Educational Aspects of the Reenactment

There have been "local" reenactments of Civil War Battles in our area for a number of years, usually at Bentonville, sponsored by the Peel House Museum Foundation, and then at Prairie Grove on the alternate years. It is very fortunate that we have these in our region because of the great interest in this historic event with the close proximity of the National Pea Ridge Park Battlefield. History is much more vivid and realistic when demonstrations, historians and artifacts are close at hand. But the possibility of a "regional" demonstration is most exciting. This will involve thousands of reenactors from all over the nation and many knowledgeable historians and writers on the national level. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime event for our residents and students of Northwest Arkansas to study and relive this historic and cataclysmic event on a factual and demonstrative level. If we are so fortunate, and it is successful, perhaps it will become an annual or semi-annual event and take on some of the same aspects that are so revered at other sites, such as the Battle at Gettysburg.

There are numerous students in the communities of Bentonville, Pea Ridge, Gravette, and Rogers who have shown very enthusiastic visitations to reenactments which have been conducted in our areas in the past ten years. With this being a nationally acclaimed reenactment of the Pea Ridge Battle, and having the actual Pea Ridge Battlefield National Park in the immediate vicinity, the number of students attending these events will be much larger than in the past. Many of the younger students will come on a designated "Kid's" or "Student Day" as in the past, but many others will also come with their families or in groups, especially the older students. This way they can mingle amongst the troops, talk to them about their way of living, their utensils, sleeping quarters, weapons, etc. as well as obtain historical information about the Great Civil War and this battle in particular. Students from NWACC will find this a treasure-trove of historical information.

With the scope of this production, many more communities will be involved. We also must realize that many who have been involved primarily in the Prairie Grove reenactment events in the past will be coming here for the larger event. This will stretch the attendance zone all the way into Washington County and include cities like Fayetteville, Prairie Grove, Springdale, Lowell and Siloam Springs. The educational potential of this reenactment is tremendous, and it will only improve over the years and be a very popular, unique source of historical education and preservation in all of Northwest Arkansas. I would hope that all the school districts and local governments and organizations would cooperate with and support this great effort.
Dr. Cohagan