out foraging parties into the countryside and awaited news from Banks. However, Banks was in retreat, having been defeated at the Battle of Mansfield, and now more of Smith's forces were heading into Arkansas to intercept Steele. Dwindling supplies for his army at Camden forced Steele to send out a 1,200-man foraging party to gather corn that the Confederates had stored about twenty miles away. After loading the corn into over 200 wagons and proceeding about 5 miles on April 18, Col. James M. Williams's party was savagely attacked by Marmaduke's and Brig. Gen. Samuel B. Maxey's Confederates at the Poison Spring. Williams was forced to retreat northward into a marsh, where his men finally regrouped and fell back to Camden, minus the wagonloads of much needed corn. Action at Marks’ Mills Steele was relieved on April 20 when a wagon train arrived from Pine Bluff with welcome supplies. One week later, the Battle of Marks' Mills resulted in the capture of 2,000 more of Steele's men and many more wagons. Steele decided to abandon Camden under the cover of darkness and retreated to Little Rock on April 26. Three days later, he reached the Saline River at Jenkins' Ferry and began constructing a pontoon bridge. Engagement at Jenkins' Ferry Smith's Confederates arrived at Jenkins' Ferry on April 30 and repeatedly attacked the retreating Federals in windy and rainy conditions. Steele repulsed the attacks and finally crossed with what was left of his force, destroying the bridge to prevent Smith from following. He was compelled to abandon most of his remaining supply wagons in the swamp north of the river. A badly chagrined Steele finally reached his base at the Little Rock Arsenal on May 3. Aftermath The Camden Expedition was perhaps the greatest Federal military disaster in Arkansas throughout the war. Union forces suffered over 2,500 casualties, lost hundreds of wagons and failed to take Shreveport or Texas. Confederate forces freely roamed rural Arkansas, while the Federals stayed in their fortifications at Fort Smith, Pine Bluff, Helena, and Little Rock. Confederate success in Arkansas did not come without a cost, however. Resources might have been used more effectively against Porter and Banks while the Union fleet was delayed due to low water on the Red River. Instead, Porter's fleet was able to escape nearly intact. Battlefield preservation Nine nationally significant historic places in Clark, Cleveland, Grant, Hempstead, Nevada, Ouachita,