The Battle of Cane Hill (also known as the Engagement at Cane Hill) was fought during the American Civil War on November 28, 1862, in northwestern Arkansas, near the town of Cane Hill. Union troops under Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt had entered northwestern Arkansas, and Major General Thomas Hindman of the Confederate Army sent a force under John S. Marmaduke to Cane Hill to intercept Blunt. Blunt attacked on November 28, and quickly broke Marmaduke's first line. An effective rear guard action by Joseph O. Shelby allowed the Confederates to form a second position on Reed's Mountain, but Blunt also broke this line, with the help of his artillery. Blunt's Union troops pursued the retreating Confederates, and darkness ended the action. The battle set the stage for the Battle of Prairie Grove, wh