Battle of Arkansas Post (1783)

Battle of Arkansas Post
	Part of the Western Theater of the; American Revolutionary War
	; Counterattack! by Sidney E. King shows the sally from Fort Carlos III made by Sergeant Alexo Pastor, nine soldiers of the Louisiana regiment, and four Quapaw warriors during the six hour siege of the fort.
Date	April 17, 1783
Location	Arkansas Post, Louisiana (present-day Arkansas)34°1′5.37″N 91°20′43.43″W / 34.0181583°N 91.3453972°W
Result	Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spain; Quapaw	Great Britain; Chickasaw
Commanders and leaders
Jacobo du Breuil; Luis de Villars (POW); Alexo Pastor;	James Colbert
Strength
36 regulars ; 4 Quapaw	71 irregulars ; 11 Chickasaw
Casualties and losses
2 killed ; 1 wounded ; 6 captured	1 killed ; 1 wounded
	Arkansas Post class=notpageimage\| Location within North America

The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as the Colbert Raid and the Battle of Fort Carlos, was an unsuccessful British attempt to capture Fort Carlos III and the Franco-Spanish village of Arkansas Post, Louisiana (present-day U.S. state of Arkansas) in the American Revolutionary War.

During the early morning hours of April 17, 1783, a large party of British irregulars and Chickasaw led by Captain James Colbert of the 16th Regiment of Foot attacked the settlement and fort. It was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War, and the only one fought in present-day Arkansas. A surprise sally by the Spanish and Quapaw defenders caused Colbert's men to rout.

The raid was a part of a series of small engagements fought between Great Britain and Spain in the Lower Mississippi River region from 1779, when Spain entered the American Revolutionary War on the side of the United States. The event took place three months after a treaty between Spain and Britain was signed on January 3, 1783, but word of it had not yet reached the Spanish settlement.