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Civil War Round Table of Arkansas

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What's New - 2009

What's New Archive 

June 30, 2009

Added the following men:

June 29, 2009

The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Annual Conference is coming to Little Rock, Arkansas September 2-5, 2009. The local host is the Arkansas Genealogical Society. What is an FGS Conference? Four full days of history and genealogy lectures, workshops, special events, and networking opportunities -- almost 200 of these to choose from. Added to that is a Exhibit Hall filled with row after row of vendors and organizations hosting booths displaying books (old & new), CDs, software, maps, databases, subscriptions, memberships and much more. The week also has a Night at the Ballpark to see the Arkansas Travelers play baseball, free Ice Cream Social, Door Prizes, gala banquet, hospitality galore, and  . . . 

A large number of the lectures relate to military research:

Thursday
 
  • Richard G. (Rick) Sayre: Civil War Research -- Getting Started
  • Kathy Huber: Mrs. N. B. Forrest -- A Case Study of Building a Confederate Family
  • Marie Varrelman Melchiori: But I Know He Got a Pension! Working the National Archives Pension Indexes
  • Luncheon: Civil War Heritage Trail Luncheon

Friday
 
  • Craig Roberts Scott: Arkansas and the Mexican War: From Indians in the West to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
  • Christine Rose: Our American Army: Enlisted Men and Their Records
  • Ronnie A. Nichols: Written In Blood and Sweat, Not Just Black and White
  • George Schweitzer: The War of 1812 in the Southeast
  • Russell P. Baker: Arkansas Confederate Pensions
  • Sharon Batiste Gillins: Negro Soldiers of Antebellum Louisiana-Their Service and Records

Saturday
 
  • Craig Roberts Scott: The Arkansas Post and the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars
  • Ronnie A. Nichols: Brothers in Arms: The Battle at Big Creek, Arkansas, July 26, 1864
  • Trevor K. Plante: Researching Buffalo Soldiers
  • Marie Varrelman Melchiori: Revolutionary War Records at the National Archives

  •  
Please visit www.fgsconference.org for the full program and for registration details. You needn't be a member of any organization in order to attend the conference. FGS and AGS welcome all interested parties. To learn even more about the conference, updates, expanded info, lodging, parking, and more details check the frequently updated Conference News Blog at www.fgsconferenceblog.org.

 

June 25, 2009

Added the following men:

This concludes all of the Civil War soldiers that are listed as such on their markers at Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.

June 23, 2009

First I want to give a special thank you to our president Jan Sarna for stepping up to the plate and giving us a wonderful presentation tonight.  I really enjoyed it.

Second, I want to let you know about a new book that Tom Helms has published.  It is a 190-page book entitled, "Military Service and Civil Records of Confederate and Union Soldiers, Lawrence County, Arkansas," that may be of interest to some of you researching in that area. Hard copies of the book are priced at $28.50 postage paid and it is also available on CD-ROM for $14.50 postage paid. All above-cost proceeds from the sales of the book will be contributed to the cemetery fund for Old Bethel Memorial Cemetery at Denton, Lawrence Co., AR. Old Bethel is where his  Grandmother Helms is buried.  You may also contact Tom at:

Postal Address: 307 Mangrove Palm, Starkville, MS 39759-2763
EMail Address: t720@bellsouth.net
Telephone:  (662) 323-0418

June 19, 2009

The new June Civil War Roundtable of Arkansas newsletter is up and available to read at: Civil War Roundtable Newsletter - June 2009.

Special thanks to Rick Meadows for writing it and putting it together every month.  He does a wonderful job!

Tuesday night's meeting feature speaker will be Don Nall telling us about Nathan Bedford Forrest.  Hope to see you there.

 

June 16, 2009

Added the following men:

June 14, 2009

Added the following people

June 13, 2009

Added the following people:

& very special person, Medal of Honor Recipient John Kennedy

June 2, 2009

Added the following:

Mr. Taylor sent us a photograph of his great-grandfather's grave - J.A. Cowan, who is buried in Kempner, Texas.

May 29, 2009

Southeastern hosts 23rd annual Deep Delta Civil War Symposium June 5-6

HAMMOND, Louisiana – “Ten Battles Won and Lost, East and West” is the theme of the annual Deep Delta Civil War Symposium, June 5-6, at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Now in its 23rd year, the symposium is one of the largest Civil War conferences in the United States and annually attracts a national audience as well as many local Civil War enthusiasts. Sponsored by Southeastern’s Department of History and Political Science, the two-day symposium will be held in the War Memorial Student Union Theatre.
Bill Robison, head of the Department of History and Political Science, said George C. Rable’s presentation “Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!” will open the symposium on June 5, 7:30 p.m. Rable, the Charles G. Summersell Chair in Southern History at the University of Alabama, is the author of “The Confederate Republic: A Revolution Against Politics,” “Civil Wars: Women and the Crisis of Southern Nationalism,” “But There Was No Peace: The Role of Violence in the Politics of Reconstruction,” and “Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!.”


Speakers on June 6 include Southeastern history professor Harry S. Laver, who will speak on “From Florida to Donelson: The Making of Ulysses S. Grant” at 8:30 a.m. Former Southeastern history professor Larry Hewitt, author of “Port Hudson: Confederate Bastion on the Mississippi River,” and “The Confederate High Command and Related Topics: Two Hundred Years A Nation,” who will give the symposium’s concluding address, “Port Hudson: The Most Photographed Battlefield During the Civil War,” at 7:30 p.m.
The symposium will also include social hours and book sales of speakers’ publications. Special prices are available for tickets purchased before June 1. Participants may also purchase conference tickets at the door. Discount prices are available for spouses and children. Fee information and a complete schedule are available online at www.selu.edu/deepdelta.
The symposium is free to all Southeastern faculty and students with their Southeastern I.D. Teachers in the Teaching American History grant program may be eligible for a grant for symposium fees and are asked to contact TAH grant coordinator Ann Trappey at Ann.Trappey@tangischools.org.
 

Additional presenters and their topics on June 6 will include:
▪ 9:30 a.m. -- “Hallucination: Sibley’s New Mexico Campaign” by Thomas F. Schott, Independent Scholar, former Deputy Command Historian, U.S. Special Operations Command Headquarters, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, and author of “Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia: A Biography.”
▪ 10:30 a.m. – “Jackson’s Valley Campaign” by Peter Cozzens, Foreign Service Officer, United States Department of State, author of “Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign;” “This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga;” and “The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga.”
▪ 11:30 a.m. – “Brandy Station” by Marshall Krolick, independent scholar and attorney from Westin, Fla.
▪ 1:30 p.m. – “Champion Hill” by Terry Winschel, chief historian at Vicksburg National Military Park, author of works including “Triumph and Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign” and “Fall of the Confederate Gibraltar.”
▪ 2:30 p.m. – “Forrest and the Principles of War” by Brig. Gen. (retired) Parker Hills, Clinton, Miss., author of “A Study in Warfighting: Nathan Bedford Forrest and the Battle of Brice’s Crossroads” and “Vicksburg Campaign Driving Guide.”
▪ 3:30 p.m. – “Fort Fisher,” by Chris Fonvielle, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, author of “The Wilmington Campaign: Last Rays of Departing Hope;” “Fort Anderson: Battle for Wilmington;” and “The Best Ever Occupied: Archaeological Investigations of a Civil War Encampment, Folly Island, South Carolina.”
▪ 4:30 p.m. – “Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely,” by Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr., reference historian, U.S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, author of “Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units;” “Black Southerners in Gray: Essays on Afro-Americans in Confederate Armies;” and “The Civil War Reminiscences of Major Silas T. Grisamore, S.S.A.”
For additional information about the Deep Delta Civil War Symposium, contact the Department of History and Political Science, 985-549-2109 or hips@selu.edu, or visit www.selu.edu/deepdelta

May 28, 2009

Added the following:

With the addition of the above two people, we now have the photographs of all the grave markers at Sulphur Springs online and a virtual cemetery tour of all the historical markers located there.

If you have anything you would like to add, please feel free to send it.

May 26, 2009

Added the following:

May 22, 2009

The new Civil War War Roundtable of Arkansas newsletter for May is up.  Brian Brown will be our speaker this Tuesday night and we look forward to seeing you there!

May 21, 2009

Announcing the Battle of Pea Ridge Civil War Heritage Festival
June 12-13, 2009


The Third Annual Battle of Pea Ridge Civil War Heritage Festival will be held June 12 - 13, 2009. The Festival begins Friday, June 12, at 6:30 p.m. with the “Civil War Soldier’s Dream Supper” reception and banquet at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center, Bentonville, Arkansas. Banquet entertainment will be provided by Jonathan Storey at piano with a violin accompanying, tableaux by the Washington County Historical Society, and a special arrival by “Sessie” – Ms. Sesquicentennial. Tickets for the Dream Supper are $45/person or $400 for a table of 8. War Eagle Mill is a sponsor of the banquet and will cater the event. Deadline for purchasing tickets is June 6.

On Saturday, June 13, period events, demonstrations and lectures will be held at Pea Ridge National Military Park. This year’s festival is entitled, “Pea Ridge on the Home Front.” Activities for the festival include: period music by Gum Springs Serenaders, a coverlet program, demonstrations by spinners, weavers, blacksmith and farrier, an available lunch at Elkhorn Tavern provided by War Eagle Mill, and a period photographer on-site. Speakers for the festival include Tom Dillard from the University of Arkansas Special Collections presenting a lecture on civilian life before and during the Battle at Pea Ridge, Caroline Wallingford from the National Park Service presenting a workshop on archival preservation and Monte Harris from the Rogers Historical Museum with Civil War coverlets. Admission to the park for the June 13 festival is $5 per car for the day’s events. Additional sponsors of the two-day event are KFSM, Channel 5 television, Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the NWA Times/Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Sponsorships are available from levels of $100 to $25,000.

The Pea Ridge National Military Park is a 4,300 acre park located in Northwest Arkansas. The Park honors and commemorates the 26,000 soldiers who fought here on March 7 & 8, 1862. The sesquicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Pea Ridge is quickly approaching. The Pea Ridge National Military Park Foundation is commemorating the 150th anniversary with a series of Civil War Heritage Festivals to raise awareness about the park and raise funds to acquire the Andy Thomas collection of Pea Ridge Battle oil paintings.

The Park is easily accessible by car and the entrance is about 30 minutes from Interstate 540 (Exit 86 and travel east via U.S. Hwy 62) and is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. year round The $5.00 per vehicle permit is all that is required for entrance to the June 13 events and is for all non-commercial visitors. Additional information on this community event can be found on the Foundation website at www.pearidgefoundation.com

The Foundation is working to improve the public’s experience at the Park and to raise community and national awareness. While visiting the Festival visitors can view “Thunder in the Ozarks,” a 30-minute film shown in the Park Visitors Center. The interpretive film recounts the battle and serves as a prelude to exploring the park. The Foundation is raising funds to obtain 10 original oil paintings by Andy Thomas depicting the Battle of Pea Ridge which will be given to Pea Ridge National Military Park. In 2008, digital versions of these paintings were incorporated into interpretive panels positioned throughout the park significantly improving visitors’ understanding of the battle. These panels are one-of-a-kind interpretive Civil War exhibits and the first of their type west of the Mississippi.

For more information, tickets, or to sponsor the Festival, call Gene Williams at 479.903.6334 or contact the Foundation at PeaRidgeFoundation@gmail.com.

May 19, 2009

We have recently upgraded our Event Calendar.  Please feel free to send us your Arkansas History events and share the love with everyone.  ArCivilWarBuff@gmail.com

May 13, 2009

Added the following locations:

Added the following men:

May 12, 2009

Added the following men:

Added the following civilians:

May 11, 2009

Mr. Bill Taylor with the A.R. Witt Camp #615, Sons of Confederate Veterans sent us an updated bio on Col. Allen Rufus Witt. - Witt, Allen Rufus  Thanks Bill and Roger!

Added the following other men:

May 8, 2009

We have three known Medal of Honor recipients for the Civil War that were from Arkansas.  A memorial is located on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol dedicated in their honor.

Added to Pulaski County

Added the following people:

May 7, 2009

Added the following place:

Added the following men:

I also want to point you to some interesting websites on the web for those interested in Gettysburg:

May 6, 2009

Added the following men:

May 5, 2009

Added the Confederate Cemetery in Helena, Phillips County, Arkansas.  Photographs of each grave marker.

Added the following men:

This is in Missouri, but I thought it sounded like fun, if you are in the area:

Jackson County Historical Society

 

Celebrates 150th Anniversary

 

of the 1859 Jackson County Jail
 

The 1859 Jackson County Jail turns 150 Years Old

Plan to attend the activities surrounding the anniversary of the oldest building on the historic Independence Square! The 1859 Jackson County Jail turns 150 Years Old! For the last 50 years, the 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum (217 N Main St, Independence, Missouri) has been owned and operated by the Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society. Below is the schedule of activities:

Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Noon to 1 p.m.
LOCK DOWN: Outlaws, Lawmen and Frontier Justice in Jackson County, Missouri
 David W. Jackson, Archives and Education Director for Jackson County Historical Society, will present a lunch-and-learn for Historic Preservation Month. Included in the presentation will be a virtual tour of the 1859 Jackson County Jail with highlights of the outlaws and lawmen who lived on either side of the jail’s barred windows and doors. This lecture follows the upcoming book by the same title (see announcement below). This lunch-and-learn will take place at the Truman Memorial Building, 416 W Maple, Independence, Missouri. For more information about Historic Preservation Month in Independence, go to:http://www.indepmo.org/ComDev/HistoricPreservation.aspx.

**********
Sunday, May 31, 2009
2 p.m.
 Special Feature Lecture: Frontier Justice
Paul Kirkman, speaker with the State Historical Society of Missouri, will present Frontier Justice. It took a lot of courage and commitment to tame the Wild West. Unsung heroes and heroines tended to the needs of prisoners in the log jailhouses and stone calabooses along the frontier, while desperate and dangerous outlaws were hunted and confronted by equally dangerous lawmen. Paul Kirkman presents a snapshot of the nineteenth century jail and lawmen in Missouri and Kansas. Get a feel for the challenges frontier law enforcers like Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Wild Bill Hickok faced daily. This lecture is made available through a grant from the State Historical Society of Missouri’s Speaker’s Bureau. The presentation is FREE and open to the public, and will take place in the banquet room at Ophelia’s restaurant on Independence Square (201 N Main Street, Independence, Missouri).

NEW BOOK! (Off the press May 31, 2009)
 LOCK DOWN: Outlaws, Lawmen and Frontier Justice in Jackson County, Missouri
This book will be off the press by the first weekend in June 2009, when the Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society will be hosting a weekend-long celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the 1859 Jackson County Jail, which served as a lock down until 1933. The 128+page book is a comprehensive history of the outlaws, lawmen (and women), and events associated with the three 19th Century Jackson County Jails in Independence, Missouri. Two major appendices include 1) ALL Jackson County Sheriffs, ALL Jackson County Marshals, and many of their deputies from 1826-1933; and, 2) ALL known “legal” hangings in Jackson County, 1839-1932. Meanwhile, a new exhibit by the same title is currently on display at the 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum. Reserve a pre-press copy athttp://store.jchs.org/category.cfm?Category=29 (scroll to “LOCK DOWN”)

 Friday June 5, 2009
6 p.m. (pronto!)                   Sesquicentennial Private Dining Experience
Including Special Engagement Living History Program
(Ophelia’s Restaurant on Independence Square, 201 N Main St)
The Marshal of the 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum summons you to a private dining experience in honor of the 150th Anniversary of his humble establishment. This unique fundraising event celebrating the Sesquicentennial of the 1859 Jackson County Jail includes cocktails, a sit-down-dinner, and time to visit with others interested in local history and its preservation. Main Street will be blocked off to automobile traffic between Truman and Maple so that attendees may mix and mingle outdoors. As an appetizer, dinner guests will enjoy an exciting, historically-accurate living history presentation that begins promptly at 6 p.m.

          Imagine the night in June 1866 when Jackson County jailor, Henry Bugler, was shot dead in the doorway of the Marshal’s office by mounted renegades demanding the release of their compatriots! This tragic and dramatic scene begins with a Liberty Tribunenewspaper reporter setting the stage. After the guerillas ride into the scene for a shoot-out and scuffle with local citizenry, Bugler is shot, and an attempt to set the Jail on fire ensues. Meanwhile, Bugler’s wife and a physician tend to Bugler’s 4-year-old son who was also shot from a stray bullet. This engaging living history program is presented especially for dinner guests. The program is a prelude to Saturday evening’s ticketed event.

          This is your last chance for the next 150 years to support and take part of local history in the making…and add a really cool evening to your “rap sheet.” Shackle your seats today! Advanced tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available at:

http://store.jchs.org/category.cfm?Category=54&CFID=2927021&CFTOKEN=35901537

 Saturday, June 6, 2009
4 to 6:30 p.m.                       Living History Program at 1859 Jail
These Walls Have Seen It All
 (LIMITED CAPACITY; ADVANCED TICKETS REQUIRED)
This ticketed event to raise awareness of the 1859 Jackson County Jail—and support for its continued preservation—features five historically-accurate vignettes that will be performed at different stations throughout the 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum historic site (217 N Main Street, Independence, Missouri). Henry Bugler will lie post-mortem in the Marshal’s parlor; Quantrill will be admitted to the Jail in the Marshal’s Office; Frank James will greet visitors passing by his ornately decorated jail cell; Missouri artist George Caleb Bingham and Rev. Abner H. Deane will share their post-Civil War woes; and, a Chain Gang Jailbird tell about when the 1859 Jackson County Jail was decommissioned in 1933.Tour groups of 8-10 visitors will start every 15 minutes between 4 and 6:30 p.m., and be personally guided through each vignette. This event will sell out quickly. First paid; first reserved basis! $10 tickets are available:

http://store.jchs.org/category.cfm?Category=54&CFID=2927021&CFTOKEN=35901537

 **********
Sunday, June 7, 2009

2 p.m.  
Special Feature Lecture: Social Outlaws and Notorious Persons

of the Missouri–Kansas Border Area, 1860–1880

(at Ophelia’s Restaurant on Independence Square)

Paul Kirkman returns at the request of the Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society to present a second special feature lecture. Several infamous characters lived in Missouri during the mid– to late nineteenth century, including Belle Starr, William Quantrill, Bloody Bill Anderson, Frank and Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, and more. Many of their crimes or sensational activities became legend and were later featured in film and television. Learn what forces, political or personal, drove these Missourians to the spotlight.This lecture is FREE and open to the public, and will take place in the banquet room at Ophelia’s restaurant on Independence Square.

May 1, 2009

Added the following people:

Added the following places:

Added the following in Ouachita County: