Pea Ridge park guide to present May Round Table program

The Bella Vista Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its May 5 program will be presented by Park Ranger Kerry Jones and will tell the personal story of eight soldiers who fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge.

Jones is a seventh generation Arkansan. The first in his family to attend college, he earned his undergraduate degrees in History and Political Science from Wichita State University. He also holds a Masters degree in History from Wichita State University. He has taught history at the college level for 13 years and has worked for the National Park Service for the last 16 years. He has published numerous articles on different aspects of history and has received several major National Park Service awards for his accomplishments. He is currently the Park Guide and Volunteer Coordinator at Pea Ridge National Military Park.

Jones’s program will center on the personal lives and experiences of eight individual soldiers who fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge. He will tell more about who these soldiers were before the Civil War brought them to the battlefield. It is often overwhelming to learn of the sheer numbers of soldiers who fought in the Civil War and sometimes the point is missed that every one of these individuals was part of a family and had a life both before and after the war.

The program will be presented at the Bella Vista Museum on May 5 at 7 p.m. The meeting is free and open to the public. Donations are accepted to help with speaker expenses.

The purpose of the Bella Vista CWRT is to educate and stimulate interest in the period of history of the United States known as the “The Civil War,” to promote historical, educational and literary study and activities related to the Civil War, including events and circumstances related to the cause and effects of the War. The Round Table normally meets at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Bella Vista Museum, which is located at 1885 Bella Vista Way in Bella Vista. The Museum is located at the intersection of Highway 71 and Kingsland Road.

For further information please contact BVCWRT President Dale Phillips at 812-899-2049 or email at dkp55@ymail.com.