Museum recalls war, anniversary of skirmishing at Jenkins’ Ferry
SHERIDAN — On April 29, 148 years ago, the flood-swollen Saline River slowed the retreat of Union troops headed back to Little Rock so that Confederate forces caught up with them and began skirmishing with the Federal rear guard.
By daylight the next morning, intense fighting began in what became one of the major engagements in the Civil War in Arkansas.
On Saturday, the story of the Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry will be remembered during special programs at the Grant County Museum in Sheridan.
“There will be about 30 re-enactors, both Union and Confederate, at an encampment in our Heritage Village,” said D.J. Wallace, director of the museum. “There will be a field hospital like those used in the Civil War, a blacksmith at work, and artillery and smallarms drills for people to see.”
Visitors to the museum’s presentations can also see a cavalry officer and his horse. The re-enactor will talk about the role of the
mounted troops in the Civil War and provide a demonstration on how horses were used in battle, Wallace said.
“There will not be much fighting,” he said. “The day will be more about education so people can see what the lives of the troops were like during the war.”
Twice during the day, a special presentation on the Jenkins’ Ferry battlefield will be given by Roy Wilson of Sheridan.
The day’s events are sponsored by the Friends of Jenkins’ Ferry Battlefield, a group organized to preserve the area where the two armies fought and to improve the facilities at Jenkins’ Ferry State Park. Members of the organization hope Saturday’s events at the museum will build interest in the battlefield.
“The Friends are working on a federal grant that would allow us to have a professional preservation study made,” said Joe Walker, who was born in Grant County and is one of the founders of the organization. “We would then try to follow the recommendations for the development of the park and to maintain the integrity of the battlefield.”
Walker has said the battlefield park, about 13 miles southwest of Sheridan on Arkansas 46, is fading into history because of its remote location and lack of public interest.
Just as in the time of the battle, the river continues to flood the lands around where the soldiers crossed the river while under attack. But, Walker said, the water may be helping to save the site.
“The floods also preserve the battlefield, putting another layer of silt over the land and burying the relics of the battle even deeper,” he said. “Still, the river is in the same place; the ridges are still there. You could drop a soldier from that battle into the park today, and he would know where he was.”
Walker has written a new book about the battle, Harvest of Death: The Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry. At the museum during the event, he will sign copies of the book and talk about the battle.
“It is the first book on the battle since 1961, and there has been new information since then, with more fighting units recognized as having taken part and more diaries available, from both sides, remembering the battle,” Walker said. “There was another field where part of the battle took place that was unknown 50 years ago.”
Walker said many of the historic markers posted in the park are in the wrong locations.
Federal forces had been going through southern Arkansas in what was called the Red River Campaign, but had only traveled as far as Camden when they turned back because of a lack of supplies and increasing Confederate resistance. The Rebel troops gave chase, and the two armies met at Jenkins’ Ferry.
In an earlier interview, Walker said that while there were hundreds of casualties in the battle, both sides claimed victory, but neither achieved its goals.
“The Federals gave up their campaign but got back to Little Rock,” he said. “The Confederates stopped the campaign and caused the Union troops to abandon their supply wagons, but [the Confederates] did not stop the Federal army from escaping.”
Admission is free to both the museum at 521 Shackleford Road in Sheridan and the Battle of Jenkins’ Ferry programs on Saturday. The activities will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 2 p.m. For more information, call the museum at (870) 942-4496.
Staff writer Wayne Bryan can be reached at (501) 244-4460 or wbryan@arkansasonline.com.