Because of the valiant support of dedicated individuals across the globe, the money has been raised for the purchase of Confederate Memorial Park in Helena, Arkansas.
We have taken a rare opportunity for the Sons of Confederate Veterans to own a core piece of battlefield and made it a reality! Located in Helena, Arkansas directly across from Fort Curtis and to the side of a Civil War era home (Moore-Hornor Home), both properties of which are maintained by the State of Arkansas (Delta Cultural Center) is approximately an acre of core battlefield that backs up to the site where General Price's troops made an attack on Fort Curtis on July 4, 1863.
On March 15, 2013 the General Executive Committee of the Sons of Confederate Veterans met in Biloxi, MS. At this meeting it was decided that the property will be donated to the SCV- This is a much-needed heritage victory in the Delta!
Your support is greatly needed!
Mail a check or money order today to:
Seven Generals Camp #135
PO Box 409
Helena, AR 72342
Your donation is tax-deductable!
Your donations are welcome for the maintenance of the property! Donate today!
The Arkansas Toothpick is the largest repository of Arkansas Civil War history and heritage. Observing the 150th Anniversary of the War Between the States is a task that the Toothpick does not take lightly, as we have posted original and exclusive articles on events in Arkansas on a weekly and chronological basis since 2010 (150 years after 1860). The purpose of the "150 Years Ago..." articles, written and researched by Ron Kelley and Don Roth, is to give a true reflection of the political, martial, and other aspects of Arkansas history leading up to and through the American Civil War.
The Arkansas Toothpick began over 25 years ago as a monthly hand-typed newsletter of the Spns of Confederate Veterans' Patrick R. Cleburne Camp #1433 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. As the technology became available, the Toothpick was made available for the first time on the World Wide Web. Since, it's online presence has been overwhelming in the number of visitors searching our archives for a multitude of various topics.
Boasting of over ONE MILLION visitors, the Arkansas Toothpick has serves as a Civil War hub for historians and the general public. Our FACEBOOK page has nearly 1,000 FB Friends and counting, complete with live updates of Arkansastoothpick.com.
If you are interested in witinessing history coming alive or if you want to participate in living history events and Civil War reenactments, come to Helena, Arkansas! We have a Civil War-themed historic community where history thrives! Below is a list of upcoming Civil War events in Helena that are all free to the public. If you are interested in joining the ranks of a Union artillery group, a Union infantry group, or a Confederate infantry group, send an email to info@arkansastoothpick.com for more information or simply just show up at one of the following events:
June 22: Underground Railroad tour in Helena (10AM-7PM). Reenactors will be at Fort Curtis.
June 28: American Queen riverboat in town. Reenactors at Freedom Park and Fort Curtis (8AM-noon)
July 4: Commemoration of the Battle of Helena. Reenactors will hold educational programs from 4:30AM to 3PM
July 6: Freedom Fest. Reenactors will host educational programs throughout the day downtown on Cherry Street.
July 11: Civil War Roundtable of the Delta at Beth El Heritage Hall. Speaker will be Don Roth and the topic will be Alf Johnson's Confederate Spy Company with focus of the White River expeditions.
Delta Heritage Tours in Helena has on staff Ron Kelley and Don Roth, both Arkansastoothpick historians that research and write the 150th columns for over twenty newspapers statewide. The Civil War in Helena tours cover all the Confederate approaches to the Battle of Helena, Batteries A,B,C,and D, Freedom Park, Fort Curtis, and the Confederate Cemetery. This comprehansive tour gives the heritage tourist a first-hand knowledge of the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863. Tours last at least three hours. For your custom Civil War tour, call Delta Heritage Tours: 870-995-2698.
Order your copy of the new book on the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, featuring never before published material including a new look at the battle based on "The Gilmer Map". Harvest of Death is the first book in fifty years published on the battle. Order yours today on Amazon.com! Click on the book cover above!
"I am with the South in death, in victory or defeat. I never owned a Negro and care nothing for them, but these people have been my friends and have stood up to me on all occasions.
In addition to this, I believe the North is about to wage a brutal and unholy war on a people who have done them no wrong, in violation of the constitution and the fundamental principles of the government. They no longer acknowledge that all government derives its validity from the consent of the governed."
"If this cause that is so dear to my heart is doomed to fail, then I pray heaven may let me fall with it, while my face is turned toward the enemy and my right arm battling for that which I know to be right."
"To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication of the cause for which we fought. To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish."
Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee, Commander General,
United Confederate Veterans,
New Orleans, Louisiana, April 25, 1906.
Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.
~Mark Twain
