Arkansas Battlefield Update
Spring 2003 - Volume 11 Number 1
Published quarterly by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program
An agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage
Vicksburg Campaign Trail seen as Heritage Corridor
Historians from Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Kentucky met with National Park Service officials in Memphis recently to continue work on the Vicksburg Campaign Trail feasibility study.
The study was authorized by Congress in 2000 to identify historic resources associated with the Vicksburg Campaign and provide recommendations for their preservation and promotion.
The draft study recommends that Congress create a “Vicksburg Campaign Trail Heritage Corridor” containing historic resources in five states. It also recommends creation of a commission or foundation responsible for coordinating the corridor and enacting the recommendations of the feasibility study. The commission would be augmented by task forces in each state that would be responsible for pursuing the recommendations in their state.
The study is looking at around 500 sites in the five states and classifying them in four categories:
Tier One: Sites associated with a general engagement involving field armies in which a commander achieved a vital strategic objective, such as an indisputable victory on the field or the success or termination of a campaign offensive. Tier One sites in Arkansas are Arkansas Post National Memorial and Helena.
Tier Two: Sites associated with an engagement involving divisions or detachments of the field armies in which a commander accomplished a limited campaign objective of reconnaissance, disruption, defense or occupation, resulting in an observable influence on the direction, duration or conduct of the campaign. Tier Two sites in Arkansas are Chalk Bluff, Jacksonport and St. Charles.
Tier Three: Sites associated with an engagement, typically involving detachments of the field armies in which a commander achieved a limited tactical objective of reconnaissance, defense or occupation without observable influence on the direction of the campaign. Tier Three sites in Arkansas are Ashton, Eunice, Cypress Bend, Gaines Landing, Rohwer, South Bend, Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Des Arc, DeValls Bluff, Clarendon, Lick Creek and Cotton Plant; the study group in Memphis decided to include Napoleon on the list.
Associated: Miscellaneous non-battlefield sites associated with the campaign and movements of the armies. Associated sites in Arkansas include Eudora, LakeVillage, Smith Plantation Site, Jordan’s Plantation, Monticello, Lacy, Fountain Hill, Hillsboro, El Dorado, Camden, Princeton, Tulip, Sulphur Springs, Benton, Moro, Trenton, Oakland and ElevenPointRiver.
The study group in Memphis decided to look at shipwrecks related to the Vicksburg Campaign as well and will seek to identify vessels sunk during the campaign.
The draft study also includes specific recommendations for the various sites, including Arkansas’s two Tier One sites.
Helena: “Currently one hilltop fortification, Battery C, is in public ownership while three others remain privately owned. Although subjected to erosion, Batteries A and D present extraordinary opportunities for interpretation since both retain a relatively high degree of integrity. If possible the three batteries in private ownership should be acquired and managed by a local entity, either the city of Helena or the DeltaCulturalCenter. Although public ownership of Battery B is not as significant, ownership of all four batteries would complete the Civil War interpretive package at Helena and relate the story of the larger Vicksburg Campaign Trail. … While not recommended as an addition to the national park system, a partnership between the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the city of Helena and the National Park Service would ensure preservation and interpretation of the Tier One resources at Helena.”
Arkansas Post: “An area known as the racetrack is significant to Arkansas Post and contains resources associated with the Civil War battle fought there. The site is approximately 83 acres and is privately owned. It is recommended that the site be acquired and added to Arkansas Post National Memorial.”
From this point, the National Park Service will write a draft feasibility study and environmental impact study, which will be reviewed at its regional offices and revised. The study will then be printed and distributed for public review and comment, possibly by this fall. After any needed revisions are made, the Vicksburg Campaign Trail Feasibility Study should be ready to send to Congress for possible legislative action next spring.
SWACWHT schedules June 1 meeting to develop projects for 2003 efforts
By Jim Hale
SWACWHT Chairman
The SWACWHT met at the Chidester House in Camden on February 23, 2003. There was an excellent representation from local historians in Camden, who are very interested in further preservation and communication about the role of Camden and OuachitaCounty during the Civil War.
Potential opportunities to develop FortLookout into a first-class Civil War museum were discussed, including how to raise the necessary funding to pay off the mortgage on the 50 acres that include the picturesque fort overlooking the Ouachita River. The economic and educational benefits to the region were mentioned, and those involved were encouraged by the prospects.
Chairman Tom Beam has resigned as chairman of the SWACWHT. Jim Hale will serve as acting chairman and elections will be held at the next SWACWHT quarterly meeting on Sunday June 1, 2003, at 2:30 p.m. at McClellan 100 on the campus of OuachitaBaptistUniversity in Arkadelphia.
Discussions will center on identifying one or two major points of emphasis on which we can focus our efforts during the remainder of this year and next. Some of the projects that have been discussed as being worthy of our attention include preservation of the Jenkins’ Ferry battlefield, further exploration and feasibility of a Camden Campaign museum, identification of the Sutton Mound, proper marking of the Prairie DeAnn sites, and identification of the many lesser known forts and sites across our region.
An interesting and informative program on the Arkadelphia Arsenal will be presented. As an extra special treat, one of only two CSA rifles known to exist from that arsenal will be available through the courtesy of its owner. This extremely rare piece of Arkansas Civil War history will make this meeting well worth the trip.
Much work has been done recently to place markers throughout various sites in ClarkCounty, including the Battle of the Bees at Okolona and the salt works east of the Ouachita River at Arkadelphia. Additional markers will be placed this year at the Bozeman House (site of the first battle in ClarkCounty), the skirmish at Spoonville (now Hollywood), and at Elkins’ Ferry. Bobby Downs of Arkadelphia is coordinating these important projects.
CACWHT plans to work with others
By Tom Ezell
CACWHT Chairman
“Cooperation” has been the theme for the Central Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail as we strengthen connections with our neighboring preservation groups. In April, CACWHT members participated in preservation events at the Marks' Mills battlefield near Fordyce, providing the Federal force for the inaugural reenactment of that event during the 1864 Red River Campaign, and in a preservation march commemorating the start of the 1863 Vicksburg campaign at Port Gibson, Mississippi, raising more than $6,000 toward the preservation of the Shaifer House and key portions of the Port Gibson battlefield.
Closer to home, CACWHT members have been seeking to foster and strengthen relationships with the staff of the MacArthurMilitaryHistoryMuseum and the Old State House in Little Rock to support their interpretive and living history programs.A non-profit organization, the Central Arkansas Civil War Preservation Association, was established in March as a 501(c)(3) organization to foster living history programs and reenactments, with the goal to engage in preservation efforts of Civil War battlefields, cemeteries, memorials, structures, and other artifacts of the Civil War.
Association members have rallied to support the museums’ staff in supporting tour groups, and plans are underway to support commemorative programs for the 140th anniversary of the Little Rock Campaign (August 23 at the Old State House Museum) and the 140th anniversary of the trial and execution of David O. Dodd (second Saturday in January, 2004), in which members will recreate Dodd’s trial, followed by a short memorial service at Dodd’s grave site in Mt. Holly Cemetery.
This summer, CACWHT members will be surveying the interpretive panels at the sites associated with the Little Rock Campaign, and will be repairing and replacing those which have been damaged by exposure to the elements, as well as doing some basic maintenance to the displays.
The CACWHT meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the John Gould Fletcher Library at H and Buchanan streets in Little Rock.Volunteers are always appreciated to help with our projects.For more information, call Tom Ezell at (501) 682-0876 or (501) 961-1937 (evenings), or write the CACWHT at 221 East Capitol, Little Rock, AR72201.
For more information on the Reed’s Bridge Battlefield Preservation Society, call Tommy Dupree at (501) 833-0265.The Society’s meetings are held each month at 12:30 p.m. at the new Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce building at 200 Dupree Drive, and are open to the public.Donations can be made, and checks payable to the Reed’s Bridge Preservation Society, 600 Lynx Lane, Jacksonville, AR72076.
WC works on Massard Prairie
By Tom Wing
WCACWHT Chairman
The WCACWHT met in March after meeting cancellations due to winter weather. Officers were chosen for the coming year with Jim Starbird continuing to serve as treasurer and Judith McGee serving as secretary.
Old business included the brochure for Civil War sites in Fort Smith and a necessary revision and reprinting of the existing Massard Prairie brochure. New business included a request for former Massard Prairie Commission members and interested persons to attend a meeting May 7 at 3 p.m. at CreekmorePark in Fort Smith. John Dargel, director of Fort SmithParks and Recreation, is calling the meeting with the hopes of breathing new life into the preservation and interpretation efforts at Massard Prairie.
The city completed clean-up operations started on the Civil War Preservation Trust’s “Park Day” 2003 and also installed a gravel walking trail. Other new business included suggestions for a second annual Mayor’s picnic at the site to recognize the significance and local effort to preserve the ground. The year 2004 will mark the 140th anniversary of the action at Massard Prairie and the suggestion was also made to do a large event next year.
Preservation issues in CrawfordCounty were discussed with Dripping Springs and downtown Van Buren heading the list. Dripping Springs was the site of a Confederate camp that was attacked during the Prairie Grove Campaign. Federal troops then occupied Van Buren for a number of days before retreating north. The Van Buren Chamber of Commerce is interested in promoting heritage tourism in CrawfordCounty. The next meeting of the WCACWHT will be June 14 at Fort Smith National Historic Site. Call Tom Wing at (479) 783-3961 for more information.
NEACWHT participates in Chalk Bluff event, reports progress on marking regional battle sites
By Danny Honnoll
NEACWHTC Chairman
The North East Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail Committee held its meeting at Chalk Bluff Battle site on May 2 and 3.They helped sponsor a living history/reenactment of the Battle of Chalk Bluff with ClayCounty and the Col. Robert G. Shaver Camp # 1655, Sons of Confederate Veterans of Jonesboro. They marked the 140th Anniversary of the Battle of Chalk Bluff.
Over 75 people attended the actual meeting at the Chalk Bluff pavilion on Saturday to hear Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trails Foundation President W. Danny Honnoll give a presentation on Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson and the Battle of Chalk Bluff.Mrs. Cecil Dalton attended the meeting and the group thanked her for her part in helping preserve the natural setting and battle site for future generations to enjoy.Honnoll gave the details of Chalk Bluff and Maj. Gen. John Sappington Marmaduke’s raid on Cape Girardeau.He also told how General Thompson built a makeshift bridge for the Confederate army to use to cross the St. Francis River on May 1 and 2 of 1863.
On Saturday and Sunday reenactments were held on the Dalton Farm which is just south of the Chalk Bluff Natural Area Park.This is a near-perfect site to hold a reenactment with most of the action in the valley between two hills which make up part of Crowley’s Ridge.On Saturday more than 300 attended this event.Seven period cannons thundered on both days to the enjoyment of those in attendance.More than fifty reenactors took part in the events.Yankee artillery opened the event by firing on the Confederates.
Sunday a memorial was held for those who fell at Chalk Bluff; over 125 turned out to witness this event on a rainy looking day.Special honors were given to Marmaduke for his leadership to the Confederate army.Marmaduke was the son of a governor of Missouri and was elected Missouri’s governor in 1884; he eventually died in office in 1887. NEACWHTC Trustee M. Ray Jones and Doyle Yearta, both of Jonesboro presented a Confederate flag to Sally Howell, the wife of Clay County Judge Gary Howell, for use on future historical dates at the Chalk Bluff park.Reenactors dressed in Federal and Confederate uniforms took part in the memorial.
Trustee Rev. Terry Bandy conducted a church service on Sunday and over 50 attended this religious service.NOTE: Terry did not pass an offering plate!!!
The ladies of the North East Arkansas Living Historians set up a demonstration of a Civil War refugee camp.This was to show the lives of the civilian population after they were displaced by the actions of both armies.They did an excellent job as always and we want to thank Jeanne Thompson and Mary Kunkel for their work in this area that is mostly overlooked in most modern history books.
Judge Howell and his family played a key role in the success of this event.Delbert Hughes of Piggott did an outstanding job in bringing together the largest gathering of Civil War cannons in years.He also did a great job playing a Yankee officer during the reenactments.
We are all exploring doing the Battle of Chalk Bluff Reenactment again next year.I will keep you posted.
We are still working on the markers for Fitzhugh’s Woods, Pocahontas and Martin’s Creek.Hopefully we can report more in the next newsletter.
NEACWHT member Derek Clements and several AHPP historians helped survey Pitman, Arkansas.This may be another area that can be developed like Chalk Bluff and serve as a park as well as a battlefield site.
It has been two years since we visited the Stone House at Colt, Arkansas.We had a great time the last time we visited Colt. Ann and Walter Meals wants to invite everyone down on September 5, at 5-8 p.m. for Gospel singing on Friday night and then Saturday from 9 am to 5 p.m. for The Stone House Pioneer Days Celebration.
The NEACWHTC will hold its next meeting at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 8, 2003 at the Stone House, at Colt, Arkansas. (The Stone House is a white frame house on Highway 306 behind the Exxon Quick shop at Colt. Colt is 55 miles south of Jonesboro.) See y’all there!!!!!
AHPP, Pea Ridge historians track route of Old Wire Road
Historians from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program worked with Pea Ridge National Military Park personnel in April to document sections of the old Springfield to Fayetteville Road that were used by Civil War armies and during the Cherokee Trail of Tears.
The team began work on the Missouri border, following the Springfield to Fayetteville Road, also known as the Old Wire Road, as far as Springdale and photodocumenting those segments that retained some semblance of their nineteenth-century orientation and appearance.
The work was part of an ongoing AHPP effort to document surviving historic resources associated with the Cherokee Removal in Arkansas. In many cases, as in Benton and Washington counties, those resources also include a strong Civil War connection. Eligible properties may later be nominated for recognition on the National Register of Historic Places.
The next meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail will be at Harrison on June 27, time and place to be announced.
SEACWHT working on site markers
By Mark Kalkbrenner
SEACWHT Chairman
The South East Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail has been busy this spring.
Work is continuing on markers for Longview and Marks’ Mills, as well as research for other markers at various sites around the region.
In February, several people from the National Park Service, along with those from the Department of Arkansas Heritage, were in the area to survey sites for the Vicksburg Campaign study.Sites visited included Arkansas Post, FortPleasant, White Sulphur Springs, St. Charles, and the Helena Battlefield.
On April 25-27, SEACWHT co-hosted the reenacment of Marks’ Mills.With just over 100 reenactors and approximately 2000 spectators, the event was deemed a success.
The next meeting of the SEACWHT will be in August.Time and place will be announced at a later date.
Text of Wittsburg Fortification nomination
The Wittsburg Fortification in CrossCounty was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The text of the nomination is included below.
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies mentions operations in the Wittsburg area on two occasions prior to the Little Rock Campaign. The First Wisconsin Cavalry passed through Wittsburg in August 1862 on a scouting expedition that resulted in skirmishes at Jonesboro and L’Anguille Ferry. Powell Clayton’s Fifth Kansas Cavalry, while on a scouting expedition from Helena up the St. Francis and Little Rivers in March 1863, seized 15 hogsheads of sugar at Wittsburg. Union officials also received reports that Brig. Gen. John Sappington Marmaduke’s Confederates were operating at or near Wittsburg in May 1863, with one report claiming the Rebels were “constructing a military road from near Little Rock to Wittsburg, on the St. Francis. They were making a very good road, bridging streams and corduroying swamps.” None of these reports indicated the presence of any fortifications in the Wittsburg area.
The Union invasion of Arkansas began on July 19 when a reconnaissance force of fifty Missouri horsemen swam the St. Francis River at Chalk Bluff. The Yankee cavalrymen captured a pair of Rebels and occupied the high ground at Chalk Bluff as Col. Lewis Merrill’s First Brigade of Davidson’s First Cavalry Division laid a pontoon bridge for the remaining troopers to cross over. Merrill sent the First Missouri Cavalry (U.S.) to Gainesville further down Crowley’s Ridge on July 20, with plans to move the rest of his command in their support the next day.Col. S.G. Kitchen retreated before them, reporting that “their entire force is estimated at 12,000, with some twenty pieces of artillery and 800 infantry.”
As the Yankee horsemen began descending Crowley’s Ridge, Theophilus Holmes turned command of the Confederate army in Arkansas over to Sterling Price on July 22.
The new commander of Confederate troops in Arkansas, fearing that the movements on Crowley’s Ridge presaged a move on Little Rock, immediately began shifting the limited forces he had at his disposal. Price ordered Brig. Gen. Daniel Frost to bring his artillery to Little Rock from Pine Bluff, Brig. Gen. James F. Fagan to move his infantry division from Searcy and Des Arc to Bayou Meto east of Little Rock, Marmaduke to set up base at Jacksonport and harass Davidson’s column, and Brig. Gen. L.M. Walker to set up a screen of cavalry scouts outside of Helena.Price also commenced construction of strong earthworks on the north side of the Arkansas River about two and a half miles east of Little Rock, but reported “that while I should attempt to defend Little Rock, as the capital of the state and the key to the important valley of the Arkansas, I did not believe it would be possible for me to hold it with the forces then under my command.”
By late July, the Confederate horsemen in northeast Arkansas were certain that Davidson’s incursion was no mere feint. A paroled Rebel cavalryman of John Q. Burbridge’s command took advantage of his captive tour of Bloomfield, Missouri, and Chalk Bluff to count “not less than 10,000 Federals this side of Saint Francis, and about 2,000 infantry . . . 250 wagons and eighteen large field pieces . . . [with] 8 horses, and not under 24-pounders.” Davidson’s troops were in force at Gainesville by that time, leaving Burbridge “satisfied that this is no raid of the enemy, but that it is their intention this time to march to Little Rock.”
By the evening of July 24, a Union regiment had driven as far down the Ridge as Jonesboro, and the Yankee horde was “destroying all the corn and wheat, feeding it to their horses.”
Much of Davidson’s division was encamped at Wittsburg by July 29, and the Yankee commander ordered fortifications dug on the bluffs commanding the small river town to guard against Rebel incursions. The best description of these fortifications, which survive today, come from Robert T. McMahan of the 25th Ohio Artillery, who recorded in his diary on July 29: “Commenced fortifying the brow of the hill look[ing] toward Jacksonport, details for labor are much from the cavalry. Are cutting down the timber on the side hill and constructing some kind of a stockade. Openings left for the guns[.] ditch on the outside.” The next day, McMahan noted simply: “Finished fortifying this evening.”
On July 30 the cavalrymen received supplies as a small steamer from Helena pulled in at Wittsburg. Davidson left Wittsburg on August 1 and his advance elements arrived at the L’Anguille River near present-day Marianna on August 3, though some elements did not reach that point until August 6. The Yankee cavalry commander then sent his supply wagons on into Helena in search of supplies while the rest of his division headed west for Clarendon and, ultimately, the state capital.
A skirmish involving the Third Iowa Cavalry took place on June 6, 1864, apparently the only time gunfire was heard at Wittsburg. Though mentioned in Dyer’s Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, there is no mention of this action in the Official Records and no indication that Davidson’s old redoubt played a role in the fighting.
Following the collapse of Confederate forces east of the Mississippi, Wittsburg would witness one of the final acts in Civil War Arkansas. On April 30, 1865, Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge sent Lt. Col. Charles W. Davis of the Fifty-first Illinois Infantry to Arkansas to seek the surrender of Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson, commander of Confederate troops in the northeast portion of the state.Davis, arriving at Chalk Bluff on the St. Francis River, sent messages to Thompson requesting a meeting. The officers met on May 9 and Thompson requested 48 hours to confer with his officers. On May 11, the Confederate agreed to surrender all troops in the district, picking Wittsburg and Jacksonport as the sites where his 5,000 soldiers would gather to receive their paroles. “These men will come in without a morsel to eat, and I would therefore recommend that 50,000 rations be sent to the points designated to feed them while being paroled and while they are returning to their homes.”
Davis returned to St. Louis on June 20, 1865, reporting that 193 officers and 1,964 enlisted men were paroled at Wittsburg and 443 officers and 4,854 enlisted men surrendered at Jacksonport. “General Thompson had no transportation, except 300 or 400 dugout canoes, and no public animals or property of any other description, except $4,821 C.S. money,” Davis reported. “Most of the men that we paroled were without food, and I issued them about 28,000 rations. They seemed highly pleased at the surrender, and said that all they wanted now was to be allowed to live at home.” The war in northeast Arkansas was over.
The Wittsburg Fortification, built by Union cavalry during the Little Rock Campaign, remains an intact and important relic of the Civil War in northeast Arkansas. It is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A with statewide significance by virtue of its status as the only known surviving earthwork erected by either Union or Confederate forces during the Little Rock Campaign of 1863. It is being submitted under the multiple-property listing “Historic and Archeological Resources Associated with the Little Rock Campaign of 1863.”
Mark your calendar!
Northeast Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail meeting
11 a.m. Saturday, September 8, Stone House, Colt
Central Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail meeting
Fourth Tuesday of each month,
John Gould Fletcher Branch Library, Little Rock
Southeast Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail meeting
August, time and place to be announced
Southwest Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail meeting
2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 1, OuachitaBaptistUniversity, Arkadelphia
West Central Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail meeting
2 p.m. Saturday, June 14, Fort SmithNHSVisitorCenter
Northwest Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail meeting
June 27, Harrison, time and location to be announced
Midwest American Battlefield Protection
Program Workshop
September 12-13, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
Old State House Civil War Seminar
August 23, Old State House Museum, Little RockFor More Information:
General Information
Mark Christ (501) 324-9880
mark@arkansasheritage.org
The Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail is a network of regional private, nonprofit, volunteer organizations seeking to identify, protect, interpret and promote Arkansas properties related to the state’s Civil War experience. General guidance for the groups is provided by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.
Northwest Arkansas CWHT
John_C_Scott@nps.gov
John Scott (Pea Ridge)
(479) 451-8122
John_C_Scott@nps.gov
Suzie Rogers (Harrison)
(870) 741-5443, ext. 153
The Northwest Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail serves Benton, Carroll, Boone, Marion, Washington, Madison, Newton, Searcy and Van Buren counties.
West Central Arkansas CWHT
Tom Wing(479) 474-4781
wcacwht@aol.com
The West Central Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail serves Crawford, Sebastian, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Yell, Pope and Scott counties.
Southwest Arkansas CWHT
Jim Hale (501) 760-2566
jim.hale@sbcglobal.net
The Southwest Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail serves Polk, Montgomery, Garland, Howard, Pike, Clark, Hot Spring, Grant, Dallas, Sevier, Little River, Hempstead, Nevada, Ouachita, Calhoun, Miller, Lafayette, Columbia and Union counties.
Southeast Arkansas CWHT
Mark Kalkbrenner (870) 247-2394
captk1ark@hotmail.com
The Southeast Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail serves Jefferson, Arkansas, Phillips, Cleveland, Lincoln, Desha, Bradley, Drew, Ashley and Chicot counties.
Central Arkansas CWHT
Tom Ezell (501) 961-1937
tomezell@aristotle.net
The Central Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail serves Conway, Perry, Saline, Faulkner, Pulaski, White and Lonoke counties.
Northeast Arkansas CWHT
Danny Honnoll (870) 935-9830
wdhonnoll@prodigy.net
The Northeast Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail serves Baxter, Fulton, Izard, Stone, Cleburne, Independence, Sharp, Randolph, Clay, Lawrence, Greene, Jackson, Craighead, Poinsett, Mississippi, Woodruff, Cross, Crittenden, Prairie, Monroe, Lee and St. Francis counties.
