Historical markers commemorating different aspects of an 1864 battle in Grant County and the capture of a Confederate general in Randolph County are to be added by the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, the commission announced.
The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission works with local partners to tell stories of how the 1861-65 Civil War affected communities in the state.
The Civil War Sesquicentennial Historical Marker in Randolph County will commemorate the 1863 capture in Pocahontas of Confederate Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson, whose skill at having his troops elude the enemy earned him the nickname "Missouri Swamp Fox." The marker, sponsored by Five Rivers Historic Preservation Inc., will be at 216 N. Bettis St. in Pocahontas.
Markers denoting key parts of the Battle at Jenkins Ferry, sponsored by the Friends of Jenkins Ferry Battlefield in Grant County, will interpret different aspects of the April 30, 1864, battle. Several of the markers will contain separate interpretive panels on each side that commemorate:
• Jenkins Ferry and the pontoon bridge with a separate marker for Brig. Gen. Samuel Rice and a captured cannon, to be located at Jenkins Ferry Battleground State Park near Leola.
• The deaths of Confederate generals and, on the opposite side, wounded Union soldiers, to be placed at Arkansas 46 and Grant County Road 6, north of Leola.
• The destruction of Whitten's Mill on one side with the other side noting Pratt's Ferry, to be located at the Prattsville Community Center in Prattsville.
• Destroyed Union supplies and the story of refugee children on opposite sides of a marker to be placed at Arkansas 46 and Arkansas 291.
• The skirmish at Guesses Creek, to be located north of Grant County Road 1.
More information on the historical marker program or monthly sesquicentennial activities can be found at the commission's website, arkansascivilwar150.com.
NW News on 03/28/2015