Sesquicentennial Minute Podcasts
The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission and UALR Public Radio KUAR 89.1 FM are producing a series of Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Minutes for broadcast during the commemoration of the war between 2011 and 2015. The radio spots, which can be accessed below, are also being broadcast on KUAF 91.3 FM in Fayetteville, KTXK 91.5 FM in Texarkana, and KASU 91.9 FM in Jonesboro. The Commission is grateful to our partners in public radio for taking part in the sesquicentennial commemoration.
Commemorating the Civil War (February '11)
The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Minutes will mark highlights of the Civil War in Arkansas.
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A Political Crisis (February '11)
The election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. President divides the people of Arkansas.
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The Arsenal Crisis (February '11)
The first fighting of the war could have taken place in Little Rock.
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A Secession Convention? (February '11)
The people of Arkansas vote on whether to hold a convention about staying in the Union.
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Arkansas's Free and Slave Population, 1860 (March '11)
More than 25 percent of the state's population in 1860 consists of enslaved people.
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Delegates gather for the secession convention (March '11)
Delegates from around Arkansas gather in Little Rock to debate whether to leave the Union.
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The First Secession Vote (March '11)
A majority of secession convention delegates votes to remain in the Union.
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Fort Sumter Attacked (April 2011)
The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter brings the secession issue to a critical stage.
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Fort Smith Seized (April 2011)
Arkansas militiamen go to seize Fort Smith, only to find the post abandoned.
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Should the Convention Reconvene? (April 2011)
Arkansas Secession Convention Chairman David Walker faces a difficult decision.
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The Secession Vote (May 2011)
Arkansas's Secession Convention chooses to join the Southern Confederacy.
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Presenting Bold Banners (May 2011)
As volunteer companies prepare for war, women present them with flags.
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A Clark County Volunteer (May 2011)
A young volunteer from Arkadelphia prepares for war.
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Training in North Arkansas (June 2011)
Confederate recruits begin receiving their military training at camps in northern Arkansas.
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An Unseen Enemy: Disease (June 2011)
Confederate military camps are swept by epidemics of deadly diseases.
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Training With Hardee (June 2011)
General William Joseph Hardee trains raw recruits to become seasoned soldiers.
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McCulloch Enters Missouri (July 2011)
Ben McCulloch's troops enter Missouri to aid Sterling Price's Missouri State Guard.
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An Offer to Recruit Slaves (July 2011)
A Helena planter offers to recruit a regiment of slaves to fight for the Confederacy.
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Henry Morton Stanley, C.S.A. (July 2011)
A reluctant Arkansas recruit will later gain fame in Africa.
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Surprise Attack at Wilson's Creek (August 2011)
Confederate General Ben McCulloch's army is surprised by a dawn attack on August 10, 2011
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Turning the Tide at Wilson's Creek (August 2011)
Confederate troops rally and drive off Union attackers at Wilson's Creek, Missouri.
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A Costly Victory (August 2011)
Approximately one-third of the Confederate casualties at Wilson's Creek were in Arkansas units.
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A Choice for the Troops (September 2011)
After the battle of Wilson's Creek, Arkansas State Troops have a decision to make.
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The Parsons Regiment (September 2011)
One regiment of Arkansas soldiers had a leaning toward divinity.
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Salt for the Soldiers (September 2011)
As commerce with the North ended, Arkansians began looking toward their own resources.
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Pike's Indian Territory Negotiations (October 2011)
Arkansas's Albert Pike executes treaties between the Confederate government and tribes in the Indian Territory.
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Prison Industry (October 2011)
Confederate officials turn to an unusual source for supplies for their troops.
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Third Arkansas's Trial by Fire (October 2011)
The Third Arkansas Infantry faces its trial by fire in West Virginia.
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Arkansas Peace Society (November 2011)
Confederate authorities discover a secret society of Union sympathizers in northern Arkansas.
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Peace Society Members Arrested (November 2011)
Governor Henry Rector ponders the fate of Arkansas Peace Society members.
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"General" Patrick Cleburne (November 2011)
Helena's Patrick Cleburne is promoted to brigadier general -- or is he?
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A Challenge to a Duel (December 2011)
Angry words fly between the state's Adjutant General and the editor of the Arkansas Gazette.
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Peace Society Chain Gang (December 2011)
Members of the Arkansas Peace Society are marched to Little Rock bound in logging chains.
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Reluctant Confederates (December 2011)
Arkansas Peace Society Members are given a choice: Enlist or go to prison.
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Expedition to the Indian Territory (December 2011)
Troops from Arkansas pursue Native American Unionists in the Indian Territory.
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John Brown's Diary (January 2012)
Camden merchant John Brown ruminates on Arkansas's fate on New Year's Day, 1862.
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Memphis To Little Rock Railroad (January 2012)
The most important Civil War railroad in Arkansas is dedicated.
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Van Dorn Takes Command (January 2012)
Confederate General Earl Van Dorn takes command of Rebel forces in Arkansas.
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A Runaway Slave (February 2012)
An Arkansas Gazette advertisement seeks a man seeking his freedom.
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First Fighting in Arkansas (February 2012)
The First Missouri Cavalry Regiments, U.S. and C.S., shed the first blood in Arkansas.
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Action at Dunagin's Farm (February 2012)
Union and Confederate troops square off against each other at Dunagin's Farm in Benton County.
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The Sack of Fayetteville (February 2012)
Confederate troops grab more than supplies when passing through Fayetteville.
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March to Pea Ridge (March 2012)
Earl Van Dorn's Confederate Army of the West marches through the Boston Mountains to Pea Ridge.
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An Interrupted Breakfast (March 2012)
Union General Franz Sigel's breaksfast in Bentonville is interrupted -- by the Confederate army.
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Fighting at Leetown (March 2012)
Two Confederate generals lose their lives to Union skirmishers.
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Fighting at Elkhorn Tavern (March 2012)
Savage fighting at Elkhorn Tavern on Pea Ridge.
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Curtis's Assault (March 2012)
Union General Samuel Curtis's Army of the Southwest takes the battle to the Confederates at Pea Ridge.
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A Disastrous Retreat (March 2012)
The Confederate Army of the West faces a daunting retreat through north Arkansas.
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Arkansas Abandoned, April 2012
Confederate Gen. Earl Van Dorn takes his army east of the Mississippi, along with everything else.
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Arkansas at Shiloh, April 2012
Arkansas Confederate regiments suffer heavy casualties in the first great battle of the Western Theater, Shiloh.
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A City of Hospitals, 2012
Little Rock becomes a city of hospitals as casualties of Pea Ridge and Shiloh inundate the Arkansas capital.
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Secession Threat (May 2012)
Arkansas Governor Henry Rector threatens to secede ... from the Confederacy!
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Curtis Returns (May 2012)
Union General Samuel Curtis and his Army of the Southwest returns to Arkansas and threatens Little Rock.
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Fight at Chalk Bluff (May 2012)
A sharp skirmish is the first of many at this northeast Arkansas river crossing.
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Whitney's Lane (May 2012)
A bitter battle yields Arkansas's first war crimes.
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Hindman Takes Command (May 2012)
Thomas Carmichael Hindman seeks to reverse Confederate fortunes in Arkansas.
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Union Army Lives Off The Land (June 2012)
The Union Army of the Southwest cuts its supply line to Missouri and lives of the land in eastern Arkansas.
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General Orders 17 (June 2012)
Confederate General Thomas Hindman issues an order that will have far-reaching consequences.
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Fortifying Saint Charles (June 2012)
Confederate troops place cannon at Saint Charles to block a Union flotilla on the White River.
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The Deadliest Shot of the Civil War (June 2012)
A Confederate shell brings disaster to the crew of the U.S.S. Mound City.
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First Arkansas Cavalry U.S. (July 2012)
The first elements of what would become a crack Union guerrilla-huning regiment are recruited.
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A General Resigns (July 2012)
Confederate General Albert Pike resigns his commission and retires to Greasy Cove.
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Fighting at Hill's Plantation (July 2012)
An attempt to halt the Union Army of the Southwest near Cotton Plant fails.
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A Deadly Camp (July 2012)
Deadly diseases await Confederate soldiers in southwest Arkansas.
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Skirmish at Orient Ferry (July 2012)
Texas Rebels and Kansas Yankees fight a savage skirmish in northeast Arkansas.
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The First Emancipations (July 2012)
Union General Samuel Curtis frees Arkansas slaves months before the Emancipation Proclamation is announced.
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Danley and Johnson, Ex Parte (August 2012)
A Supreme Court decision shakes up the politicial situation in Confederate Arkansas.
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Building Fort Curtis (August 2012)
Construction begins on the main Federal defensive position in Helena.
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Holmes Takes Command (August 2012)
Theophilus Holmes takes command of Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi.
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Skirmish at Jonesboro (August 2012)
Confederate and Union cavalry battle on the steps of the Craighead County Courthouse.
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Building Fort Hindman (September 2012)
Confederate forces begin fortifying the approaches to Little Rock on the Arkansas River.
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Commandeering Confederates (September 2012)
Confederate General Thomas Hindman builds an army -- a hungry army.
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Hindman Invades Missouri (September 2012)
A small Confederate army establishes a foothold in southwestern Missouri.
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A Richmond Apology (September 2012)
Confederate President Jefferson Davis issues an apology to the governors of the Trans-Mississippi.
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A Future Governor Wounded (October 2012)
Among the hundreds of Arkansas soldiers wounded in the battle of Corinth, Mississippi, is a future governor of the state.
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Army of the Frontier (October 2012)
Federal forces in southwest Missouri are reorganized to form the Army of the Frontier.
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Camp Nelson (October 2012)
Disease ravages a Confederate camp outside of Little Rock.
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A Failed Expedition (November 2012)
A Union raid on the Confederate base at Arkansas Post comes to a soggy conclusion.
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Governor Flanagin (November 2012)
The colonel of the Second Arkansas Mounted Rifles becomes Arkansas's Confederate governor.
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Battle of Cane Hill (November 2012)
Union and Confederate troops fight over twelve miles of the rugged Boston Mountains.
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A Grueling Forced March (December 2012)
Union General Francis Herron's Missouri Division makes a monumental forced march from Springfield to Prairie Grove.
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Opening Moves at Prairie Grove (December 2012)
Both sides suffer heavy casualties at the beginning of the Battle of Prairie Grove.
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Blunt Arrives at Prairie Grove (December 2012)
Union General James Blunt's Kansas Division arrives at Prairie Grove in the nick of time.
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Prairie Grove Casualties (December 2012)
Union and Confederate losses are heavy in the battle of Prairie Grove.
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Raid on Van Buren (December 2012)
The Prairie Grove Campaign ends with a Union push against Van Buren.
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The Blue Wing (December 2012)
The capture of a Union steamboat bodes ill for the Confederates at Arkansas Post.
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Battle of Arkansas Post, Part 1 (January 2013)
Confederate Fort Hindman engages in fierce combat with Union gunboats at Arkansas Post.
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Battle of Arkansas Post, Part 2 (January 2013)
Facing an overwhelming force of Union soldiers, Confederates raise white flags at Arkansas Post.
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Raids Along the White River (January 2013)
Saint Charles faces the brunt of Union raids on towns along the White River.
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Burning of Hopefield (February 2013)
Following attacks on Mississippi River shipping, an Arkansas town is burned.
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Kirby-Smith's Confederacy (February 2013)
A new general is ordered to take command of the Department of the Trans-Mississippi.
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Skirmish at McGrew's Mill (February 2013)
Southwest Arkansas Unionists and deserters meet homeguard troops at McGrew's Mill.
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Hospital or Spy Den? (March 2013)
Union leaders accuse a Confederate hospital at Cane Hill of harboring a den of spies.
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A Change of Commanders (March 2013)
Confederate General Thomas Hindman moves east of the Mississippi, while General Sterling Price returns to the Trans-Mississippi.
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A Raid Up the St. Francis River (March 2013)
Colonel Powell Clayton leads a successful raid up the St. Francis River.
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Resistance to Conscription (March 2013)
Camden merchant John Brown documents efforts to resist conscription into the Confederate army.
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Battle of Fayetteville (April 2013)
Arkansas Confederates fight Arkansas Unionists in the streets of Fayetteville.
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Raising Black Regiments (April 2013)
A speech in Helena precedes the enlistment of the state's first black infantry regiment.
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The Selfridge Ditch (April 2013)
A Union naval officer devises a plan to combat guerrillas on the Mississippi River.
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The Blockade's Result (May 2013)
The Union blockade results in tough decisions by Little Rock's newspapers.
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Retreat to Chalk Bluff (May 2013)
John Sappington Marmaduke saves his Confederate army at Chalk Bluff.
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Trial By Fire (May 2013)
Black Arkansas troops experience their first combat in an expedition down the Mississippi River.
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