Connected to the Civil War
In Arkansas
The Civil War in Arkansas

The controversies over the rights of states
and the issue of slavery erupted into the
Civil War in 1861
 Abraham Lincoln was elected president in late
1860
○ He favored keeping the Union together at all costs
○ He was against slavery
 Things were in a big mess!!!!!
What people were important or notable in Civil
War Arkansas?

The focus will be on seven men who
impacted Arkansas history during the Civil
War
 Identify which ones were pro-Confederacy
 Identify which ones were pro-Union
 Why was each man important or notable when
referring to the Civil War in Arkansas?
How did James Blunt affect Arkansas during the Civil War?


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

James Blunt was born in
Maine
His first job was as a
sailor
He next became the
captain of a ship
Later Blunt became a
doctor
He moved to Kansas and
was involved in the antislavery movement
James Blunt

Blunt was given the rank
of general during the
Civil War
-his troops were
also composed of
Cherokee, Creek and
Seminole native
Americans
He participated in the
following battles in
Arkansas: Cane Hill,
Prairie Grove, Devil’s
Backbone, Boston
Mountains and Van
Buren.
-at the Battle of Prairie
Grove, Blunt’s troops
arrived just in time to
save the day for his side
James Blunt
So, on which side was Blunt? Confederate or
Union?
After the war James Blunt returned to Kansas,
practiced medicine and became an attorney.
He was a very busy man!

Did you know which side he was on? You can’t say in the middle!!!!
David O. Dodd



David Owen Dodd was
born in Texas but later
moved to Arkansas with
his family
He has been called the
“boy martyr”*of the
Confederacy because he
was executed as a spy
when he was seventeen.
*A martyr is someone who dies for
their beliefs
David O. Dodd

David was arrested as a
Confederate spy when he
was discovered carrying
military information about
Union troops (it was written
in Morse Code!)
He was tried and found
guilty of spying for the
Confederacy
 Dodd was hung at Little
Rock, January, 1864
 He is buried in Mt. Holly
Cemetery located in Little
Rock

This elementary school was named for David O. Dodd
Harris Flanagin

Harris Flanagin was elected
the 7th governor of
Arkansas amid the Civil
War
 After Little Rock was taken by
Union troops he moved the
Confederate Arkansas capital
to the town of Washington in
Hempstead County
 He is the only governor to
govern in exile! (or was it the
“X” file???)
Flanagin


Before the Civil War,
Flanagin was a teacher
and then an attorney
He was elected to the
Arkansas Secession
Convention in 1861

Flanagin participated
in the following
battles in Arkansas:
Wilson’s Creek and
Pea Ridge
 He called himself a

On what side was
Flanagin?
Confederate or Union?
(how can you tell????)
“reluctant secessionist”
Thomas Hindman
Lawyer, soldier and U.S.
Congressman-Thomas Hindman was
all three things before
the Civil War

Hindman supported
slavery and state’s
rights
Thomas Hindman

He became the military
commander of the area
west of the Mississippi
River

At the Battle of Prairie Grove,
Hindman was the leader of
Confederate troops
Thomas Hindman

The Battle of Prairie Grove was officially a draw
or tie between the Confederates and the Union
troops but the Union troops took control of the
area as a result

General Hindman was killed in Helena in 1868
by an unknown assailant. The murder was
never solved (talk about a COLD case!)
Isaac Murphy

Isaac Murphy was the
Eighth governor of
Arkansas
 He was elected during
the Civil War after the
Union troops took over
the capital city of Little
Rock
 He had been a teacher
and a lawyer
Isaac Murphy

Why was Murphy elected governor at this
time?
 He was against slavery
 He was the only delegate to the Arkansas
Convention that voted against secession! (now
that takes some nerve!
 He had political experience
Murphy

As governor, Murphy was generous in his
treatment of former Confederates

He was a great advocate or supporter of
education while governor (don’t you appreciate
him??!!!)
Albert Pike

Albert Pike may have
had a lot of hair, but he
also had a large brain!

Pike was a teacher, poet,
writer, newspaper
editor, politician, lawyer,
soldier, soldier, Indian
Commissioner and a
Mason! (that was a
mouthful!)
Albert Pike
Since he had experience working with the Native
Americans and knew many of their dialects, Pike was
appointed Confederate general in the Indian
Territory
 Albert Pike was pro-slavery and state’s rights
 Pike led the Native Americans he recruited at the
Battle of Pea Ridge. Controversy surrounded some
methods used by his troops.

 He resigned his commission and became a private citizen
for the remainder of the war
Pike

Pike became very important in the
Freemasons
 He is the only Confederate general with a statue
in Washington, D.C.
○ It was erected in his honor by the Freemasons
Earl Van Dorn
Earl Van Dorn

An Indian fighter and Mexican war veteran
is the description of professional soldier,
Earl Van Dorn!

When the Civil War began, he joined the
Confederate army
 He was given the rank of general
Van Dorn

Van Dorn was in charge of the Confederate
troops at the Battle of Pea Ridge
 Confederates lost this battle
 After the battle he was transferred to
Mississippi. He took the majority of his troops
with him. This left the state of Arkansas virtually
defenseless! (Arkansans were NOT happy)
Van Dorn

Van Dorn was killed

In May, 1863

By a jealous husband
????
Review! Match the description with the picture!

Albert Pike
I was governor of
Arkansas during the
Civil War. In fact I am
the only Arkansas
governor that led the
state in exile!
Harris Flanagin
Review- Match the person with the description

A professional soldier, I
led Confederate troops
at the Battle of Pea
Ridge. My side lost!
Albert Pike
Earl Van Dorn
Review

I was governor of
Arkansas during the
Civil War. I did not
believe in slavery and I Isaac Murphy
voted against secession
from the United States
Harris B
Flanagin
Review
I was a supporter of
slavery and state’s
rights.
 Before the Civil War I
served in the U.S.
Congress
 I led the Confederate
troops at the Battle
of Prairie Grove

Thomas
Hindman
James Blunt
Review

Albert Pike
David O. Dodd
I was 17 when I was
executed for being a
Confederate spy. My
burial location is Mt.
Holly Cemetery in Little
Rock
Review

Isaac Murphy
James Blunt
I was a ship’s captain, a
doctor, lawyer and very
much against slavery.
My troops won battles
in Arkansas. We were
heroes at the Battle of
Prairie Grove!
And one more to review!

Albert Pike
I recruited and led
Native American troops
for the Confederacy
 My troops fought at the
Battle of Prairie Grove
 There is a statue of me
Washington, D.C.
Thomas Hindman
And more!

This ends the Civil War figures associated
with the Arkansas frameworks.

Continue to see two other notable people
of the Civil War in Arkansas!
Stand Watie (1806-1871)
A controversial leader of
the Cherokee Nation, Watie
was commissioned as a
colonel in the Confederate
army in 1861.
Watie was responsible
for signing the
document that led to
the Trail of Tears for his
people.
Stand Watie
Watie took part in the Battle of Pea Ridge with
Major General Earl Van Dorn. In fact, his troops
allowed the Confederates to withdraw after
loosing the battle!
An interesting note is that Stand Watie was the
only Native American to rise to the rank of
brigadier general in the Civil War. He was also
the last Confederate general in the field to
surrender.
Susan Cook (1842-1912)

Susan Cook was the
daughter of a
plantation owner in
Phillips County,
Arkansas. She was
nineteen when the
war began.

Susan kept a dairy
during the Civil War. It
tells us what she and
people of Arkansas
and the Confederacy
were thinking during
the Civil War.
No image is available of Susan Cook
Why is her diary important?

Her diary is a primary source
 Primary sources or documents give firsthand
information or one could say from the “horses
mouth”!
○ At first Miss Cook was optimistic about the
Confederacy winning the war but as the war
progressed she saw that the Confederacy could
not win.
These were notable people of the Civil War in
Arkansas!!!