On May 2, 1863, a detachment of Confederate Col. Frank A. Bartlett's 13th Louisiana Cavalry, possibly acting without orders, crossed Bayou Macon (probably somewhere in the vicinity of Kilbourne, Louisiana, where it was readily fordable) and carried off a number of African-Americans who were working on plantations in the area. The plantations along the Mississippi River were in an area supposedly occupied by the Union, and the plantations were growing cotton for the federal government. As such, they were nominally under the protection of the garrison of the Union post at Lake Providence, commanded by Brig. Gen. Hugh Reid.

The town of Ashton, Arkansas, no longer exists, and its precise location is not known.

This site has local significance because it is associated with military activities and events that achieved or affected important local objectives of the Vicksburg campaign.

The site would be documented. Acknowledging the site in the Vicksburg Heritage Coalition literature is encouraged.