Arkansas Civil War

The Arnold Family Foundation proudly presents a Fort Lincoln Freedom Gala on April 21st from 6 to 9 p.m. This is a period Civil War Gala. Tickets are on sell now for this exciting event for $25 per person or $45 a couple. The dress code will be period costume or business casual.

The night will feature period dancing and music led by Miss Karen Duffy of St. Louis, a silent auction and a sit-down dinner catered by Murray’s Restaurant. The dinner will include salad, roast beef with gravy, green beans, baked potatoes, rolls and bread pudding.

This gala will be held at the old school gym at the corner of Hazel and Ash in DeValls Bluff, AR. Anyone interested in buying tickets to this one of a kind event should call Stacy Sawyer at 870-659-5652. Or you can e-mail her at vesper7272@yahoo.com . The deadline for purchasing tickets is April 7th and seating is limited…so book your tickets soon! You may also mail your check made out to the Arnold Family Foundation to Stacy Sawyer @ PO Box 473, DeValls Bluff AR, 72041 to confirm your reservation.

The 2nd annual Fort Lincoln Freedom Fest will be Saturday, April 28th 2012 at the Prairie County Community Center at 710 Sycamore Street in DeValls Bluff from 9 am-4:30 pm. There will be period re-enactors and historians presenting programs throughout the day. There will also be a period musket that festival-goers may fire and period games. Three cannons will conduct a firing display and there will be Civil War displays. There will be food vendors, arts and crafts vendors, music from local talent and headlining act Ben Coulter, Magician, inflatables for children, a two-and-half-story rock climbing wall, and much more!

There will be other exciting activities leading up to the festival. On Saturday April 14th at the Prairie County Community Center, the first Miss Fort Lincoln Freedom Fest beauty pageant will be held. It’s a natural beauty pageant that will have nice prize packages for the winners who will represent the Fort Lincoln Freedom Festival. On April 21st there will be a Civil War gala/ball held at the renovated DeValls Bluff gymnasium on the corner of Hazel and Ash Street. The gala will feature a sit down dinner catered by Stanley Young of Murray’s Restaurant – period attire or semi-formal attire (no tie required) required. There will also be a silent auction and live entertainment. Karen Duffey, a professional reenactor with over 30 years experience, will lead anyone interested in period dancing! It will be an exciting month in Prairie County! Anyone needing any more information on any of the events may call Stacy Sawyer at 870-659-5652 or email her at vesper7272@yahoo.com.

The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission has awarded a $2,000 grant to The Bill and Sharon Arnold Family Foundation for the 2nd annual Fort Lincoln Freedom Fest. Please contact Stacy Sawyer at 870-659-5652 for more information or to sign up as a vendor for free. Also, find us on Facebook by searching for Fort Lincoln Fest. For more information on other Civil War sesquicentennial events, visit http://www.arkansascivilwar150.com/events/.

The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission is housed within the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. The AHPP is the Department of Arkansas Heritage agency responsible for identifying, evaluating, registering and preserving the state’s cultural resources. Other agencies are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Old State House Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and the Historic Arkansas Museum.

The Lunenburg Skirmish is coming up the first weekend in May. The camp site at the community center will be open to early arrivals all day Friday, May 4th. Hay and firewood will be provide at no charge, and there will be a powder ration for all actors.

The community building has heat and air, as well as a bathroom facility which will be open 24 hours. If you wish to put your bedroll in the building instead of sleeping on the ground, you are welcome to do so.

The camp will be open to the public from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 5th. We will start activities by posting the colors at 9 a.m. followed by an officers call.

This event coincides with Pioneer Day at Melbourne and everybody is invited to activities there as well. Some of the reenactors have expressed an interest in being in the parade which will start at 10:30 a.m. in Melbourne, approximately 4 miles from the camp at Lunenburg.

The reenactment will take place a 2 p.m. on the original battle ground at Lunenburg. Followed by a memorial service presented by Trans-Mississippi Commander W. Danny Honnell for the local man killed in the skirmish. That service for Pvt. William A. Hinkle will take place in the Lunenburg Cemetery, just yards from the battle site in Cooper Vally.

There was also a Union trooper killed, Pvt. Asa Anderson Williams, and his great-grandnephew is expected to attend. So, uniforms from both armies are welcome at the memorial.

There will be a meal served to reenactors and their guests on the evening of May 5th.

Other events at Melbourne on May 5th are a street dance and a rodeo in the evening. All are welcome to attend those events.

Any Civil War reenacting unit that wishes to participate in the 2012 Battle of Prairie Grave (150th!!!) needs to register their respective units. CLICK HERE to download the unit registration form.

For more info: call 479-846-2990 or Fax the Form to 479-846-4035. E-mail: Holly.Houser@arkansas.gov or prairiegrove@arkansas.gov

Under normal circumstances, we would never put a call out for Arkansawyers to don the blue and galvanize as Yankees, but this is an exception. Helena, Arkansas has been working on some amazing projects that you have seen featured right here on the Arkansas Toothpick. Friday May 11, 2012 there will be a ceremony in which a 35-star flag will be raised on a 3/4 scale Fort Curtis. The event will include a presentation of colors and a greeting from the Governor of Arkansas followed by speeched from local dignitaries concluded by a vollie by the 3″ Parrot Gun. Show your support for to the hard work that Helena has done and don the blue!

This is a very important event, as it shows the hard work that Helena has done to preserve Civil War History in Arkansas. Though this event features Federals exclusively, there will be plenty opportunities for well-rounded living histories and reenactments in the future. Come show your support and come to this event! More information to follow.

Don’t forget that the annual Patrick Cleburne Memorial is this weekend, March 17, 2012 in Helena, Arkansas at noon at the Confederate Cemetery. Keynote speech by Delta Cultural Center’s Jack Meyers. Spectators and reenactors welcome!