Arkansas Staycation - Vacations

Upon entering the well established Pea Ridge Military Park Museum I found a gift shop full of fabulous books detailing the lives of much of the civil war population. There were books about how and what they cooked, farmed and worshiped. There were books based on the diaries of many of the soldiers wives and notes, letters and diaries of a few of the Confederate and Union soldiers.

Music videos from the era were also available as well as the video detailing the Trail Of Tears which passed through the over 4300 acres designated National Park.

This park is part of the Civil War Discovery Trail, the Lower Missouri Civil War Heritage Trail and the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

In the lobby there is an old supply wagon of the civil war era. It gives you a good impression of the meager resources with which the soldiers were expected to both survive and fight.

A small museum showed the military records and photo's of the main players in this momentous battle along with the weapons of the war. There were several fabulous paintings by Andy Thomas depicting different scenes of the soldiers that March .

This photo of the fencing common to the park, is from my digital camera converted to grayscale.

Prior to the civil war, Indians were unceremoniously marched from their homelands. In 1830 the Indian Removal Act was passed. Indian families were separated and forced out of their homes. Elderly and those who were ill were tossed into the mix without thought to their well being. If the rivers were to low to support boats, they had to walk. By March of 1839 the survivors of this treacherous march had reached the West. One missionary Doctor, Elizer Butler, who marched with the Cherokees, estimated that nearly one fifth of the Cherokee Nation died on that trail, in excess of 4000.

In the early 1840's Telegraph Road was being used by the Army primarily to move supplies and correspondence between Springfield, Missouri and Ft. Smith Arkansas. With the threat of Indian attacks severely reduced by the Indian Removal Act in the late 1930's, the Army reduced their presence in the region.

Settlers from Tennessee now used the road in search of new farm and hunting land, with small towns springing up along the commerce route. By 1858 The Butterfield Overland Stage had a regular route on the Telegraph Road, and telegraph lines were set by 1860.

As history now reports, the telegraph lines were cut as our country entered the Civil War just two short years later.

The "redlegs" as they called the artileryman, was not a desired position. The cannoneers had to man their guns in the heart of the frontlines, often being the prime target of the enemy attacks.

When driving the seven mile trail of this famous battle, you will find canons scattered amid the fields. The men knelt behind the wooden fences when firing and reloading during battle.

Our second stop of the day was at the Largest Big Cat Refuge at Turpentine Creek, where the Native American Pow Wow was held on Father's Day weekend. The Pow Wow was about to begin, so we did not get to see the Cats, but we certainly did enjoy watching the many dances and drumming of the Native Americans.

The honored drummers under the tent are placed in the center of the field. All dancing appeared to be in a large clockwise circle. Each dancer had their own colorfully designed costume. One of the dances had them carrying flags, which they called the Color Guard.

There were Inter-Tribal dance contests, and the Native women were allowed to form a wider circle behind the men for a couple of the songs. At one point, a young Native woman was taken to the inner circle to meet the honorable drummers and give them an offering. This was her official acceptance into the tribe.

In another ceremony, a woman was honored for her good deeds and character by all the men dancing the circle and leaving an offering at her feet as they passed. I witnessed much honor and humility among these people.

The colorful dancing costumes were part of the contest also. The creative tribal differences in color and design made for a fabulous ceremony.

The women joined the dancing in the second half of the ceremony. They too wore colorful designs from their Tribes. There was a quiet respectful peace among them. Their children were included in some of the celebration as though they were in training.

Each participant knew the protocol as the ceremony advanced. Even the small children were included, some though they were asleep.

We enjoyed watching and learning the traditions of these proud people.