The Battle of Yocum Creek

In March of 1862, Union Forces drove Confederate forces from Missouri at the Battle of Pea Ridge near modern-day Fayetteville, AR. After securing victory, US forces, now in control of Elkhorn Tavern, began to organize the First Arkansas Cavalry Regiment. The First Arkansas Cavalry was completed in July of 1862, and began minor operations in the Ozarks of southern Missouri and northwest Arkansas (National Parks Service, 2020). On November 15th, 1862, companies G and K of the First Arkansas Cavalry, along with a third company whose designation is unclear, were dispatched to the area around Yocum Creek in northwest AR, just south of the Missouri border (Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 2020). These forces from the Arkansas First Cavalry were charged with helping Unionist families to evacuate from the area into the safety of Missouri.

Northwest Arkansas was a rather split community, at least insofar as allegiances were concerned. Although the area had a strong Unionist population, there were also significant numbers of Confederate sympathizers living in the area as well. Unionist evacuation for the safety of Missouri was a common phenomenon in the area at the time, for several reasons. Firstly, the Unionists were largely pacifists, as was evidenced by their participation in Peace Societies. These families, while vocally disapproving of the Confederate cause, generally prioritized the protection of their families and their property over taking up arms (Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, 2020). What exacerbated matters, and justified the intervention of US forces in civilian evacuations, was the fact that Confederate sympathizers shared no such sentiments, and were more than happy to take up arms and “bushwhack” their Unionist neighbors. As a result, many Unionist families living in northwest Arkansas felt unsafe in their communities, and sought refuge in Missouri. One such family was the Hayhurst family of modern-day Berryville, AR. The Hayhursts had been told by Union forces at the conclusion of the Battle of Yocum Creek that they would return to help them evacuate in the spring of the next year. As such, they chose to evacuate in March of 1863. Unfortunately for the Hayhursts, Union forces did not arrive until April. As a result of attempting to evacuate without the assistance of the First Arkansas Cavalry, the Hayhursts were fired upon by their Confederate neighbors on the day of their attempted move, and were thwarted (Geni.com, 2019). Occurrences such as these were what the First Arkansas Cavalry hoped to mitigate with their excursion to the Yocum Creek area in November of 1862.

On November 15th, 1862, the First Arkansas Cavalry arrived at the farm of Jeremiah Youngblood, in order to help evacuate his family (Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 2020). While the Union forces were there, Confederate raiders opened fire on the Youngblood family and Union forces, before being driven southward along Yocum Creek by the Arkansas First Cavalry. Upon being driven to Duncan Springs, Confederate forces turned and renewed their attacks on their Union pursuers (Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 2020). After the First Arkansas Cavalry pushed them south of Duncan Springs, Confederate forces split into two groups, one turning west, the other south, in the direction of what is today Green Forest, AR. The First Arkansas Cavalry pursued the Confederates through modern-day Green Forest and on into modern-day Berryville, arriving at the Hayhurst Farm, where Confederate forces dispersed (Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 2020). It was at this point that the First Arkansas Cavalry promised to help the Hayhursts evacuate in the spring of 1863. It should be noted that John Henderson Hayhurst, to whom the farm belonged, had a son and a son-in-law assigned to the First Arkansas Cavalry at the time (Geni.com, 2019; Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 2020). It is estimated that 14 men died in total, seven on each side, but accurate records of the death toll are unknown (Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, 2020). 

“Battle Unit Details.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed November 29, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UAR0001RC.

“Skirmish at Yocum Creek.” Arkansas Civil War Sites. Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. Accessed November 29, 2020. http://www.arkansascivilwar150.com/historical-markers/skirmish-at-yocum-creek.

“John Henderson Hayhurst.” geni_family_tree. Geni.com, August 13, 2019. https://www.geni.com/people/John-Hayhurst/6000000010631575455.

“Scenes of Carroll County.” Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, June 22, 2020. https://shilohmuseum.org/project/scenes-of-carroll-county/.

“Skirmish at Yocum Creek.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, August 26, 2020. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/skirmish-at-yocum-creek-6994/.