NEWS RELEASE – Washington County Historical Society
March 26, 2024
Contact: Dave Edmark
479-521-4681
dedmark@uark.edu

Battle of Fayetteville commemoration set for April 20

Activities observing the 161st anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Fayetteville are scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Headquarters House Museum at 118 E. Dickson St. in Fayetteville. The annual event is sponsored by the Washington County Historical Society to commemorate the battle that occurred at that location on April 18, 1863.

Mayor Lioneld Jordan will open the day’s events at 11 a,m. by firing the first shot of the day from a cannon and reading a proclamation.

Several educational events will take place throughout the day inside the museum and on the grounds outdoors.

At noon Robert Kroening will give a synopsis of the battle. Kroening has served as a National Park interpreter at the Minute Man National Historic Site and will be joining the team at Fort Smith National Historic Site in April.

Bob Underdown will give a short program on Lt. Joseph Smith Robb Jr. of the First Arkansas Union Cavalry at 1 p.m. Robb is considered the hero of the battle.

The cannon will be fired again at 2:30 p.m. for a presentation of Civil War artillery that was present at the battle.

Ongoing programs throughout the day include demonstrations of women’s fashion of the 1850s and 1860s, displays of toys and games of the 19th century, examples of Civil War medicine practices and infantry and musket demonstrations.

A reading of the names of those lost in the battle will begin at 3:30 p.m. followed by a bugler playing “Taps.”
The Battle of Fayetteville contested the Union army’s hold on the city when it clashed with advancing Confederate forces east of the site of Union headquarters at Judge Jonas Tebbetts’s home, which is now Headquarters House Museum. The Confederates marched up Dickson Street toward the house but pulled back under fire. The Union victory demonstrated that Arkansas soldiers fighting for the Federals would support its cause. The military situation remained unstable enough that Union troops pulled out of town a week later and went to Missouri where they stayed until September before returning to resume control of Fayetteville.

PHOTO: union troops.jpg
Civil War re-enactors address the audience during the 2023 Battle of Fayetteville commemoration.