BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE - 2007
REENACTMENT - OCTOBER 26,27,28 - 2007
In reference to the upcoming Pea Ridge (Bentonville) reenactment, plans are proceeding as scheduled, and some recent commitments are making more things possible than planned.
Two weeks ago the principal volunteers here met with the Mayor of Bentonville and received good news in several areas. The Mayor has said the reenactment will be a reality. He backs it all the way and has shown support by providing the site free of charge. In the past this has been very difficult in some cases since dealing with private parties makes land usage a big cost to a successful reenactment.
The Bentonville Parks and Recreation Department is busy with plans including cutting the grass and other site preparation duties and providing bleachers for the spectators five rows high.
According to Mrs Leah Whitehead we have a party involved who will provide all the firewood we need. We also anticipate using bottled water instead of water buffalos. This seems to be a real comfort to the troops, along with hay to sleep upon.
We have commitments from the two most famous authors on Pea Ridge and southern Missouri during the War. They are Dr. William Shea and Dr. William Piston and they will be the featured guests at the symposium occurring between the two Saturday battles. Superintendent John Scott of the Pea Ridge National Military Park will be the moderator.
Registration inquiries are coming in on the new Peel Mansion website and you can now visit it to sign-up at http://www.peelmansion.org. We hope to get the word out to the commands and spectators rapidly now that the infrastructure is now in place and the commitments we need to go forward have been attained.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Eminent Speakers for the Educational Symposium for the Reenactment
The humanities scholars who will be the focus of our symposium will be Dr. William Shea, University of Arkansas at Monticello. His book on the Battle of Pea Ridge is the definitive text on the subject. He is a professor of history and he spent 10 years in researching the battle before writing "Pea Ridge:Civil War Campaign in the West".
Our other guest speaker will be Dr. William Piston of Missouri State University. He is also a history professor and wrote "Wilson's Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It". He is an expert on the Civil War in Southern Missouri, an important forerunner of the Battle of Pea Ridge.
Both authors will be the focus of our symposium and it will be moderated by Superintendent John Scott of the Pea Ridge National Military Park.
Professors from our local Northwest Arkansas Community College will also participate in the symposium which will serve as excellent entertainment between the two Saturday battles at the reenactment. The date for the symposium is Saturday, October 27th, 2007. The public is encouraged to attend.
Our other guest speaker will be Dr. William Piston of Missouri State University. He is also a history professor and wrote "Wilson's Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It". He is an expert on the Civil War in Southern Missouri, an important forerunner of the Battle of Pea Ridge.
Both authors will be the focus of our symposium and it will be moderated by Superintendent John Scott of the Pea Ridge National Military Park.
Professors from our local Northwest Arkansas Community College will also participate in the symposium which will serve as excellent entertainment between the two Saturday battles at the reenactment. The date for the symposium is Saturday, October 27th, 2007. The public is encouraged to attend.
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
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
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