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Our 46th Year
FOR THE MEETING TUESDAY, March 23, 2010
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
Jan Sarna, President
Rick Meadows, Editor
RMeadows@aaamissouri.com / arcivilwarbuff@gmail.com
Dues $20 Per Year
VISITORS WELCOME!
VISIT THE BATTLEFIELDS WHEN YOU CAN...
WHILE YOU CAN
CSS Pontchartrain
And
William Stevens
Amateur historian
and aspiring marine archeologist, William Stevens of
Little Rock, will bring an exciting program
concerning the search for the Confederate Ram, the
CSS Pontchartrain. Before Federal troops
entered Little Rock on September 10, 1863,
Confederate forces scuttled the Pontchartrain
in the Arkansas River and burned her to the water
line by some accounts. Where could she be? Think of
the many years of flooding and fast river flows.
Could the Pontchartrain be half-way to Pine
Bluff? According to the March 2nd
Arkansas/Gazette, Stevens and a group of
volunteers have located in the water of the river a
small bell and a bottle which may hold artifacts
including Civil War marbles, belt buckles, bullets
and buttons, possibly from Union uniforms. Where
did these items come from?
The
Confederate Navy purchased the Lizzie Simmons
in 1861 and converted the sidewheel paddleboat into
a gunboat, the mighty Pontchartrain. After
operating in the Mississippi River, she patrolled
the Arkansas and White Rivers. Fort Hindman was
being constructed at Arkansas Post to be an obstacle
for Federal vessels attempting to enter the Arkansas
and White Rivers. The Pontchartrain was
charged with delivering guns for the defense of Fort
Hindman. When the Pontchartrain was returned
to Little Rock to be converted into a ram, Capt.
John W. Dunnington and 35 sailors remained at Fort
Hindman to operate the guns. In Mark Christ’s new
book, Civil War Arkansas 1863, The Battle For a
State, Christ states that Dunnington, “brought
his gunboat, the Pontchartrain, to St.
Charles, bringing two 32-pound rifled guns to the
earthworks.” PG 25
Arkansas Post was
attacked by Federals on January 10 and 11, 1863,
Dunnington and the sailors became prisons of war
when the post fell.
Back in Little
Rock the Pontchartrain was being refitted
with railroad iron and wood. Originally 454-tons,
the Confederates ram hoped to control the waterways
of the Arkansas. She never saw additional action on
the Arkansas River. Why wasn’t she a factor when the
Federals approached Little Rock? (The Confederates
remembered the role the USS Tyler played on
July 4th 1863 at Helena and how its guns
rained death upon them). Could the depth of the
river have an impact on the action? Why wasn’t the
Pontchartrain seen or heard at Bayou Fourche?
What factor did the water level of the river play
in her operation?
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Lt. Commandeer
S.L. Phelps, writes to Gen. Frederick Steele from
Devall’s Bluff on September 10, 1863:
“From the information I can gather here, I am
not likely to have the pleasure of seeing you,
unless I go over to Little Rock to congratulate
you on your success and triumphs. (capture of
Little Rock). The river is falling, and there is
not over 5 feet of water on some of the bars.
If this is to be your base of supplies, the low
water coming requires your prompt attention, as,
at 3 feet, the low-water stage, steamers could
bring up very little freight…” Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Navies,
Washington, 1912, PG 403
Where does one hide a
204’ long paddleboat?
Come out Tuesday to meet Stevens and the CSS
Ponchartrain
Also on Tuesday,
we will meet Luke Childress, a young man who won a
prize for his essay on U. S. Grant in the fall. This
contest was sponsored by the MacArthur Museum of
Arkansas Military History. Welcome Luke!
News release
In cooperation with the Franklin Charge, The Civil
War Preservation Trust is helping to reclaim one
Hallowed Acre at the Battle of Franklin, which was
fought on November 30, 1864. Nearly 8,500
casualties were “literally piled up” in just five
hours. Jim Lighthizer of the Trust states that the
Franklin Charge has a long range plan to purchase,
preserve and restore the actual ground where the
“maelstrom of battle happened.”
Victory was finally realized when the Pizza Hut was
torn down and now a park stands where Confederate
General Patrick Cleburne was killed. This land to be
purchased now is adjacent to the historic Cotton Gin
property. The total purchase price is $950,000. For
additional information visit the CWPT:
www.civilwar.org/franklin10
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Civil War Survivor
Farmhouse near Antietam National Battlefield Restored
In the January/February issue of the Preservation
magazine, there is a wonderful article about how the
plight of a two-story clapboard-over-log structure
which was in such poor condition: “hornets in the
attic, evidence of cows and raccoons in the
basement, a collapsed chimney, and foot-long mud
stalactites formed by termites hanging from beams
atop the stone foundation.” It was built around
1840…and about to lose its battle until…
The home was purchased and restored by Brent and
Julie Stinar. It sits near Burnside Bridge where
12,000 Union troops battled confederate
sharpshooters. The land today yields vegetables,
hay, with some wood lands. Your editor hopes to
visit it in September when I make a trip to Antietam.
Park Day – Saturday April 10
Volunteers are needed to take on maintenance
projects large and small at battlefields and
historic sites. Some projects include raking leaves,
cutting grass and brush, cleaning and painting
signs, hauling trash, and trial building. Areas in
Arkansas include:
Historic Washington State Park
Prairie Grove Battlefield
Pea Ridge National Military Park
Reed’s Bridge
In Central Arkansas workers can work at Reed’s
Bridge in Jacksonville. Gather at 10:00 in the
parking lot with good work gloves and boots. For
additional information contact Jack Danielson in
Jacksonville at 501-985-3670 or
jbdan111@aol.com
Our Civil War Roundtable has purchased the panels
and markers shown above. Over time they become
dirty. We are asking for volunteers to “Adopt a
Marker”. Workers are needed once a quarter to
inspect the makers and clean them as needed. Soap,
water and a brush is all that is needed. Contact
your editor for the location you wish to adopt.
[Note:
Publisher will kick start this by adopting No. 3
(Ashley's Mill)]
Important Dates to Remember
Before the War: Antebellum Arkansas, April 15, 2010
- April 17, 2010
CONTACT:
Arkansas Historical Association
416 Old Main, University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Ph: 479-575-5884
http://www.uark.edu/depts/arkhist/home/
dludlow@uark.edu
The 69th Annual Arkansas Historical Association
Annual Conference will be held April 15 through 17
in Jonesboro. The theme for the 2009 AHA conference
is “Before the War: Antebellum Arkansas.” Sessions
will set the stage by focusing on life in Arkansas
from 1803 to 1860-the Louisiana Purchase to the eve
of war.
The conference will deal with all aspects of
Arkansas's territorial and antebellum history.
A Special Announcement will be made at the conference about a new
award in memory of Charles Durnett, member of our
Roundtable, who died on July 4 2008. Watch for
details in next month’s newsletter.
2010 Arkansas Preservation Conference, April 15,
2010 - April 17, 2010
CONTACT:
Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas
1201 Tower Building, 323 Center Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
Ph: 501-372-4757
http://www.preservearkansas.org/
thealliance@preservearkansas.org
The 2010 Arkansas Preservation Conference will be
held in Helena on April 15-17. The conference
includes a track titled "Batteries, Buildings and
Battlefields: Preserving Arkansas's Civil War
Resources." For more information, call
501-372-4757
or send an e-mail to
vmckuin@preservearkansas.org.
Thank you Dr. Dougan!
As usual, Dr. Michael Dougan from Jonesboro kept us
entertained with his wisdom and whit at our meeting
last month. Confederate General N. Bart Pearce is
now well known! Thanks!
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Change in Meeting Place and Time in April
Our Roundtable has been graciously invited to hold
our April 27th meeting at the Ten Mile
House, by Hooker, its owner. Tom Ezell will bring a
program on David O. Dodd. We will gather at 6:00
P.M. for light snacks and refreshments. Hooker will
discuss his beautiful home and the program by Tom
will begin at 7:00.
Located on Stagecoach Road (Hwy 5) just east of
I-430.
Ten Mile House
The Ten Mile House
was a stop on the Southwest Trail stagecoach line
and is considered one of the oldest existing houses
in Little Rock. It was also used by Union troops
during the Civil War, and the smokehouse was used to
hold David O. Dodd until he was transported to
Little Rock for trial. The house has also been
called the McHenry House after the original owners
of the property, Archibald and Elizabeth McHenry.
It was built between 1825 and 1836 by Thomas Thorn
using slave labor to make the bricks.
Listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and
privately owned.
See You Tuesday with William Stevens and the CSS
Pontchartrain
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