The Prairie Grove Haunted Battlefield is this
weekend: October 25th - Haunted Battlefield Tour from 7 pm - 10:30 pm
Also from Larry Wood: Larry Wood here. I just wanted to let know I
recently started a blog on regional history at
http://ozarks-history.blogspot.com
for anybody who might be interested. I'll be posting very brief
articles from time to time (I'll try for at least a couple of times a
week, if not more) on various
historical events and people of the Ozarks. It'll probably lean toward
the
Springfield area and especially the Joplin area, since those are the
areas
I'm most familiar with, but I'll try to cover the whole Ozarks region.
Dr. Bill Gurley to
talk about Dye’s Civil War Diary, and the UAMS Library’s Civil War
Treasures
The History of Medicine Associates of
the UAMS Library’s Historical Research Center will hold their annual
dinner meeting on Thursday, October 2, 2008 at the UA System Offices
Board Room. Dr. Bill Gurley, faculty in the College of Pharmacy,
will talk about some Civil War era books owned by the UAMS Library,
and their connection with the Diary of Dr. Henry Montgomery Dye,
which he is currently editing.
The meeting will begin at 6:30, with
dinner followed by the program.
The cost is $35 for members of the
History of Medicine Associates, and $50 for non-members (which
includes a 1 year membership in the HMA.) The HMA is a group of
people interested in the History of Medicine who work to support the
UAMS Library’s Historical Research Center.
For more information, contact Amanda
Saar, History of Medicine Librarian at
SaarAmandaE@uams.edu
or 501-686-6733.
The
battle of Oak Hill, called by the Union forces
the battle of Wilson Creek, was fought in southwest Missouri near
Springfield. This was the first battle in which any of the
Arkansas Volunteers participated. The Confederate, said to number
about 6,000, were commanded by General Benjamin McCulloch. The
Federals, commanded by
General Nathaniel Lyon, were about 10,000 strong.
The Arkansas troops, including regiments commanded by Colonels Thomas J.
Churchill, De Rosey Carroll, Thomas P. Dockery, James McIntosh, John R.
Gratiot, and William E. Woodruff's battery, formed a brigade of which
General N.B. Pearce was in command. Besides the Arkansas brigade
commanded by General Pearce, there were a regiment of Louisiana
volunteers, a Texas regiment and one or more regiments of Missourians.
It had been the intention of General Lyon to surprise the Confederate
camp, but the approach of the Federals was discovered by Captain Lee M.
Ramseur of Churchill's regiment, in time to give the alarm. Thus
before the Confederates were fairly in battle formation, they were
thrown into some confusion, because of the near surprise of the attack
by the Federals. The battle began about 7 o'clock in the morning
and lasted until 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Arkansas lost 91
killed, 317 wounded and four reported as missing. The total loss
to the Confederates was about 500 killed with 1,200 missing. The
Federals were said to have had 800 killed and about 2,000 wounded.
General Lyon was among those killed.
(Omar R. Weaver of Little Rock, a lieutenant in
Woodruff's battery, was
reported as the first Arkansas slain in the war. Of him, General
Pearce wrote in his official report of the battle: "We are pained to
have to record the loss of Lieutenant Weaver of Little Rock by a cannon
ball; his loss is a severe blow to the service, to which he was an
honor, and will be seriously felt in the battery. Brave and
generous was he and his state will long remember his services.")
-----------------------------------
This
is a little out of the way for most Arkansan's but just in case you plan
on being in the neighborhood:
Moonlight Tour of Wilson's Creek Ticket Sales Begin
Details:
Ticket sales have opened for the annual Moonlight Tour evening living
history program, to be held on Saturday, October 4. Tickets are $5 each,
and may be purchased by mail or in person (no internet sales).
The Reed's Bridge Battlefield re-enactment at Jacksonville was this past
weekend and if you didn't make it, you missed out. If you can name
any of the men or women in these pics,
drop me a line and I will added the names.
Dave Grissom sent us
some
wonderful
black and white pics. I did not upload all of them because of
internet problems but I added a link so that you can check out all of
them. Thanks Dave!
I was also able to get a few, but not as many as I would have liked.
If you have any pictures you would like to add or a link, we will
gladly take them.
August 29, 2008
A favorite website of mine is the Smithsonian Art Inventories
Catalog....reason being that they have information & photographs on over
4,000 Civil War monuments. These include not only paintings in
museums, but sculptures located at various places like the front lawn of
the county court house.
Check it out, starting with keyword - Civil War
August 28, 2008
Rick
Meadows, Bryan Brown, Dr. Michael Dougan & Don Hamilton
The meeting is Tuesday night August 26, 2008 with Dr.
Michael Dougan. More info can be found in the newsletter.
Look forward to seeing you there!
August 21, 2008
The
Arkansas Civil War Battlefield Update is
now online. This is published by the Arkansas Historic
Preservation Program and includes information from all the Civil War
Roundtables in Arkansas.
The grateful people of the State of Arkansas erect this memorial as an
expression of their pride in the officers and men of the Third Arkansas
Infantry Confederate States Army who by their valor and their blood have
made this ground forever hallowed. -Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Civil War
Soldiers & Sailors System- Operated by the National Park
Service. Over 6,000,000 soldiers listed with basic personal & unit
information.
Old Courthouse
Civil War Museum-
This is a Virginia based Museum but it has the most interesting list of
men who left graffiti (with photographs) at the Court House in
Winchester, Virginia. Check it out, maybe you are related to
someone.
August 19, 2008
Kay also sent me the following from the MacArthur Museum of Military
History:
The David O. Dodd memorial marker will be relocated to a spot
immediately behind the museum in the coming months. This is a project
long sought by former Commissioner Jimmy Rice and current Commissioner
Bill Terry. All groups have agreed to the relocation. The Foundation is
working with several Civil War groups, including the Civil War
Roundtable and the Arkansas Division United Daughters of the Confederacy
to raise approximately $1500 to fund a way sign to place beside the
marker and explain the Dodd story. The goal is to have the signage in
place by January to commemorate the 145th anniversary of Dodd's
execution as a Confederate spy. Contributions are tax-deductible and
should be sent to the Arkansas Military Heritage Foundation at the
museum.
If you would like to contribute to the David O. Dodd Marker, then
write a check to the:
Arkansas Military Heritage Foundation" for the amount you would like to
contribute.
Designate for "David O. Dodd Marker"
Include your name, address & telephone #
Mail to: David Gruenewald
63 Robinwood Drive
Little Rock, Ar. 72227
You can also call Mr. Gruenewald at 501-219-4293 if you have any
questions. The foundation is designated a 501C2 organization and you
will receive a letter acknowledging your tax deductible gift.
August 18, 2008
I received the following from Kay Tatum:
I received word yesterday evening that Maudie Hopkins, one of the
last known
Confederate widows, died about 3:10 p.m. It was my honor to have
broken
the story in June of 2004, and many of you have kept up with Mrs.
Hopkins
through the last four years, and she loved hearing from you.
She was in the hospital at West Helena, Ark., as she had been gradually
declining through the past few weeks. Maudie was 93 and would have
celebrated her 94th birthday in December 2008. I well remember meeting
her in Arkansas when she became a UDC member of the David O. Dodd
chapter, and her sparkling eyes and graciousness made her the darling of
all of us who met her.
The funeral plans are not complete, and it will be a private funeral for
the
family, with burial in Sunset Memorial Park in Barton, Arkansas.
I filed my story with The Washington Times last night, and it may be
found on
their web site which is
www.washingtontimes.com -- mention on the web
site's front page, then click on that for the entire story.
I think our lives have been a little richer for knowing this precious
lady, I
know mine has.
Martha M. Boltz
Fairfax Chapter # 1410, Va. Div.
August 13, 2008
Reorganized the Link Directory and sorted it into
groups which should allow adding new sites with relative ease.
Have a Civil War site for us to check out? Drop us a line at
ArCivilWarBuff@gmail.com.
August 12, 2008
We have now set up the website to take online payments for:
Donations -
& Memberships -
This should make it easier for people who like the ease of credit &
debits cards to help out. Please be assure that your money will be used
for a good cause. Everyone associated with the Civil War Roundtable
of Arkansas is a volunteer and 100% of this money is used to promote the
Civil War in Arkansas. If you have questions on this, drop us a line
at Arcivilwarbuff@gmail.com
Mr. Charles Durnett, the webmaster for this site, passed away July 4, 2008.
He maintained this website and was a vital source of information on the Civil
War in Arkansas. He will be sorely missed. Please check back as the
Civil War Roundtable of Arkansas restructures, updates, and adds to this
website.
(Omar R. Weaver of Little Rock, a lieutenant in
