the street.

If you would like to read more about the Battle of Van Buren and see more photographs of this beautiful town, simply go to www.exploresouthernhistory.com and scroll down to the "Index" section. You'll find a link to the Battle of Van Buren under the "Arkansas" heading.