150 Years Ago…
By admin | March 8, 2010
Appearing in an Arkansas newspaper 150 years ago this week was a slightly unorthodox article; not unorthodox for 1860, but rather a suprising find to the contemporary Arkansas historian. As millions of pages of history are written by the victors in the past 150 years, a true and accurate portrait of a slave’s life and intentions have been clouded by manufactured history. The below account explains why runaway slaves returned to the south under their own willlpower:
[LITTLE ROCK] ARKANSAS TRUE DEMOCRAT, March 7, 1860, p. 2, c. 2
The Exiled Free Negroes Returning into Slavery.
The northern papers have been busily assailing the inhumanity of the act which exiled this unfortunate class from our State.
We have now tested practically the law which relieved us from their presence, and the free negroes have tested the life of freedom among the freedom shriekers at the North.
Our experience is of the most agreeable character, and the law has proven itself to be one of the very best on our statute book. Since Arkansas has been made by that act strictly a slave State, since all hope is cut off by statutory enactment of slaves here being liberated by will, or deed, unless the slave is carried beyond our limits in the lifetime of his owner and set free, there has been a marked change for the better in the character of the slave population. There is no discontent and no disposition to shirk service due even to indulgent masters. We can safely recommend to our sister States the law as salutary and wise under existing circumstances. The conduct of the northern abolitionists brought about the necessity of this law, forced us in self-defence to pass it, and the result is they have forced into voluntary slavery a large number of free negroes.
Several of “the exiles” have returned and selected masters in this city. Others have returned to other counties to our certain knowledge, and those here report a state of facts which any one could have foreseen.
All left here with plenty of money. A few month’s residence reduced them to penury and want. They say the abolitionists swindled them out of all their money and gave them in exchange only lip professions, that the free negro of the North has poorer fare and a harder time than the slave of the South.
Topics: 150th Anniversary Project | No Comments »
March 2010 Toothpick
By admin | March 2, 2010
March is the time of year that historical preservationists all over the nation start getting out their rakes and other yard impliments and head out to begin cleanup in various historical sites, including old cemeteries and other areas of interest.
Arkansas is surely no exception. With a couple ice storms behind us in the Natural state, cleanup of historical sites is paramount. With this said, Pine Bluff is already ahead of the game, boasting of a cleanup day at White Sulphur Springs Confederate Cemetery a few weeks ago.
Imminent projects for the Patrick Cleburne Camp in Pine Bluff include the documentation and research of various historical sites. With Black History Month coming to a close, it is important to note that while the majority of Black History enthieusists only celebrate the same, in many cases, false history from year to year. The Sons of Confederate Veterans in Pine Bluff has begun the first steps in placing the city on a new national list: The Underground Railroad and Freedman Trail. The application for the new marker will include various historical accuracies and provide primary source material regarding the freedom of many slaves during the Federal Occupation of Pine Bluff, including the basis of the contraband camp as well as the mustering in of “Colored Troops” into Federal Service. The application deadline will be in July and the documentation process is going well, with the help of the National Park Service in Topeka, KS.
Another project that the Patrick Cleburne Camp is heavily engaged is the annual memorial to the great General himself: Patrick R. Cleburne. This 25th annual memorial service for the Irish-born Confederate General will be held on March 13 in the Helena, Arkansas Confederate Cemetery. The memorial will begin at noon with key-note speaker Glen Dedmondt, author of The Flags of Civil War Arkansas, which Mr. Dedmondt dedicated to General Cleburne. Many spectators will meet at 10am at the McDonald’s in Helena prior to the memorial for breakfast. The public is invited to attend and all living historians are invited to participate.
Another reminder regarding the Annual Arkansas Division SCV Reunion in Hot Springs: The Annual Reunion will be held at the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas on April 30-May 1. If anyone wishes to attend this event, please contact the Keller Camp (www.arkansasscv.org) for more information on regisration.
Speaking of the Annual Reunion, the Editor of the Toothpick will be seeking the office of Southern Brigade Commander at the Annual Reunion. Any support will be highly appreciated, as Arkansas needs strong Brigade Commanders for the upcoming events and festivals ever so imminent as the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War is upon us already!
The Arkansas Toothpick has begun a new weekly column on www.arkansastoothpick.com. The column will outline some of the goings-on 150 years ago. The column is updated weekly and began the last week in February, 2010. If anyone knows of any local history from around the state that occurred 150 years ago, please e-mail the editor at info@arkansastoothpick.com.
Any school-aged children between the grades of 7-12 interested in Civil War reenacting may join the Jefferson Guard Historical Preservation Cadet Corps. The Jefferson Guard is now in its second year, gearing up for an active 2010 season of Civil War reenacting. The cadets have accomplished some amazing feats during its first year: attended living histories and reenactments all over the state, was one of the initial groups involved in the Reed’s Bridge Battlefield restoration project which got the cadets national exposure in Civil War News. The Jefferson Guard provides a family-oriented atmosphere for all cadets and safety is paramount. Anyone interested in the FREE cadet program, contact the Jefferson Guard Commander at armedic73@hotmail.com. The Jefferson Guard’s Website is www.jeffersonguard.com. Cadets are accepted from all over the state!
Ron Kelley/Editor
Topics: In The News, Living Histories, Memorial Services, News, Newsletters | No Comments »
150 Years Ago…
By admin | March 1, 2010
150 years ago this week, the balloon mentioned in the last column made its debut in Little Rock on March 3rd with two live occupants. By judging by the date the article was written and when the ascension is to take place, it apparently took nearly two weeks’ worth of setting up for this event:
[LITTLE ROCK] OLD-LINE DEMOCRAT, February 23, 1860, p. 3, c. 1
Balloon Ascension.—The great balloon has come, and will certainly go up, with two live men, on the 3d March, we have engaged a seat in the car, and would like for all our friends to be here on that occasion to witness our elevation.
Topics: 150th Anniversary Project | No Comments »
Arkansas Toothpick 150th Year Anniversary of the Civil War Project
By admin | February 20, 2010
The Arkansas Toothpick has decided to take on a mammoth undertaking in preserving the accurate heritage and history of Arkansas during the Civil War. We have decided to publish a weekly account of what happened in South East Arkansas during the War, starting with February 1860. This project is necessary as it will show a well-researched timeline of the era. Noting that nothing happens in a proverbial historical vacuum, we will start this project immediately to show the readers a depection of prewar life and circumstances. The sources in this project are well-researched and each post will have its cooresponding document using solely primary sources when available.
Because of various projects that the Patrick R. Cleburne Camp is currently involved, this site will not provide every detail of Civil War life in Pine Bluff and South East Arkansas, but it will, however, give the reader a general idea of the common experience of Arkansawers during the pre war era.
Thanks to Vicki Betts, we now have transcribed newspapers from all over the United States before and during the Civil War. Though she included only a fraction of the microfilm transcribed onto her websitie, she has, nonetheless given us a clear and colorful window to the past. One such instance is in the case of an event in Little Rock. In Februarry, 1860, citizens of Arkansas were notified in the True Democrat that balloon ascentions would be made available to the general public. This must have stirred up quiet a talk in the town!
The following was found in the Arkansas True Democrat:
[LITTLE ROCK] ARKANSAS TRUE DEMOCRAT, February 22, 1860, p. 3, c. 7
Grand, Sublime and Novel Exhibition by the Ericsson and Hydrogen Balloon Company! Will exhibit at Little Rock, on Saturday, March 3d, 1860, in their Mammoth Wall Pavilion, Positively for One Day Only! Circuses! Menageries! and all other Exhibitions thrown in the shade by the Thrilling Sublimity of the most Stupendous Balloon exhibitions in the world!! The unrivalled Aeronauts with this Company!Mr. W. J. Shotts, the greatest of American Aeronauts, and Mons. Le White, the great Daring, Foreign, Equiliptic Aeronaut having been engaged by this Company, at an immense expense to visit the principal cities and towns of the United States, for the purpose of making a variety of their unrivalled and magnificent Balloon Ascensions!
The Company will distribute at each place where the Ascension takes place, $1,000 Dollars worth of Prizes to the audience, consisting of handsome Gold and Silver Watches, Magnificent Gold Jewelry, Beautiful Gold and Silver Pencils, and Admission Tickets to Prof. Pyrington’s
Topics: 150th Anniversary Project, Official Records | No Comments »
Toothpick February 2010
By admin | February 16, 2010
This issue of The Toothpick is packed with pertinent information for Arkansas Civil War buffs. 2010 has already proven successful in historic preservation efforts in South Arkansas. As members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans of the Patrick Cleburne Camp in Pine Bluff knows all too well, nothing will be accomplished by sitting and doing nothing. By taking an active role in historical preservation, January was nothing short of amazing.
The year kicked off with the annual David Owen Dodd memorial service. There was a surprisingly large number of living historians on hand with musket in below freezing temperatures, the like of the actual day Dodd was hung by his Yankee captors close to where the UALR School of Law currently sits today. With a light snow spitting from the sky, the Arkansas Division Commander of the SCV, Mark Kalkbrenner, gave the key-note speech, which was followed by a roar of musketry from living historians from all over the state. The service was followed by an Executive Meeting of the Arkansas Division SCV. One of the key issues discussed in the meeting was the Arkansas Division Reunion that will be held this year on April 30-May 1st, 2010 at the historic Arlington Hotel, the site of the 2009 National SCV Reunion. Those interested in attending this event may contact the Keller Camp in Hot Spring on the Arkansas Division Website at www.arkansasscv.org. Preregistration is currently underway and is highly encouraged. The Keller Camp has been known to pull off some amazing reunions!
Members of the Patrick Cleburne Camp met at Camp White Sulphur Springs Confederate Cemetery Saturday, February 6 for a day of clean up following the ice storm last week. The grounds were spared any large fallen trees/debris. After a couple hours of clean up, the park is back in great shape. This time of year yields a completely different beauty as the grounds of adjacent historical sites can be seen through the bare trees.
The next Division-level event will be the annual Patrick R. Cleburne Memorial service at his graveside in the Helena, Arkansas Confederate Cemetery on March 13, 2010. More information on this event will be included in the next issue of The Toothpick, including key-note speaker, start time, and other information.
After holding meetings with representatives from the City of Pine Bluff, the Patrick Cleburne Camp tentatively announces the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War kickoff event in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on January 15, 1861. It was this day that the proverbial “powder keg” was lit in Arkansas which resulted in the capture of over half a dozen steam boats in 1861 on the Arkansas River. More information on this event will be included in future issues of The Toothpick, including monthly inclusions of local Pine Bluff history correlating to that of 150 years ago. This project will span the entirety of the Civil War as it was experienced here in South Arkansas between January, 1860 (yes, THAT early) through the Federal occupation of Pine Bluff and into the genesis of the Reconstruction following the War.
The 1st Arkansas Infantry living historians will have their annual business meeting Saturday, February 12 at Arkansas Post at 12:30pm at the State Park museum. This will be preceded by a baby shower for Mikah and Lisa Wisner at 11:00am, followed by lunch provided by the State Park. Any living historian interested in attending, contact 1st Sgt. Mike Lewis at 1stark5thkan@att.net.
Any school-aged children between the grades of 7-12 interested in Civil War reenacting may join the Jefferson Guard Historical Preservation Cadet Corps. The Jefferson Guard is now in its second year, gearing up for an active 2010 season of Civil War reenacting. The cadets have accomplished some amazing feats during its first year: attended living histories and reenactments all over the state, was one of the initial groups involved in the Reed’s Bridge Battlefield restoration project which got the cadets national exposure in Civil War News. The Jefferson Guard provides a family-oriented atmosphere for all cadets and safety is paramount. Anyone interested in the FREE cadet program, contact the Jefferson Guard Commander at armedic73@hotmail.com. The Jefferson Guard’s Website is www.jeffersonguard.com. Cadets are accepted from all over the state!
If you know of any Arkansas Civil War news and events, e-mail us at info@arkansastoothpick.com.
Ron Kelley/Editor
Topics: Living Histories, Memorial Services, News, Newsletters | No Comments »
Arkansas Toothpick January 2010
By admin | January 6, 2010
Happy New Year from The Arkansas Toothpick! This year will start out with two annual events for Arkansas Civil War buffs to attend. This year also opens with a reminder that the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War is only a year away. The Patrick Cleburne Camp is currently in the planning stages of a most memorable anniversary of the Civil War in South East Arkansas.
This year will begin with the annual David O. Dodd memorial. Due to the unusually cold weather expected in downtown Little Rock on Saturday, January 9th, the annual march from the Macarthur Military Museum has been cancelled but the memorial is planned to start promptly at 11:00 a.m. at the Mt. Holly Cemetery on Broadway Street one block south of I-630. The keynote speaker this year will be the Commander of the Arkansas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Mark Kalkbrenner. Mr. Kalkbrenner is also a commissioner on the Arkansas Sesquicentennial Commission and the South East Arkansas Chair of the Arkansas Civil War Trails. Reenactors/living historians need to be at the cemetery no later than 10:30.
The annual Arkansas Division (SCV) Executive Meeting will be held following the David O. Dodd memorial at 12 p.m. at the Whole Hog Cafe located at 2516 Cantrell Blvd in Little Rock. Click here for a map to Whole Hog Cafe with driving instructions from Mt. Holly Cemetery.
January will be a busy month for Arkansas Civil War living historians as well. The first living history of the year is scheduled for the last weekend of January at the State Park at Arkansas Post. It is this event that the local living historians set the schedule of events for the year as well as host an entire weekend of military drill and other living historian-related activities that prove to be fun and fitting for the whole family.
If you know of any school-aged children interested in Civil War reenacting, the Jefferson Guard Historical Preservation Cadet Corps is perfect for students with good grades between 8th Grade and 12th Grade. The Cadet Corps provides Civil War uniforms and may perform roles varying from infantry, artillery, or signal (flag) corps. The Jefferson Guard is starting it’s second year and has a great track record of preservations ranging from restoration of the Oldest Church in Arkansas to preservation work with Steve Shore at the Reed’s Bridge battlefield. The Jefferson Guard has also taken part and fielded cadets in the Battles of Mark’s Mills, Old Washington, and Arkansas Post- to name but just a few. The official website, www.jeffersonguard.com is still under construction. Send an e-mail to info@arkansastoothpick.com for more information on The Jefferson Guard.
Ron Kelley
Editor- Arkansas Toothpick
Topics: Memorial Services | No Comments »
Arkansas Toothpick- December 2009
By admin | December 22, 2009
Season’s Greetings from The Arkansas Toothpick! The last issue of 2009 is packet with goings-on and pertinent Civil War events in Arkansas. This has been quiet an extraordinary year in the realm of preservation in South East and Central Arkansas, and it should come as no surprise that the Patrick R. Cleburne Camp had its hand in each and every project- both large and even larger.
One of our crowning achievements of the year was the April 2009 Division Reunion of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in which the memorial service was held at the Wright Cemetery,. located on the grounds of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The whole Division Reunion,. hosted this year by the Cleburne Camp, was deemed a success including a larger-than-usual attendance.
Another one of the achievements of the Cleburne Camp this year was the long-awaited marking of the Confederate mass grave of 900 at the Little Rock National Cemetery. This project has been in discussions for years.
Though the membership did not increase by leaps and bound, the Patrick R. Cleburne Camp in Pine Bluff has maintained its roster and the level of dedication by the active membership is unrivaled anywhere else in the Army of the Trans Mississippi.
During the year, we have had nearly 100 books donated to us by Linda Lane, from Oregon. This collection of Civil War books, most of which are very rare, are being displayed at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School until a Civil War research center can be secured. If you know of someone who would like to donate any books to our collection, please send them to the Arkansas Toothpick HQ at 1200 Tanglewood, White Hall, AR 71602,. or send us an e-mail to info@arkansastoothpick.com.
Upcoming events include the annual David O. Dodd memorial service in Little Rock on January 9, 2010. We will be making the yearly march from the Macarthur Military Museum to Mount Holly Cemetery as usual with an Arkansas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Meeting following the graveside memorial. The following event will be the annual Arkansas Post living history on the last weekend of January.
Note to researchers: An article has been found noting the importance of a steamer in 1862-1863 called “The Bracelet”. The article is now posted onto the Arkansas Toothpick website at www.arkansastoothpick.com. However,. the original portage book has come up missing from the Dewitt Courthouse. Please send us an e-mail if you happen to locate it in your local or state archives, as this book will shed invaluable information to an interpretation of the Civil War in the lower Arkansas river valley.
From the Sons of Confederate Veterans, have a blessed and happy holiday!
Topics: Newsletters | No Comments »
White Sulphur Springs Hotel (1860 Advertisement)
By admin | December 16, 2009
The following was located in the Jefferson County Library regarding White Sulphur Springs:
White Sulphur Springs Hotel,
W.B. Pool, Proprietor
This establishment is now open for the accomodations of visitors. The location is one of the healthiest points in the south, and the water is unsurpassed. The locality is high and pleasant, with excellent schools, both male and female. The distance from Pine Bluff is seven miles, over a good road. A No. 1 Omnibus will run to the Springs from Pine Bluff every day during the watering season, and passangers will be accommodated on the most reasonable terms.
White Sulphur Springs, March 1, 1860
Examination of the White Sulphur Springs Water- The qualative chemical examination of the White Sulphur Springs gave the following as its principal constituents:
1st. The Middle North Spring of the Crescent:
Free Sulphureted Hydrogen
Sulpharet of Sodium (a trace)
Sulphate of Magnesia (Epsom Salts)
Sulphate of Soda (Glanber Salts)
Chloride of Sodium (common salts)
Sulphate of Lime (Gypsum)
This is a saline sulphureted water. Its medical properties will be mild laxative, alterative, diuretic, and scorbutic, and will have a beneficial effect, particularly on diseases of the skin, kidney, and liver.
2d. The North-East Spring of the Crescent:
This water differs from the other only in containing less sulphur, and perhaps a trace of alkaline carbonates. It will have more of a laxative and diuretic effect, but has less effect on the diseases of the skin and liver.
3d. The South Spring of the Crescent:
This water contains more saline water, I.e.: Sulphate of Magnesia and Soda, Chlodide of Sodium, but little Sulphur and m ore carbonate of lime. Its effects will be principally laxative and diuretic.
D.D.Owen, State Geologist.
April 14, 1860 41-3m.
Topics: Research | No Comments »
Information on Arkansas River Steamboat Found
By admin | December 12, 2009
One of the members of the Grand Prarie History Society, Don Roth, has found very important information on The Bracelet, an Arkansas River steamer that found itself in service during the years of 1862-3 in Arkansas. The Bracelet was important to the Confederate supply in Arkansas from LIttle Rock down to Napoleon, Arkansas. Below is the information that he located in the Grand Prarie Historical Society Bulletin, October, 1991.
Note: the below was scanned and placed on The Arkansas Toothpick by the webmaster. If there are any problems wit the syntax and/or spelling, please let us know by e-mailing info@arkansastoothpick.com. It should also be noted that it was recently discovered that the Bracelet’s portage book has been removed from the Arkansas County Courthouse. If anyone knows the whereabouts of this valuable source of information, please contact us!
GPHS BULLETIN October, 1991
THE STEAMBOAT BRACELET
In the April, 1991 number of this bulletin is an account of an unusual record book in the office of the Circuit Clerk of Arkansas County at DeWitt. The book bears the title: “Portage Book of the Steamer Bracelett”. It is in fact the boat’s payroll record. It contains other records, as described in the April article. (See Macom - Can You Help Fill The Chinks In This Tale - final par. pg. 35. The name of the Bracelett is there erroneously called “Scarlett).
This record book was in the Clerk’s office as early as 1875 - probably earlier. On the reverse side of the front cover and on the page opposite considerable “doodling” was done by the then Clerk, B. F. Quertermous, who placed the date “1875″ on the page together with his signature. (The same “handwriting” penned the signature, date and doodling.)
This article is structured around the boats portage book or payroll record. The name of the boat will be spelled Bracelet throughout the remainder of this article. With the exception of the portage book, all records and accounts of this vessel examined by the author, the spelling of the name of the steamer appears with only one final “t” .
The Bracelet, a sidewheel steamboat of 169 tons displacement, was built in Louisville, Kentucky in 1857. Her first home port was Louisville. This article deals only with the final sixteen months of her life. She- was caught in southern waters when the southern states seceded from the Union in 1861. She was put into the service of the Confederacy.
It is regrettable that the portage book does not include the first seven trips of the Bracelet while in the service of the Confederacy. Trip No. 8 is the first recorded in her portage book at DeWitt.
Students of Civil War history will recall that General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding a sizeable army accompanied by a large naval flotilla and fleet of transport vessels, worked his way down the Mississippi River Valley from Cairo, Illinois in his successful effort to cut the Confederacy in two, this by Northern control of navigation and of land transportation cross ing-points along the river. Arkansas and Texas were then the “breadbasket of the Confederacy” and important in supplying men, munitions and the all important cotton then so valuable to the Confederacy in acquiring arms from Britain. The taking of Vicks-burg was essential to Grant’s aim.
When the Bracelet made Trip No. 8 first recorded in her portage book, the Battles of Columbus-Belmont and Island No. 10 had been won by Grant’s advancing forces. He was threatening Memphis.
On land in Arkansas Union forces under General Samuel R. Curtis were advancing down the White River basin toward central Arkansas. General Curtis took Batesville on May 3rd. While trip No. 8 of the Bracelet was being made, General Curtis’ troops moved into Cotton Plant on May 14th, into Grand Glaize [between Bradford and Newport] on the same day, and at Searcy Landing and Village Creek on May 19th. The war was closing in on Bracelet’s operating area: Memphis -to and from Arkansas River ports.
Trip No. 8 (”Trip of May llth to May 20th, 1862, Memphis to Rob Roy and return.”) as reported in Bracelet’s portage book shows that the trip was made with a crew of forty-one persons. Eighteen of these persons, the Captain, Mate, Engineer(s), pilot(s), and those persons serving the passengers and crew, such as the steward, cooks, cabin boys, chambermaids, pantryman, watchmen, etc., may sometimes hereafter be referred to as “the upper decks crew”. The cargo deck hands and those working in the engine room, such as deckhands, roustabouts, and firemen may sometimes be referred to as the “lower deck crew”. On trip No. 8 there were twenty-three of the latter.
Rob Roy was then an important river landing and loading point on the North bank of the Arkansas River a short distance downstream from Pine Bluff. It is located a short distance from Lock and Dam No. 4 on the Kerr-McClel1 an Navigation System. The Cotton-Belt Railroad crosses the Arkansas River at Rob Roy, entering its Pine Bluff yards a short distance South of the bridge.
On pages 9 and 10 of Bracelet’s portage book is recorded the payroll record of “Trip No. 9 - Memphis to Various Points”. What 11 T e “various points” consisted of is not revealed nor does any c1ue appear in the entries made by the ship’s Clerk. Bracelet was gone From port ten days, From May 21st to May 31st.
During this interim, Grant’s Forces advanced within a very Few miles of Memphis . In Eastern Arkansas General Curtis’ Federal troops took Calico Rock (May 2Bth) and Jacksonport (May 26-ch to 29th), Searcy Landing and West Point (May 27th) and Cache River Bridge (May 2Bth).
On this trip twenty persons were aboard as the upper 4″2cks crew and thirty-Four were aboard as the lower deck crew.
It will be noticed that Bracelet returned to Memphis (For this was the point of origin of her next trip begun the next day after her arrival there).
No “Trip No. 11″ is recorded in the portage book. Instead, on pages 11 and 12 is recorded the payroll record For “Trip No. 12, Memphis to Rob Roy”. No return! And For good reason - Grant’s advancing Forces took Memphis just Five days after Bracelet’s “let’s get heck out of here” departure. Memphis fell to the Federals on June 6th, 1862. The Bracelet left Memphis on its Trip No. 12 on June 1st,1862 and ended its pay period for the trip on June 1Gth. For this trip the upper decks crew numbers twenty, the lower deck crew thirteen.
No doubt, during this pay or “trip” period, Bracelet had to take some evasive action with respect to reaching Rob Roy. Grant’s flotilla was active in the Mississippi and around the mouth of White River. The battle of St. Charles, which involved a Fleet of Federal gunboats and transports, occurred exactly one day after- the end of this pay period. The Federal Fleet which was so close on the heels of Bracelet and which was active at St. Charles may well have caused Bracelet to take a devious route in. n fleeing before it. On trip No. 8 she made the round trip from Memphis to Rob Roy and return in nine days.
In any case Bracelet no longer had access to the Mississippi after this trip - she, and a number
of Confederate vessels like her, were bottled up in the Arkansas River.
Federal operations commenced on White River (at its mouth) on June 10th, 1862, reaching a climax, but not ending, with the Battle of St. Charles (June 17th, 1862). By this time General Curtis’ land forces dominated all of Arkansas east of White River, firmly held all river ports, including Helena, as Far down stream as Napoleon at the mouth of the Arkansas.
A long “laying up” period confronted Bracelet after becoming bottled up in the Arkansas River. According to her portage book the “laying up” was experienced at Pine Bluff . It extended from June 17th, 1862 to October 14th of that year. ( pages 14 and 15, portage book) . Our conclusion that she was at Pine Bluff is based on the Fact that her next trip started From there.
During the period of this “laying up” naval activity was the order of the day on the Mississippi River as the siege of Vicksburg was developing. Along the White River there were engagements at Aberdeen on July 9th and Clarendon on August 13th. Another took place at Helena on October llth. The Federals prevailed in all of them. But Arkansas Post, and all the Arkansas River Valley to Fort Smith, remained under Confederate control. Under construction at Arkansas Post was a fort designed to prevent the Federal forces from moving up the Arkansas basin. The importance of this strong point was to result in two trips made by the Bracelet as reported in her portage book.
Pages 16 and 17 of the portage book set out important information with respect to the persons who directed the operations of the Bracelet. Here is the record of an unnumbered trip from Pine Bluff to Arkansas Post and return* about which much will be said, but here also appears information with respect to the crew which commands attention. The trip, as reported, extended from October 14th, 1862 to October 22nd of that year. (”Return” was to Little Rock.)
Prior to October 14th, 1862, John I. Edson is recorded as Captain of the Bracelet. On that date he is shown to have relinquished command of the vessel to R. D. B. Miller who assumed the title of “Master”. Mr. Edson remained as “Mate”. Mr. Miller remained the Master of the Bracelet for the remainder of her trips as recorded in her portage book. Mr. Edson continued as mate only until January 21, 1863.
Prior to Mr. Miller’s coming on board, Mr. Edson’s salary had been $150.00 per month ($5.00 per day). This salary continued as mate. Mr. Miller’s starting pay was $250.00 per month or $8.33 2/3rd per day. By way of contrast, cabin boys were paid as low as 50 cents per day and deckhands, roustabouts and watchmen as low as $1.00 per day. At least one chambermaid was paid as low as 11 2/3rd cents per day. This in time of war and exposure to combat. Probably the amounts set out did not include the value of the food and lodging each received while aboard ship, but it was paid in Confederate money, at irregular intervals and usually late in arriving.
The Bracelet normally had two pilots in its crew; for the October 14th - 22nd trip only one pilot new to her raster, Henry McKnett. In fact the entire crew was short and strange. Only a crew of thirteen is listed as being aboard, six of whom are listed as firemen, are obviously slaves, since only given names are listed and a notation is made: “Belong to General Williams”. The trip obviously must have grown out of some sort of emergency. Its purpose and what, if any, cargo the Bracelet might have carried are not shown nor have we been able find an account of the trip in any historical accounts, but it must have had a relationship to the manning and arming of Fort Hindman.
From October 23rd to November 23rd, 1862, (pages 18 and 19 portage book] Bracelet is reported as “laying up” at Little Rock. Apparently she was actually idle over this period as no pilots appear on her roster. The same skeleton crew which took her from Pine Bluff to Arkansas Post, then brought her to Little Rock remains on the payroll except the firemen slaves listed as belonging to General Williams. But, added to the crew of that trip were Margaret, a chambermaid, S. Walker, a watchman, Jourdon, a cabin boy, Edward Benjamin, a cook, and I. Walker, a watchman.
Bracelet was destined to make a second trip to Arkansas Post, this time to have its origination and its final destination at Little Rock.
This trip, in all probability, involved much more than Arkansas Post as a destination, or, perhaps she may have become stranded because of low water in the Arkansas River. In any event, for fourteen of the thirty-three days this trip consumed, listed as deck hands and paid at a rate of $30.00 per month are eight slaves. Five of the eight are listed as being the property of “Mr. Doolin” and their wages were re-parted as paid to him. The writer can offer no other identification for Mr. Doolin.
The payroll record of this trip ends the day after Christmas, 1862, approximately two weeks before the Battle of Arkansas Post. It is logical to assume that this trip would have involved movement, both of troops and military supplies, to Fort Hindman.
The actual date of arrival in Little Rock is made a little uncertain when one considers that six of the eight slaves listed as deck hands were terminated on the 17th of December - probably returned to Mr. Doolin.
Probably the most interesting journey of the Bracelet is recorded in the portage book on pages 22 and 23, concluded on page 24. Although no port of origin or destination is indicated in the record, it is passable, from other sources, to deduce that Bracelet was deeply involved in the cleanup of war resulting from the loss of Fort Hindman. Coincidenta1ly, it is in the time frame of this “trip” that a member of a prominent Arkansas County family becomes a pilot on the Bracelet.
The pilot, Pres Whiting, who served a total of sixty-nine of the seventy-three days recorded as involved in this “trip” undoubtedly was a brother of the grandfather of one of the members of our society, Mrs. Luna Peterson.
The 1850 census of the town of Napoleon has a Preston Whiting, age 20, male, a “steamboatman” listed as a member of the household of James T. Whiting, 48, a laborer born in Ohio and his wife, Mary, age 41, born in Tennessee. Four other children are listed as members of this household among whom is a seven year old child named Shelby. Family records in Mrs. Peterson’s possession indicate that her father, Pres Whiting, was a son of Shelby Whiting and his wife, Mary. The name Press, Pres, and Preston has been handed down from generation to generation in the Whiting family- Mrs. Peterson has a brother having that name.
This writer is convinced, after considering times, places and circumstances, that Pres Whiting, pilot on the Bracelet, must have been the same person as Preston Whiting, the twenty year old son of James T. Whiting. Preston would have been either 32 or 33 years of age in January 1863 with sufficient time and experience to have advanced to the position of pilot.
During the period recorded on pages 22 and 23 of Bracelet’s portage book, evidence exists that she was involved in considerable river movement, some of which took her into the Mississippi River, despite the fact that the mouth, both of the White and Arkansas Rivers were patrolled round the clock by northern naval vessels. This was the result of an exchange of prisoners of war, somewhere in the Mississippi, near the mouth of White River.
The log kept by Lt. Commander Thos. 0. Self-ridge, Jr., commander of the U. S. S. Conestoga, then maintaining a patrol on the Mississippi River at and near the mouth of White River, has this entry dated February 4th, 1863:
“Mouth of White River. Sent armed boat up Scrubgrass Bayou to reconnoiter . At 2:00 P. M. armed boat returned; found a large quantity of damaged cotton. Proceeded down the river; found rebel steamer Bracelet with prisoners on board. At 7:15 the Signal proceeded to Helena with prisoners . ”
That an exchange of prisoners occurred here becomes evident when one considers that the Bracelet was not taken by the Conestoga. Also, entered in the pay record of the Bracelet is an undated entry which indicates that Bracelet’s engineer, William Barclay, was paid $25.00 for “Trip with flag of truce”. Also, Bracelet’s portage book indicates that on February 2, 1863 six deck hands were added to the crew, most of whom worked only to the 7th of February. An additional cook was added on February 1st and worked only to February 9th. Also a new engineer, John Hulme, was added to the crew and worked only until March 9th, as was a new pilot, Harrison Bragell, who worked from February 2nd to February llth, new cook and second cook, who worked from January 31st and February 1st, respectively, to March 10th, another deckhand, who was on the payroll from January 31st to February 24th, with numerous other crew members employed for similar short periods of time during the months covered by this portion of the record.
A notable event during this period is the departure of John Edson from the crew. This one-time Captain and Mate of the Bracelet apparently left the crew on January 21st, 1863, never to re-appear on the payroll. He was replaced by a Wash Gwinn.
In a report from Lt . Commander Selfridge to Acting Rear-Admiral David 0. Porter, then commanding the Mississippi Squadron of the U. S. Navy, of April 11th, 1863, at a time when his gunboat, the Conestoga, was on the Mississippi River “Off Arkansas River”, it is recorded:
“I wrote you a hurried dispatch yesterday by the General Lyon of a contemplated attack upon this portion of the squadron. I have since obtained further intelligence. The names of the two (four) boats spoken of as prepared with cotton bales are the Cheney, St. Francis No. 3, Golden Age, and Bracelet, manned with 2000 men.
“The intelligence comes from negroes through two different sources. Also a government detective from Helena tells me that the fitting of the Ponchartrain was talked of at Little Rock”.
That the Bracelet was at Arkansas- Post sometime during this period is clear from the fact that the ship’s Clerk reports that the wages of Hardin, a deckhand, amounting to $20.00, were paid to “Lt. Palmer at Arkansas Post”.
At page 26 and 27 of the portage book are Bracelet’s payroll records covering the period March 10th to April 7th, 1863. Pres Whiting continues to be paid as pilot. R. 0. B. Miller continues to be paid as captain and Wash Gwinn as mate. What trips were made during this time, the Clerk does not show, but from March 10th through April 7th five deckhands were being carried on Bracelet’s roster, with as many as eight at times. Apparently the boat was traveling but the record does not indicate such to be the case. Shortly after this interlude the letter from Lt. Cmdr. Selfridge to Rear Admiral Porter, quoted above, was written. Pres Whiting is listed as the only pilot.
The final recorded payroll record of Bracelet is to be found on pages 28 and 29 of her portage book. The pay period covered is April 8th, 1863 thru July 31st, 1863. If records were kept through August and the first nine days of September of that year, they are not entered in her portage book.
It was during this period, that events leading up to the fall of Little Rock, and with it Bracelet’s death, were to develop.
Under orders from General Curtis, on July 1, 1863, General Frederick Steele, with a division of cavalry and supporting troops, departed St. Louis for Eastern Arkansas - his ultimate goal: the capture of Little Rock and also bringing Arkansas under Union control. By July 31st he had passed Wittsburg (Poinsett County), Clarendon and DeValls Bluff. His army was encamped and poised at Brownsville [two miles North of Lonoke - then the county seat of Prairie County) preparatory to striking Little Rock. Brace-was "laying up" in Little Rock. General Sterling Price was in command of the Confederate troops defending Little Rock. General Curtis' troops (Federal) occupied or dominated all of Eastern Arkansas north of the Arkansas River. Bracelet, strategically speaking, was cornered at Little Rock. Upstream from Little Rack, particularly in the Fort Smith area, the Arkansas River was dominated by Federals.
By September 7th, Little Rock was virtually surrounded by Federal troops, well armed and well supplied. These troops were superior in numbers, equipment and arms to the 8,000 ragged, half-starved army of General Price. Considering Little Rock impossible to defend, General Price elected to withdraw and hoped to stand and fight another day than to lose his entire army. He retreated toward Arkadelphia and let Steele enter Little Rock unopposed.
On the 10th of September, 1863 a fiery death Bracelet. She and seven other steamers at berth on the Little Rock waterfront were a blazing, smoking funeral pyre when General Steele rode upon the scene.
So ends the saga of Bracelet.
With Bracelet also died that day: the side-wheel steamer Arkansas, built in I860; stern screw steamer Little Rock, built in 1858; sidewheel steamer Lizzie Simmons [largest of them all at 454 tons], built in 1859; the sidewheel steamer, St. Francis No. 3, built in 1858; the stern screw steamer, Julia Roane, built in 1859; the stern screw steamer, Chester Ashley, built in 1860, and the sidewheel steamer, Tahlequal [the smallest of the lot at 92 tons], built in 1860 .
SOURCES
1. Original Portage Book of the Steamer Bracelett. [Details in text of article).
2. Hal 1iburton's History of Arkansas County [1541 1875].
3. Herndon, Annals of Arkansas, Vols. 1 and 2.
4. Civil War Diary of Abram Brokaw [In hands of author's wife] See GPHS Bulletin, Vol. 12-2, Pg . 9.
5. Private record of Press Whiting ancestors and descendants in hands of Mrs. Luna Peterson, DeWitt, Ark.
6. Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States. [The Lightle-Hol,dcamper List).
7. A Preliminary Inventory of Major Vessel Losses in Arkansas Waters, 1824-1966, Donald G. Shomette, 1966.
8. Official Records of Union and Confederate Navies of the War of the Rebellion. Series I, Vol. 24, Pgs . 50, S96 and 697.
9. The Battle of Arkansas Post [pamphlet], by Robert F. Huffstot.
10. The Steamboats, From Early Sidewheelers to the Big Packet, by Harry Sinclair Orago, 1967.
11. Hempstead’s History of Arkansas.
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Santa Claus Born Out of Yankee Propaganda
By admin | December 3, 2009
Santa Claus Drawn by Thomas Nast
The famed American cartoonist Thomas Nast is generally credited as having invented the modern depiction of Santa Claus. Nast, who had worked as a magazine illustrator and created campaign posters for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, was hired by Harper’s Weekly in 1862. For the Christmas season he was assigned to draw the magazine’s cover, and legend has it that Lincoln himself requested a depiction of Santa Claus visiting Union troops.
The resulting cover, from the Harper’s Weekly dated January 3, 1863, was a hit. It shows Santa Claus on his sleigh, which has arrived at a U.S. Army camp festooned with a “Welcome Santa Claus” sign.
Santa’s suit features the stars and stripes of the American flag, and he’s distributing Christmas packages to the soldiers. One soldier is holding up a new pair of socks, which might be a boring present today, but would have been a highly prized item in the Army of the Potomac.
Beneath Nast’s illustration was the caption, “Santa Claus In Camp.” Appearing not long after the carnage at Antietam and Fredericksburg, the magazine cover is an apparent attempt to boost morale in a dark time.
The Santa Claus illustrations proved so popular that Thomas Nast kept drawing them every year for decades. He is also credited with creating the notion that Santa lived at the North Pole and kept a workshop manned by elves.
The tradition of the Christmas tree came from Germany, and there are accounts of German settlers, as well as Hessian mercenaries, having them in early America. But the custom wasn’t widespread outside German communities.
The Christmas tree first gained popularity in British and American society thanks to Queen Victoria’s husband, the German-born Prince Albert. He installed a decorated Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1841, and woodcuts of the Royal Family’s tree appeared in London magazines in 1848. Such illustrations, published in America a year later, created the fashionable impression of the Christmas tree in upper class homes.
Most people in the 1800’s lit their Christmas trees with small candles. The first electric Christmas tree lights appeared in the 1880s, thanks to an associate of Thomas Edison, but were too costly for most households.
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