the Confederate state capital at Washington, Arkansas, Steele then turned and occupied Camden, on April 15, in order to resupply his army, which was then on half-rations. Price had stripped Camden of personnel in order to defend Washington, and the Union forces occupied the city against no significant opposition. Battle of Poison Spring After a two-day wait, General Steele sent 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 Kirby 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 John Marmaduke's division, assisted by the 19th Arkansas as part of Dockery's Brigade at the Battle of 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. Battle of Jenkins Ferry 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 back toward Little Rock on April 26. Three days later, he reached the Saline River at Jenkins' Ferry and began constructing a pontoon bridge. Smith's Confederates arrived on April 30 and repeatedly attacked the retreating Federals in windy and rainy conditions. Colonel H. G. P. WILLIAMS, of the 19th Arkansas, led his "dismounted casuals" of Dockery's Brigade on the left of Churchill's Division during the battle and filed the following report of his operations: Colonel Steele repulsed the Confederate 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. On May 8, 1864, Brigadier General T.J. Churchill reported that the strength of Dockery's Brigade was