Several events are scheduled during April to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Camden Expedition, according to the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.
Other sanctioned events during April include Civil War Park Cleanup Day next Saturday at several Arkansas sites, sponsored by the Civil War Trust; the Pope County Historical Society’s program April 11 on the Civil War in Pope County, featuring Shelle Stormoe of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program; and the Confederate Heritage/Flag/Memorial Day annual observance April 19 at the state Capitol in Little Rock.
The 1864 Camden Expedition, part of the Red River Campaign, involved Union Gen. Frederick Steele’s troops attempting to march from Little Rock into Texas. Steele eventually occupied Camden instead, because of strong Confederate resistance and other factors, before retreating to Little Rock.
Events connected with the Camden Expedition anniversary are:
April 12: Battle of Prairie D’Ane Sesquicentennial Re-enactment at Prescott.
April 14-19: Occupation of Camden and Battle of Poison Spring Commemoration in Camden.
April 19: A seminar on the Camden Expedition and the Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry, at the Saline County Library in Benton.
April 23: A Brown Bag Lunch Lecture on “Racial Atrocities During the Camden Expedition,” by Mark Christ of the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, at the Old State House Museum in Little Rock.
April 24: Marvin Schultz will speak on the Civil War and Red River Campaign at the College of the Ouachitas campus in Malvern, sponsored by the college and the Center for Arkansas Culture and History in Education.
April 26-27: Battles of Jenkins’ Ferry Sesquicentennial Commemoration and Re-enactment at Sheridan.
A complete list of these and other sanctioned events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, along with times, event contacts and other information, is at arkansascivilwar150.com/ events.
Arkansas, Pages 24 on 03/30/2014