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Civil War Round Table of Arkansas
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Newsletter Archive - We have left
these online because they contain valuable articles. For the most up-to-date
Civil War Roundtable of Arkansas Newsletter please use the Newsletter button
in the Menu.
Our 43nd Year
FOR THE MEETING TUESDAY, Sept 25, 2007
Meets Fourth Tuesday, January-November
Founded March 1964
Second Presbyterian Church
600 Pleasant Valley Drive,
Little Rock
Program at 7 p.m.
Online: www.civilwarbuff.org
VOL. XLIII, No. 9,
Ron Kelly, President/
Charles O. Durnett, Sec-Editor,
rkelley225@aol.com /
milhistory@aristotle.net
Dues $15 Per Year
VISITORS WELCOME!
VISIT THE BATTLEFIELDS WHEN YOU CAN...
WHILE YOU CAN
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The Civil War in the Arkansas
River Valley
With
Nancy Dane
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Here is a short bio of our speaker
Nancy Dane born in
New Mexico 1949 moved to AR at a young age married for
40 years. “We raised our children on our cattle farm
high in the Ozarks near the tiny town of
Ozone.” She has four married children (one dentist, 2
attorneys, and a CPA) all living in
Arkansas with 11 grand children (num. 12 on the way).
Where the Road Begins is her first published work of fiction.
Tattered Glory is the documentary History she compiled while researching for
the novel.
From the book
... Pale and drawn, he was bundled against the frigid air. It was rumored he had
taken a dunking in the river when his boat overturned on the way to Van
Buren. Elijah stamped his feet to keep warm while Major General ..."
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UP THE VALLEY
[PART OF THE STORY]
The Battle of Prairie Grove sputtered out
as darkness fell on Sunday,
December 7, 1862. The Confederates had staved off a series of
furious Union assaults but were desperately low on ammunition. The Federals
seemed determined to renew the struggle in the morning, so Major General
Thomas C. Hindman, the Confederate commander, decided to withdraw to the
safety of the Arkansas
Valley. The soldiers of the Trans-Mississippi
Army slipped away during the night, leaving behind their dead, most of their
wounded, and their hopes of liberating
Missouri before the onset of winter. After a
difficult crossing of the Boston
Mountains, the Confederates settled into a string of camps
on the north side of the Arkansas River near the town of
Van Buren.
Hindman intended to remain in the Arkansas
Valley until spring and have another go
at Missouri, but
the overtaxed logistical system on the western edge of the Trans-Mississippi
Department was on the verge of collapse. “It was all we could do to procure
supplies enough to barely live on,” recalled Silas C. Turnbo of the 27th
Arkansas Infantry. “Corn bread mixed with part of the bran, corn meal bran
coffee, and a very limited supply of exceedingly poor beef was our only
diet.” Chronic hunger was compounded by exposure. Tents, blankets, and coats
were in short supply, and soldiers suffered terribly as the weather turned
cold and wet. Lieutenant General Theophilus H. Holmes, commander of the
Trans-Mississippi Department, visited Hindman’s command in mid-December and
was appalled at what he found. “I have never seen such ruinous losses by
disease,” he exclaimed to a friend. Desertion was epidemic, especially among
conscripted Arkansans and disillusioned Texans. The long-suffering
Trans-Mississippi Army was on the verge of disintegration.1
Holmes
directed Hindman to shift his command one hundred miles down the
Arkansas River to Lewisburg (present-day Morrilton), where food
and forage were more plentiful. Hindman complied with his usual brusque
efficiency and the Confederates began moving east on the south side of the
river. A regiment of Texas
cavalry and a brigade of Arkansas
infantry stayed behind
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to maintain a Confederate military
presence on the border with the
Indian Territory,
a matter of considerable political importance. Several hundred
commissary and quartermaster troops also remained behind to transfer the
army’s sadly depleted stockpiles of food, clothing, and equipment onto a
small flotilla of transports at Van Buren and
Fort Smith.
The vessels were to move downstream in conjunction with the marching
columns and provide logistical support. By December 28 some of the
transports were full, or nearly so, others were still taking on stores.
There was no particular sense of urgency. After all, the Federals had
been quiet since the bloodbath at Prairie Grove three weeks earlier and
no one seriously expected them to lunge across the
Boston
Mountains
and make an appearance in the
Arkansas
Valley.
(“Blunt’s
Raid” by
William Shea)
Oct
27-28
Battle
of Pea Ridge, Bentonville,
AR
A
Re-enactment of the 145th Anniversary of The Battle of Pea Ridge will take place
on October 26, 27,
28, 2007 at
Bentonville,
Arkansas.
Spectator Information:
-
Battle
times are 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday, 1 p.m. on Sunday.
- Several
presentations and demonstrations will occur throughout the day on Saturday.
- Period church service is 10 a.m. on Sunday
There will be food vendors so that spectators may choose to enjoy breakfast,
lunch and/or dinner. Entry fee is $7/carload. Spectators
are invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets for viewing of the battles.
Stay all day and into the evening.
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 The
Civil War was a defining event in the history of the
United States.
The issues, the conflict, the brutality, and the personalities of it
continue to fascinate us to this day. The public
is invited to join the Civil War Round Table of the Ozarks as we examine
“The Civil War West of the
Mississippi” in a two-day seminar on Friday evening,
November 16, and Saturday all day, November 17.
The location of this seminar is the Clarion Hotel at 3333 S.
Glenstone in Springfield,
Missouri, which will offer discounted room rates for
those attending. The seminar will feature many
noted speakers.
The main speakers will be M. Jane Johansson author of Peculiar
Honor: The 28th Texas Cavalry,
William L. Shea, author of Pea Ridge:
Civil War Campaign in the West, William Garrett Piston, author of
Wilson’s Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil
War, D. L. Clark, author of A Bright Tragic Thing – The Great
Gainesville Hangings, Carl H. Moneyhon, author of
The Impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on Arkansas:
Persistence in the Midst of Ruin, and Christopher Phillips, author of “Damned
Yankee: The Life of General Nathaniel Lyon”.
The cost to pre-register is just $20.00 for Friday evening’s
dinner, which will include door prizes and music provided by “The Back Porch
Players”. Following Dinner, Christopher Phillips
program will look at the Union’s First
Fallen General, Nathaniel Lyon.
For $50.00, one may pre-register for both the Friday night dinner and the
sessions all day Saturday with lunch included.
After October 31, it will be $20.00 for Friday night, $40.00 for Saturday,
or $60.00 for the whole weekend.
Early registration is urged however, since there is only space for 250
attendees. Once those slots are, filled
registration will end. Many vendors are expected to be there, so come, and
browse when you’re not in a session. For more information about the
seminar and registering, please call Steve Buffat at (417) 862-1772 or email him
at
sjbuffat@sbcglobal.net
or call Tom Debo at (870) 426-2513 or email him at
debo@cofo.edu.
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AFTER ACTION REPORT
Back to the saga of the Little Rock Campaign brochure. The reprint is now a
fact, and they may be available by the time of our meeting.
A giant thank you to Don Hamilton, Evans Benton, and all of those involved
with getting this revised and printed. We will have 15,000 distributed to
the various visitor centers and museums. Well done people.
Last issue this Report announced that Wiliam Villines had been chosen to be
the Yankee pictured in the Jerry Russell Memorial along with Gen. Cleburne.
It turns out there was a problem with using that likeness, so another was
chosen. The task force is looking at William Tealy, 1ST
Arkansas Battalion. We will keep you informed.
As to the Jerry Russell Memorial Fund, a number of donations have been
received and will be acknowledged shortly. We are still collecting and you
can make a donation to
Jerry Russell Memorial Fund
P. O. Box
7281
Little Rock,
AR 72217
Please consider contributing to the fund.
Most are aware of the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission formed
by the Legislature to celebrate the coming 150TH
anniversary of the war.
Two of our own serve on the ACWSC: Don Hamilton was appointed to the group
for a two-year term, and Charles Olin Durnett, Chairman of the Central
Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trail, serves in an advisory capacity in his
capacity as Arkansas Division Commander of the
SCV.
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A new marker has been placed at the intersection of Hiway 167, and State
Hiway 87, just a few miles south of Batesville. This will be a part of the
Heritage Trail in that area; which includes the monuments at the County
Court House and the interpretive panels in the area for the cold winter of
1862-1863.
Col.
J. O. Shelby quartered his men in that area during the winter.
PROGRAMS 2007
September 24, 2007-
Nancy Dane
Conflict Along the Arkansas River
Valley
October 23, 2007
- Mike
Polston
General Allison
Nelson
November 27, 2007
TBA
We
Who Study
Must Also Strive To Save!
It
is time to start lining up speakers for the coming year please contact Vice
President Rick Meadows. We have sent out a number of invitations and are waiting
for folks to respond.
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Visit
www.civilwarbuff.org
Register to receive your newsletter on-line.
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NEW
BOOKS
The Earth Reeled and Trees Trembled
Civil War Arkansas
1863-1864
If someone on your list is a history buff, you may want to give them a book
about the state’s exciting history. Edited by Mark K. Christ, this is a
compelling portrayal of Arkansas’s
involvement in this conflict as conveyed through lectures given at the Old
State House Museum’s Civil War symposia held in 2003 and 2004.
Essays in the book include:
• Michael Dougan,
Say "Au Revoir" but not "Good-Bye”:
The Enduring Confederate Government of
Arkansas
• Mark K. Christ,
“As Much As Humanity Can Stand”:
The Little Rock
Campaign of 1863
• Douglas E. Larson,
“Alfred Gales and the Third
Minnesota in Arkansas”
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• Cynthia DeHaven
Pitcock,
“Gunpowder, Lard, and Kerosene:
Civil War Medicine in the Trans-Mississippi”
• Bobby Roberts,
“Rivers of No Return”
• Gary Dillard Joiner, “
“Fred Steele's Dilemma and
Kirby Smith's Quest for Glory”
• Billy Gurley,
“The Civil War Journal of Dr. Henry Dye:
Texas
Surgeon in the District of Arkansas”
• Tom Wing,
“A Sink of Iniquity and Corruption:
The Civil War in Fort Smith and
Indian Territory”
• Mark K. Christ,
“The Queen
City
Was a Helpless Wreck”:
J.O. Shelby’s Summer of ’64
• Daniel Sutherland,
“Guerrilla Conflict in 1864:
Day of the Outlaw“
“The Earth Reeled and Trees Trembled”: Civil
War Arkansas,
1863-1864 is
available through the Old State House Museum Store for a cost of $24.95. The
Old State House Museum Store is located inside the museum at
300 West Markham Street
in
Little Rock.
Store hours are Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1
to 5 p.m. The store is solely owned and operated by the state of
Arkansas;
all sales and proceeds go towards the fulfillment of the museum’s mission of
historic preservation. The book can also be purchased online.
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Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients
A Complete Illustrated Record
Robert P. Broadwater
In November 1861, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Townsend, adjutant general of
the Army, sought to establish an award to motivate and inspire Northern
soldiers in the aftermath of the early, morale-devastating defeats of the
Civil War. The outcome of Townsend’s brainstorm was the Congressional Medal
of Honor. This reference book details and organizes information regarding
the Civil War Medal of Honor and its recipients in an easily accessible,
previously unemployed format. After a brief history of the medal, the book
presents a traditional alphabetical list of medal recipients and details
their acts of heroism. The work then organizes recipients by a variety of
criteria including branch of service; regiment or naval ship assignment;
place of action; act of heroism; state or country of nativity; age of
recipient; and date of issuance. Also included is information about the
first winners of the medal, the first recipients of multiple medals,
posthumously awarded medals and civilian recipients?
About the Author
Robert P. Broadwater
has written more than 20 books and more than 100 magazine articles dealing
with the Civil War and the Revolution. He is the author of many works on
military history including
American Generals of the Revolutionary War
(2007), The
Battle
of Olustee, 1864
(2006), The
Battle of Perryville, 1862
(2005) and
Chickamauga,
Andersonville, Fort
Sumter and Guard Duty at Home
(2006) and lives in
Bellwood, Pennsylvania.
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MORE CONFLICTS IN
NORTH WEST ARKANSAS
Devil's Backbone
September 1, 1863
Backbone Mountain
Arkansas
After the Battle of Honey Springs, Union Major General James G. Blunt
ordered Col. William Cloud to continue in pursuit of the Confederate forces
that had withdrawn from
Fort Smith
and chased Brigadier General William L. Cabell's brigade nearly 16 miles
south to a village known as Old Jenny Lind. The Rebels turned on Cloud and
skirmished with him at the base of Devil's Backbone. Cabell's forces
ambushed approaching Union troops and momentarily halted their advance.
Regrouping, the Union forces, with the help of artillery, advanced again and
forced the Confederates to retire in disorder to Waldron.
The Battle
of Massard Prairie
July 27, 1864
A Confederate cavalry force launched a daring sunrise attack on a detachment
from the 6th Kansas Cavalry on Massard Prairie near
Fort Smith, Arkansas.
The Federals were camped on the prairie to guard horses being grazed there
and the Confederates completely surprised them.
More than half the Union soldiers on the field were killed, wounded, and
captured in what one Confederate general called a "brilliant and dashing
affair”.
BATTLE
OF CANE HILL
December 28, 1862
Often relegated to the status of preliminary affair to the larger
BattleBattle
of Cane Hill was a significant encounter in its own right.
Fought across an estimated 12 miles of fields, woods, ravines and
mountain tops, the
December 28, 1862,
battle erupted when 5,000 Federals attacked three brigades of
Confederate cavalry on the Cane Hill ridge in southern
Washington County.
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Dripping Springs
December 28, 1862
On
December 28, 1862,
the Union Army of the frontier swept out of the
Boston
Mountains
and attacked Confederate troops at Dripping Springs and
Van Buren, Arkansas.
The first confrontation of this brief campaign was the Battle of Dripping
Springs, a sharp cavalry fight at a vital crossroads between Van Buren and
the approaches to the mountains.
Looking for more on Skirmishes, Actions, Expeditions, Scouts, or Affairs;
check the Searchable Chronology Database on our WebSite
All of the above can be found at
www.civilwarbuff.org
We Who Study
Must Also Strive To Save!
SEE YOU
TUESDAY NIGHT
for
Nancy Dane
GOD BLESS AMERICA |
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