On April 30, 1864, six African American infantry regiments played a pivotal role in the Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry, a brutal Civil War clash in Arkansas. Among them, the 2nd Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry helped repel Confederate forces and captured a rebel artillery battery during a fierce rearguard action along the Saline River.

What made this battle especially charged was what had occurred just two weeks earlier at Poison Spring — a horrific massacre where Confederate troops killed wounded and surrendering Black Union soldiers. Enraged by the atrocity, the 2nd Kansas Colored Volunteers charged into Jenkins’ Ferry shouting in defiance, determined to fight not just for victory, but for justice. Their courage helped secure a strategic Union retreat and cemented their legacy as fearless warriors against slavery and terror.