(Fort Smith: Cradle of The First Southern Free State - continued)
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supply and
caliber of ammunition they had on hand. It appeared that records were very sketchy and
headquarters did not
have a complete roster. Commanding officers were ordered to have regular Sunday morning inspections
of ammunition and then to have target practice and record the three best shots in the
company. In addition, they were told to quit shooting just to be shooting. It was
scandalous to the Commander that ammunition was being wasted. There had been Fort Smith citizens taken prisoner as the rebels fled from Fort Smith in late August. In early November they began making their way back to town, much to the relief of their families. The prisoners had been taken to Boggy Depot, one hundred fifty miles to the Southwest in Indian Territory. This was on the road to Texas and was a favorite Rebel gathering place. Daily refugees arrived in Fort Smith from the surrounding areas were fleeing from bushwackers who were burning out and robbing Union sympathizers. Refugees coming into the fort had their care taken over by the government. General Orders #4, issued November 14th, began to give instructions for everyday life between Union forces and the general populace. Churches, schools, academies, and colleges were not to be used for hospitals or other military purposes unless there was an emergency. All such buildings occupied as barracks, hospitals, or storerooms had to request a permit. The owners had to pledge future loyalty to the United States and declare that open or covert treason would not be taught behind its walls. At the same time, General Orders #5 gave orders for soldiers not to occupy houses if camp equipment was available. Soldiers were told they had no right to question the loyalty of any citizen. Post command orders #4 came down particularly hard on officers who let their men straggle away from a detail which allowed the straggler to do some pillaging on his own. Officers were told to have rations when they left the post. These orders were very important for the Union side to help tear down the stereotyped conception of the Union Army which had been cultivated by the Confederates. The Confederates were telling the populace that the Federals would destroy their homes and were nothing more than jayhawkers who did not regard the rights of citizens and property. Furthermore. the Union side was faced with the Confederate side carrying out a better propaganda campaign declaring that reconstruction meant subjugation for the South. Subjugation was said to consist of slavery for all white, inter-marriage between whites and blacks, and the conscription of all Southern males into an army for the purpose of invading Latin America. Lieutenant Colonel Searle left his post as Provost Marshal to organize the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry at Dardanelle and Major E. A. Calkins of the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Volunteers who had been with General Blunt throughout his campaigns, took Colonel Searle's place in mid-November. Major Calkins wasted no time in issuing orders from the Headquarters of the District of the |
Frontier, a new designation for Fort Smith. His orders concerning trade and property,
stated: sale of firearms and ammunition, except to army officers was prohibited; no
known Rebel could sell cotton, cattle, horses or breadstuffs; no payment of gold or
silver was allowed in a section that was still under insurrection; only loyal and good faith citizens could trade and
sales had to be reasonable prices with lawful
currency. Any property previously confiscated had
to be reported. Hotel accommodations were not to be found in the town of Fort Smith and space was desperately needed for officers and others connected with the army. Marriages, as might be expected, rapidly took place between soldiers and town girls. HARD FEELINGS IN FORT SMITH Hard feelings over past happenings in Fort Smith during Rebel occupation were evident. The population continued to talk about two United States Officers, Captain M. Hart and Lieutenant Hays. The two Texas Union officers were going back to Texas for recruits, when they were caught and hung and buried under the gnarled old oak at the garrison in January, 1863, The complaint was that they were treated like felons instead of like the soldiers they were.Stage lines were running twice a day between Fort Smith and Van Buren. They left the Fort Smith Post Office at 9 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. and Bostick Hotel in Van Buren at 10:30 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. A booming cannon awoke everyone December 7th, 1863, for a celebration. The celebration commemorated the Battle of Prairie Grove fought on December 7, 1862. The Battle of Gettysburg was also commemorated. As part of the celebration of the Battle of Prairie Grove, The New Era printed in full, Lincoln's Address, given at the Battle of Gettysburg commemoration, which began "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers established upon this continent a government subscribed in liberty and dedicated to the fundamental principles that all men are created equal by a good God." The paper labeled the speech a terse and characteristic one by Lincoln. After seeing nothing but grey coats in parade for several years, many a tear was shed in watching the ceremony of blue coats. The Battle of Prairie Grove was still a vivid memory for those living in Fort Smith. Rebel General Thomas Hindman ran South to Van Buren from the Prairie Grove battlefield in the dead of night. He accomplished this by wrapping blankets from his soldiers around the wheels of the wagons to muffle the sound. The blankets were destroyed and carpets were taken from Fort Smith and Van Buren homes to replace those blankets. Because of bad weather, part of the Prairie Grove Battle celebration waited to take place-on December 9th. It turned out to be a May-like day. Fort Smith and Van Buren troops, about |