• Rifle Regiment arriving at Belle Point, 1817. Artwork by Michael Haynes

    Fort Smith

    National Historic Site AR,OK

Commanding Officers 1817-1824

Major William Bradford, Rifle regiment - Nov. 1817 to Feb. 1822

Col. Mathew Arbuckle, 7th Infantry - Feb. 1822 to March 1822

Major A.R. Wooley, 7th Infantry - March 1822 to June 1822

Col. Mathew Arbuckle, 7th Infantry - June 1822 to January 1823

Captain William Davenport, 7th Infantry - January 1823 to May 1823

Col. Mathew Arbuckle, 7th Infantry - May 1823 to April 1824

(Troops withdrawn from Fort Smith in April 1824; re-occupied March 22, 1833.)

Did You Know?

foundation remains of first fort overlooking Arkansas River

The U.S. Army selected a spot overlooking the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers for the site of a fort.  Soldiers from the Rifle Regiment arrived in 1817 and named the site Fort Smith after their commanding officer, Thomas A. Smith.