This photograph documents a mounted howitzer on a flat boat doing picket duty at Helena, Arkansas, during flooding of the Mississippi River in 1864.
Situated on the Mississippi River, Helena, Arkansas was garrisoned by Union troops; on July 4, 1863 the garrison, supported by the Union gunboat USS Tyler, successfully repulsed an attack by Confederate forces under the command of Sterling Price. Helena became the Union support base for the campaign to seize Little Rock later in the year.
The photograph is from the album of Captain Thomas Abel, 56th U. S. Colored Infantry, who was assigned post and garrison duties in Helena after the battle.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30785-N
