BELLA VISTA -- Audience members learned about a Civil War raid's connection with the Battle of Prairie Grove during the Jan. 5 meeting of the Bella Vista Civil War Round Table at the Bella Vista Historical Museum.
Tom Wing, a history professor at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, gave a presentation during meeting. His topic was "Blunt's Raid on Van Buren," a raid that served as the epilogue to the Battle of Prairie Grove in December 1862, as discussed in William Shea's book, "Field of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign."
In addition to his work as a history professor, Wing also oversees operations, public outreach and promotion of the Drennen-Scott House in Van Buren, a house he proposed the university acquire because of its historical significance. Built in 1838 by John Drennen, the home was continuously occupied by the members of the Drennen family until the property was acquired by the university in 2005.
Drennen, a wealthy businessman in Van Buren, died in 1855 and passed most of his estate on to his daughter Caroline and her husband Charles G. Scott Sr., who was also a businessman and Confederate supporter during the Civil War.
Wing said he was delighted to recently have been informed about the diary from the archives of the Kansas Historical Society of Albert Green, who was in the 9th Kansas Calvary, Company A, during the war and participated in the Van Buren raid. He quoted several excerpts from Green's diary about the Drennen house and Scott inviting them in for a meal during their patrols, even though he knew they were Union soldiers.
The next Bella Vista Civil War Round Table meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Bella Vista Historical Museum. Dale Phillips will speak about "The Battle of the Bayous." Phillips was with the National Park Service for 41 years, including 10 years in Louisiana, and is one of the founders of the Bella Vista Civil War Round Table, currently serving as its president.