Fought in earnest: Civil War Arkansas, a free traveling exhibit chronicling major historical events in Arkansas between 1861 and 1865, will be displayed in the Ozark Folk Center State Park, 1032 Park Avenue in Mountain View in the Administration Building lobby. The display will be exhibited from Tuesday May, 21 through Monday May 27, 2013. The exhibit will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Admission to the exhibit is free.
Fought in earnest contains fifteen free-standing banners that showcase images from the Arkansas History Commission’s holdings. Original documents, photographs, maps, drawings, paintings and artifacts illustrate the story of the Civil War in Arkansas. These primary source materials offer a first-hand look at the lives of Confederate and Union soldiers, government officials and civilians, from 1861 to 1865.
“We wanted to develop several types of materials to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in Arkansas,” stated Jane Wilkerson, the History Commission’s Interim Director. She continued, “I am very pleased that the Ozark Folk Center State Park is sharing this intimate glimpse into Arkansas’s role in the Civil War with their visitors and community.”
Other Civil War materials developed by the Commission for the sesquicentennial include two books, Traveled through a fine country: The Journal of Captain Henry Brockman, andDocumenting Arkansas; The Civil War 1861-1865, the companion book to Fought in earnest.
During its 107 year existence the State Archives has actively collected materials from this crucial era in our nation and our state. Diaries written by soldiers and citizens; letters to mothers, fathers, wives, sweethearts, brothers, and sisters; military orders, newspaper accounts, photographs, broadsides, and even party invitations recount the day-to-day lives of people caught up in the most significant event in nineteenth century America. These publications and exhibit use these primary source materials to tell the story of the Civil War from an Arkansas perspective. The variety of items represents the breadth of the Commission’s Civil War resources, while thousands more documents are available to researchers.
For more information about the exhibit, or the May 26th Civil War on the Sylamore or other Memorial Day weekend programs atOzark Folk Center State Park, call 870-269-3851 or visit the web site at www.ozarkfolkcenter.com. To schedule the exhibit in your institution call the Arkansas History Commission at 501.682.6900 or e-mailstate.archives@arkansas.gov.
