Painting of American Revolution soldiers in the foreground and a wooden fort in the background.
Sidney E. King, National Park Service

Arkansas Post (1783)

Gillett, AR  |  Apr 15 - May 16, 1783

Captain John Colbert, leading a mixed force of approximately eighty-one men, including eleven of mixed ethnicity, five African-Americans, a Frenchmen, and sixty-four British and Loyalist Americans, conducted an attack on the Spanish stockade Fort Carlos III around 2:00 am April 17, 1783.  After several hours, the British were unable to take the fort and retreated. Seven days later, the one hundred twenty-member Quapaw/Spanish force overtook Colbert’s camp freeing the prisoners previously taken at Arkansas Post. 

The Battle of Arkansas Post was one of only two engagements west of the Mississippi during the Revolutionary War, potentially influencing the belligerent nations' hold on that sector of the continent. However, the battle occurred after initial agreements for ending the war had been made making the battle the last land-based engagement of the conflict.

Related Battles

Gillett, AR | April 15, 1783
Result: American Victory
Commanders
Forces Engaged
122
American
40
British
82
Estimated Casualties
6
American
4
British
2