[1] The successful bombardment of Fort Sumter by Confederate troops in seceded territory on April 12[2] swung political opinion toward secession.

[3] After the defeat at Pea Ridge, Van Dorn moved most of the Confederate soldiers and supplies in Arkansas east of the Mississippi River and into Tennessee, leaving very little military organization in the state.

[5] Although Hindman was successful in rebuilding Confederate strength and stabilizing the military situation in Arkansas,[6] his methods were unpopular and sometimes extralegal.

[11] A militia officer, Brigadier General James S. Rains of the Missouri State Guard, commanded in Hindman's absence.

Hindman decided to attack with the Union forces divided, and after his cavalry fought with Blunt in the Battle of Cane Hill, began moving north across the Boston Mountains on December 3.

[15] Union troops commanded by Brigadier General Francis J. Herron began a long movement from Springfield on December 4 to reinforce Blunt.

Hindman realized that his battered army did not have enough food or ammunition to fight again, and with the Union having been reinforced, fell back to Van Buren beginning the night after the battle.

[19] Forage for horses was scarce in the Van Buren area,[20] and Hindman sent some of his cavalry, commanded by Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke, 100 miles (160 km) to the south to Lewisburg.

[21] Holmes visited the Van Buren area on December 21,[28] and ordered Hindman to withdraw his forces to Lewisburg, where the men could be better supplied via the river.

[33] After resting for three days following Prairie Grove, Herron and Blunt decided to move south against Hindman with 8,000 men, although this movement was delayed by a heavy snowstorm.

After spreading disinformation on December 26, that the Union thrust was headed for Huntsville, the movement began the next morning,[34] with 8,000 men and 30 cannons.

[43] The pursuing cavalry, led by Cloud, halted at a hill overlooking the Arkansas River, allowing Blunt and Herron to personally catch up to the force.

[44] When the Union troops charged down the hill, Herron sent part of the 1st Missouri Cavalry Regiment to the east to cut off a road that the Confederates could use to retreat.

The steamboats withdrawing down the river had been loaded with some of Hindman's supplies before the Union attack struck, and to speed their escape, some of the cargo was thrown overboard.

[46] Scouts informed Blunt that there was a bend in the river 2 miles (3 km) below Van Buren, and Cloud was sent there with a brigade and two cannons to try to intercept the steamboats.

[48] One of the Union mountain howitzers fired on the ferry at Van Buren, killing the horse powering it, although the soldiers on board were able to escape across the river.

By the time Shaver reached Fort Smith, Union troops had already held Van Buren for about two and a half hours.

The 1st Kansas Battery deployed on the hill overlooking the river and fired into Shaver's position at about 4:00 pm[54] with four 10-pounder Parrott rifles.

After the Union attack struck Van Buren, the Confederates panicked and burned wharves and warehouses in Fort Smith.

[58] On the morning of December 29, Blunt sent a scouting party across the river, which found that the only Confederates remaining at Fort Smith were 600 sick and wounded.

Blunt left Van Buren with the cavalry on December 30, and the raid was over by the next day,[64] when the Union troops arrived at Rhea's Mill.

[68] Cooper's men went to the Indian Territory,[67] and a small force led by William Steele remained at Forth Smith;[69] Union troops captured the post on September 1, 1863.

[70] The battle of Prairie Grove and the Van Buren raid had broken Confederate strength in the region;[71] the writer Shelby Foote wrote that "practically speaking, [Hindman] had no army".

[72] Cavalry raids and guerrilla warfare continued in the area, but fighting between large-scale armies did not occur in the region after Prairie Grove and Van Buren.