Mark Christ
And
The Battle of
Arkansas Post
Mark Christ,
Community Outreach Director for the Arkansas
Historic Preservation Program, will be our
speaker. A frequent speaker at our Roundtable,
his talk Tuesday will be about the Battle of
Arkansas Post. Little has been written about
this forgotten battle.
A native of
Indiana, Christ graduated from the University of
Arkansas at Little Rock in 1982. After working
as a journalist with the Commercial Appeal in
Memphis and the Arkansas Gazette, Christ
returned to college and earned his Master’s
Degree from the University of Oklahoma in 2000.
His thesis was on the Little Rock Campaign of
1863. Christ lives in Little Rock with his wife
and two children. Since 1990 Christ has worked
for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.
Christ also
serves on the Arkansas Civil War
Sesquicentennial Commission.
He has
authored or edited several books, which include:
-
Rugged and Sublime
-
Getting Used to Being
Shot at: The Spence Family Civil War Letters
-
All Cut to Pieces and
Gone to Hell
-
The Earth Shook and
Trees Trembled: Civil War Arkansas, 1863-1864
-
Sentinels of History:
Reflections on Arkansas Properties on the
National Register of Historic Places
-
The Die is Cast:
Arkansas Goes to War, 1861
Christ’s new
book, Civil War Arkansas, 1863: The Battle
For a State, published by the University
of Oklahoma Press, is now available! Much of his
talk Tuesday will be based on his research found
in this work.
Other chapters
in the book pertain to:
I have my
copy. Hopefully Mark will bring a few copies for
you to purchase!
1863 was not a good
year, at least not for the Confederate forces in
Arkansas.
January 11th – The Battle of Arkansas
Post
July 4th - The Battle of Helena
September 10th - Little Rock would
fall
Three major engagements = three defeats.
Arkansas Post
was the Key
Federal Major General John
McClernand commanded some 30,000 infantrymen,
many who had seen action at Chickasaw Bayou in
the recent campaign for Vicksburg. In addition
he was supported by 1000 cavalry troops, 40
cannons, and approximately 60 steamers from
Admiral David Porter’s Mississippi Squadron.
Included in this armada were the ironclads
Baron De Kalb, Cincinnati, Louisville
and the timberclad Lexington. They
totaled forty-four cannons which included
fourteen that were 8-inch or larger. Four
tinclad vessels the Rattler, Forest Rose, New
Era, and Glide and the converted
side-wheel steamer the Black Hawk added
another thirty pieces of artillery. Porter would
direct the naval operations against Fort Hindman
which was located at Arkansas Post near where
the White and Arkansas Rivers converge, about 25
miles above the Mississippi River.
In September, 1862,
Theophilus Holmes ordered John W. Dunnington to
develop fortifications along the White and
Arkansas Rivers. As we recall Dunnington was the
commander of the CSS Pontchartrain. In
March William Stevens brought us an outstanding
program on the Pontchartrain and the
search for her in the Arkansas River. For
additional information on the Pontchartrain,
please refer to your March newsletter.
Dunnington placed some of
the big guns from the Pontchartrain and
helped man them with about 35 of his own
sailors. “The centerpiece of the Confederate
defenses was Fort Hindman, a large, square fort
built just below a bend in the Arkansas River.
The fort’s outer parapets were one hundred yards
long, and its walls stood eighteen feet high,
protected by a ditch that was twenty feet wide
and eight feet deep. To augment the
fortifications, pilings held in place with log
chains were placed in the river to hinder the
passage of any gunboats that ventured upstream.
In addition, a line of rifle pits with field
works for ten artillery pieces was started two
miles below Arkansas Post to menace the river
road, while a second line was established above
the lower works.” (Christ PG 40)
Opposing McClernand was
Confederate Brig. Gen Thomas Churchill, former
postmaster of Little Rock. Churchill, who owned
a plantation near Little Rock, saw action at
Wilson’s Creek, commanding the Arkansas First
Mounted Rifles Regiment. Churchill would live to
1905 and is buried at Mount Holly Cemetery in
Little Rock. Churchill assumed command of the
defenses at Arkansas Post on December 10, giving
him one month to prepare for the barrage that
was to come.
Thomas Churchill
Churchill could only muster
about 5000 troops, mainly from Texas and
Arkansas to defend this position. Many of the
Texas troops had hoped to serve in the Western
Theater as Cavalry Regiments but when arriving
in Little Rock in the fall of 1862 were ordered
to remain in Arkansas as dismounted units. In
November and December they were placed at
Arkansas Post transferring from Camp White
Sulphur Springs near Pine Bluff and Camp Nelson
in Austin. “The Texas troops had left a trail of
graves behind them after entering Arkansas, and
diseases continued taking their toll on the men.
Isaiah Harlan wrote to his brother, “this place
is not as healthy as Camp Nelson”. (where 1500
of their comrades had died of disease.) “The
atmosphere is close and damp and the water is
bad.” (Christ PG 43)
Supporting Churchill were
Texas Troops commanded by Col James Deshler and
Col Robert R. Garland. Two companies of Arkansas
Conscripts were present “but they are not worth
a curs” said Col Roger Mills. Many did not have
blankets and were barefooted. In addition, a
company of Louisiana cavalry command by William
B. Denson and Capt. William Hart’s Arkansas
Battery, among, others would lend support.
Join us Tuesday night as
Mark Christ brings to life the action at
Arkansas Post .We’ll hear how John Buegel of
Missouri described in his diary, “our boys
fell like flies” when attacking Deshler’s
position. A soldier with the Eighty-third Ohio
writes as he moved forward “the balls came as
thick as hail: they buzzed like bees.”
The firepower from the
Federal Fleet was too much. Asa Sample from Ohio
writes “the fire of the gunboats was terribly
destructive, mowing before it men, horses,
breastworks, cannon and everything but the
hills and river banks…”
Churchill reported 60
killed and 80 wounded, with the Federals taking
4,791 prisoners.
Federal loses were reported
134 killed, 898 wounded, and 29 missing.
Historians William Shea and Terrence Winschell
maintain the loss of men represented roughly
one-fourth of the total Confederate strength
in Arkansas, Missouri, and the Indian
Territory. It removed the only potential
threat to the Union line of communication on
the Mississippi River, cost the Rebels men and
supplies they could not afford to lose, and
opened the Arkansas Valley to invasion.”
(Christ PG 87) Yes Arkansas Post was the Key.
Roundtable
Makes Donation
Hart’s Battery
Your Roundtable has made a
contribution to the Old State House Museum to
help conserve the flag of Hart’s Battery
that was recently returned from Missouri. Please
see the recent article in the Arkansas
Battlefield Update for additional
information.
Historic
Preservation Alliance of Arkansas
Top 9 List
The Historic Preservation
Alliance of Arkansas on May 13th
released its 2010 list of the state’s most
endangered places. Included on the list is the
Deadrick House in Cross County. Built about
1850, this two-story house was the home of
Captain Isaac N. Deadrick of Levesque, near
Wynne, Arkansas. Deadrick was Commander of
Company A of the 29th Arkansas
Confederate Cavalry. Deadrick, who was born in
1828, died in 1884 and is buried in the family
cemetery located near the property. This unit
was organized at the old Methodist Camp ground
near Vanndale in 1863.
Levesque:
Deadrick House
Constructed by slave labor,
the home of Captain Isaac N. Deadrick in the
Levesque community in Cross County is a two
story vernacular interpretation of the Greek
Revival Style. It was listed in the National
Register of Historic Places in 1993. According
to a story found in the History of Cross
County Arkansas, “Mrs. Deadrick once held
several Yankee soldiers at bay in the home when
they came to search for her husband, who unknown
to the soldiers was hiding upstairs. Mrs.
Deadrick stood on the stairs with a pistol
leveled at the soldiers and told them ‘I’ll blow
your brains out if you come up these stairs.’
The men finally left empty handed.”
Go to
www.preservearkansas.org for the complete
list of endangered places.
Civil War Bullets
from Rick
·
Friday, May 28th Civil
War Days Cabot Middle School North
·
Campaign for Little Rock Markers –
thanks to our volunteers who have agreed to
clean our panels
·
Reed’s Bridge Update – check out
the cannon and new construction at the
battlefield. Steve Shore recently announced
footings have been poured for placement of the 2nd
cannon and Kiosk. The re-enactment will be Sept
10-12.
·
Visit
www.arkansascivilwar150.com for information
about the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial
Commission
Ten Mile House
What a wonderful time we
all had at the Ten Mile House last month! Thanks
to Hooker in hosting us, and thanks to Tom Ezell
for an outstanding presentation on David O.
Dodd. Over 45 attended. Thank yous are sent to
each of you who brought the refreshments and
appetizers! A good time was had by all!
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