Arkansas Civil War

It takes MORE than a village! This contemporary adage lends itself as valid now as it will over the span of the next four years as we celebrate and commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War. What is a village? And how can we implement a series of connected events and various other activities and efforts to correctly portray and remember what it was that our ancestors so earnestly engaged themselves 150 years ago?

The Arkansas Toothpick has begun a new program, sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which will encourage participation in commemorating the Civil War in Arkansas. The Arkansas Toothpick is only sponsored and maintained by the Patrick Cleburne Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, but participation and readership is geared to the public, in general as a hub of bringing all villages together into an online community of history enthusiasts.

What can you do? Think about this question and e-mail us your personal and/or family or club projects that you can pledge in maintaining over the next four years. Your project can be as simple as flying a period-correct flag at your home, it can be likewise as simple as placing a period-correct flag on a Civil War veterans’ grave, or it could be as complex as restoring an old abandoned cemetery with Confederate or Union graves located in it. Though maintained by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Arkansas Toothpick heavily endorses the commemoration of the Civil War from BOTH sides: Confederate and Yankee!

When you e-mail us your plans and pictures (before and after if it is a restoration), we will post your project onto the “Projects” page on arkansastoothpick.com for everyone to see. Projects will be voted upon each year by the readership and the best project in its category will receive a Jefferson Guard Historical Preservation Medal, featuring the Confederate State Seal of Arkansas. If you e-mail us your project ideas, they will be published.

As 2010 comes to a close, this being the last edition of the Toothpick Update, we wish you a happy holiday and let’s begin the new year right and begin reminding everyone that our ancestors were not wrong in what they did, and that they should be remembered; their good name will be celebrated.



Be sure to check out our new online bookstore hosting a variety of books that specialize on the Civil War in Arkansas!

Greetings from the desk of the Arkansas Toothpick. This month’s Toothpick update is packed with various goings on in the Civil War community in Arkansas, as October was a busy month for historical preservation. Included in this update are various events and news to keep the Arkansas Civil War buff informed as the 150th Anniversary is closing upon us fast.

As editor of the Arkansas Toothpick, I find Arkansas behind when it comes to being prepared for the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. As the average history buff will note, the election of 1860 in November is the proverbial straw that set things in motion that will lead to eventual secession of this state in May, 1861. There are many events that take place prior to May, including the Totten Crisis at the Little Rock Arsenal, which will begin in only a couple weeks from the date this update is sent out. Though most of the state in wholly unprepared for the unofficial kick off of the events that set the Civil War into existence, the Arkansas Toothpick will hold it its mission and keep its readers fully aware of the goings on exactly 150 years ago, regardless of the apathy of our fellow Arkansans.

Having met with Mark Christ, the Community Outreach Director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, there are several programs that will be initiated within the next few months to officially kick off the 150th Anniversary. Christ has work very hard in preparing a traveling program that he presents state wide to show the importance of observing the anniversary. As events and programs become available, the Arkansas Toothpick will have them posted on our website for reference.

The Sons of Confederates Veterans in Pine Bluff hosted the 25th Annual White Sulphur Springs memorial service and living history on October 9-10, 2010. The Keynote speaker this year was Mrs. Lori Walker from Pine Bluff Economic Development. As an African American, she delivered a speech most-appropriate for the occasion. Her willingness to help preserve the entirety of the history and heritage of Jefferson County was made apparent. She has done an incredible amount of work in helping restoring the full story of the Civil War in Pine Bluff, from the days of the militia, the era of Confederate stronghold, Federal occupation, and the freedom of the slaves into “contraband” camps. The text of her speech will become available soon and will be archived onto Arkansastoothpick.com within the next week.

The Arkansas Toothpick also has a new bookstore. In our effort to educate Arkansas in the events and personalities during the War, we will be offering many books specifically on Arkansas in the Civil War. The books will be offered through Amazon.com due to their high level of professionalism and sheer number of books available. Each book purchased from our bookstore will go to preservation efforts in Arkansas. Remember, Christmas is fast-approaching and these books are not usually available at Barnes and Noble! The link to the book store is http://arkansastoothpick.com/?page_id=310 or it can be found at the top of the home page at www.arkansastoothpick.com.