Ferrn 10-320 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (Rev. 6-71] NAT109AL PARK SERVECE

/

NATIONAL R E G I S T E R OF HISTORIC P L A C E S . . INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

(Type all entries + complete applicable sectjons)

A r k a n s a s C O I I N T Y :

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Fort Smith N a t i o n a l Cemetery M,nu AND/OR HISTORIC: '/ . 0 p- .'" ,I

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n Edvc&iaml D M i f i ~ o r y (J Retiginus - Enterbinman) 0 tdu~surn Scientif it

Garland Avenue and South 6th Street

U. S . A r m y Memorial A f f a i r s Aqency STREET A N D NUMBER:

C l T Y OiF TOWN:

Fort Smi th

Department of t h e Army S T A T E : 1 POBF I

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

ThLrd

Sebastian C o u n t y Courthouse ST-REET f iN0 NYMREFI:

- CFTY OR TOWN; S T A T E CODE

S T A T E

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Arkansas H i s t o r r m nATE OF SURVEY: May 1971 0 Fcdsrol S:a?e • COWI!~ Lac.!

O E P V S I T Q R Y FOR S U R V E Y R RCCRDS:

Arkansas H i s t o r i c Preservation Proqram STREET A N D NUMBEQ: t-

CODE I c O U b ! T Y :

05 1 Sebasti an

Suite 1030 - Plaza West C l T Y OR 7 0 W N : :-

L i t t l e Rock AR 05

CODE

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Site In P I O C ~ S S a Unoccupied Q Restricted

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A t t h e Fort Smith National Cemetery t h e f l ag of the United S t a t e s is flown d a i l y commemorating the l i v e s and deeds of t h e known and the unknown, who over many years answered the cal l to duty in t h e nation" service. In t h a t same t r a d i t i o n of servlce, t h e cemetery con- tinues to serve as an active nat iona l cemetery Tor in terment of members and former members of the Arrned Forces whose last active service terminated honorably, and f o r t h e i r e l ig ib le dependents.

3 I

i

Soldiers of the War of 1812 and of t h e Mexican War of 1846-1848 rest in t h i s cemetery. Here, t o o , are some of those who served in the once grea't armies af the Union dur ing the years from 1861 to 1865. . Some 4;73 members of t h e armies of the ~onfederacy are also interred in t h i s cemetery. The 1,464 gravesites in Fort Smi th National Cemetery marked w i t h headstones indicating interment of an unknown s o l d i e r include many who served in the Union and Confederate forces as well as some who served at F o r t Smith p r i o r to t h e C i v i l W a r and were in te r red in the post cemetery which is now a part of the n a t i o n a l cemetery area.

Sold iers who pa r t i c ipa t ed in t h e brEef war w i t h Sp%in and in the P h i l i p p i n e Insur rec t ion are here too, as are those cal led to service in World Vyar I and on the - ba t t l e f ie lds of a world in c o n f l i c t during World Y a r IT, Included here among the graves of World War I1 decedents are f i v e g raves ikes marked by specially de- signed headstones to indicate interment of a group b u r i a l . This cemetery is also the honored rest ing place of members of the Armed Forces o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s who served t h e i r nat ion in K o r e a and in V i e t n a m ,

CONDlTlON

DESCRlOE THE PRESENT A N D O R l G l N A L (if k ~ w n ) P H Y S I C A L A P P E A R A N C E

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S r A T e M L W T O F S l G N l F I C A H C E I

The f i rs t military establishment at Fort S m i t h came into being Sate in 1817. During t h e summer of t h a t year a detachment of elghty-two men errharked at P i t t s - burgh f o r a t r i p down t h e O h i o R i v e r . Pursuant to orders of Genera l A n d r e w Jackson received by General *_ .. Thomas A, Smith on August 19, 1817, Major William Bradford and Major Stephen H. Long, a Topographical Engineer , s e t ou t f r o m St. Louis , MTssouri for a meeting with these t roops at t h e junction of the Mississippi and Ohid Rivers. The troops under c o m m a n d of Major Bradford proceeded down the Mississippi and arrived at Arkansas P o s t on October 15, 1817, Many of . t h e men of Major BradFardls command were ill and he remained a t Arkansas Post for some time.

S

While Major Bradford and h i s men were t h u s deta ined, Major Long, with provisions f o r twenty-four days, pro- ceeded by ski f f up the Arkansas River to survey t h e area and es tabl i sh a f r o n t i e r post. His observation l ed h i m to a point of land a l i t t l e below the j m c - t i o n of khe Soteau and Arkansas Rivers w h e r e he selected a site' for t h e erection of a stockade fort, The place designated w a s knows as B e l l e Point, a name bestowed upon t h e area by French explorers because of its natural beauty. As soon as the sick under h i s command had recovered s u f f i c i e n t l y to resume t h e t r . journey, Major Bradford and h i s men left Arkansas P o s t and proceeded up t h e Arkansas Rriver in keel boats, ar r iv ing at B e l l e Po in t on Chirstmas Day, 1817. The fort established at t h i s location was named' For t S d t h for Brigadier General Thomas A . Smith.

The f i r s t '~ort Smith was abandoned in 1824 on orders of General Winfield S c o t t , t h e commanding o f f i c e r of the Western Department of the Amy a t . N e w Orleans.

Form 13-3000 UNITED STATES DEPARTjiENT OF THE INTERFOR (July 19691 NATIOHAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC P L A C E S

INVENiORY - NOMIHATIOH FORq -

Significance (Continued - Page 2)

O n e reason given fo r t h e move from this location was t h e great amount of s i c k n e s s among the troops at Tort Smith. Records indicate that about twenty-five percent of the command at Fort Smith died during the year 1832, and were interred in t h e post cemetery there.

The earliest known burial in t he past cemetery was that of Surgeon Thomas Russell, a veteran of t h e W 3 r of 1812, who died at Fork Smith on August 24, 1819. Major I ~ r i l l i a m H. Bradford, the first commanding o f f i c e r at Fort Smith, resigned f r o m t h e fimy in 1824. He d i e d of yellow fever , on Octobe-r 20, 1826, and was buried in the post cemetery of the then abandoned Fort Smith.

Following the removal of troops from Fort S m i t f i in A p r i l 1824, t h e stockade w a s unoccupied u n t i l l a t e in March 1833. At that t i m e Captain John Stuart and C o m p a n y C of t h e 7th U. S , In fan t ry were ordered to move f r o m Fort Gibson, Indian T e r r i t o r y , to the site of Fort Smith. It w a s thought that t h i s would enable them to intercept ship- ments of whiskey brought up t h e river by traders for i l l ega l sale to the IndZans.

During t h e t i m e that Captaj-n Stuart and h i s men were s t a t i o n e d at Fort Smith eight soldiers and one surgeon died and were interred in t h e post cemetery. On June 16, 1834, t h e troops were ordered o u t and s ta t ioned at a n e w and m o r e h e a l t h f u l locat ion on the south bank of the Arkansas River about t e n miles above Fort Smith.

No more troops were s ta t ioned in the area until July 1838. At t h i s time a new gar r i son called Cantonement Belknap was es tab l i shed about a m i l e and a half n o r t h e a s t of the loca t ion of the first Fort S m i t h .

A t t h e outbreak of t h e C L v i l TVar For t Smith was garrisoned by two troops of the 1st U. S . Cavalry under t h e command 05 Captain S . D. Sturgis. On April 2 3 , 1861, t w o r iver steamers, the Frederick Nortrebe and the Tahlequah a r r ived at V a n Buren just across t h e r i v e r from For t Smith w i t h three hundred Confederates. This force disembarked and moved upon Fort Smith by firt road. Captain Sturgis,

Fonm IO-rnOo UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ST A T E ( J u l y 19599) NAJIOPIAL PARK SERVICE

NATIOHAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

I E N T R Y NUMaER P A T E (Con tin uation Sheet) I

INVENTORY . NOMINATION f ORM

Significance {Continued - Page 3)

Sebastian F O R MPS USE ONLY

alerted by scouting partjes that the Confederate forces greatly outnumbered h i s -kroops, thereupon evacuated Fort S m i t h , and it w a s occupied by the Confederate forces.

The S t a t e of Arkansas had not f o r m a l l y seceded from the Federal U n i o n at the time of t h e evacuation of Fort S m i t h , but an ordinance of secession w a s passed on May 6, 1861. Shortly thereafter the State of Arkansas conveyed to t h e Confederate Skates of America t he lands, bui ldings and o t h e r proper ty of Fort Smith. ThLs transfer included the p o s t cemetery. Fort Smith remained under control of the *. Confederacy u n t i l September 1, 1863, when Union t r oops - under command of Colonel I?T.. F. Cloud, 1st Kansas Cavalry, regained possession of t h e fort fo r the unit& States,

During t h e period t h a t Fort S m i t h was he ld by Confederate forces many burials of Confedera te soldiers were made in the post_cemetery. Included among the dead interred at F o r t S m i t h during t h e Ciiril Was are t h e remains of two Confedexate generals, graduates of b!est Point and vet- erans of many campaigns with the U n i t e d S t a t e s A r m y prior - to t h e i r espousal of the pr inc ip les af t h e Confederate '

S t a t e s . One of these men, James B. McIntosh, graduated f r o m West Point in 1849 and participated in numerous Indian campaigns in Texas and Kansas, He was on duty at F o r t Smith in May 1861, at which t i m e he resigned h i s c o d s s i o n and joined the A r m y of the Confederacy, gain- ing t h e rank of co lone l In 1862, Colonel McIntush was appointed a brigadier general and took part in t h e engage- m e n t a t Pea Ridge, the first b a t t l e of t h e Civil War foughe on Arkansas soi l , During the second day of t h e b a t t l e , March 7, 1862, the thirty-four year o ld general was killed, and his remains w e r e brought to Fort Smith for bur ia l .

Alexander E. Skeeri, t h e other Confederate general w h o is buried in Fort Smith , was also a Vest Point graduate, and had served with d i s t i n c t i o n in t h e United Skates Army dur ing the Mexican Var. When t h e C j - v i l War broke out Steen was Living in Arkansas. He c a s t his l o t w i t h t h e forces of the Confederacy and was disowned by h i s family in Missouri, who favored t h e Union cause. He followed his convictions, however and became a brigadier general

Fom 10-Wm UHITEO STATES OEPARTMEXT OF T H E 1Nf ERIO9 E

, IJUIY 1759) C KATIOXAL PARK SE4ViCE I NATIO. AL REGISTER OF HISSORlC

as

1 . E N T R Y HUMBIA I OATE

1 1

INVENTOEY - NOMfNATi03 FO2M '

Signif icance (Continued - Page 4 )

Sebastian FOR NPS USE ONLY ..

in t h e Confederate -my. A promising mi l i t a ry career was,' terminated when General Steen was killed in action during the ba t t l e of P r a i r i e Grove on Decenfber 7, 1862.

With the c6nclusion of the C i v i l War a dint Resozution . of the Senate and Hause of Representatives approved April 13, 1866 authdrized and required the. Secretary :of War: '!to take immediate ,measures 'tq preserve - f r o m desecraki bn t h e graves

' of soldiers of t h e United S t a t e s who fell -i-n b a k t l e or ' "

d i e d of disease in'hospitals . c. . ; to. secufe suitablea-burhi .- . -. places 'in which ' they -may' be properly interred ; - and to - have- t h e graves enclo'sed ,--& - t h a t the re*st ing place u.f the ,hono~ed dead may b'e k e p t . sacred t f e revkr . By.additiona1 legzslatiori .

- apprqved 'feb~uaCy 2.2'; .'1.857:.khe Secretary. of Far .was dire-ct'ea +

to enclose n-a,kion'al. cemetery grqqngs, appoint cemetery' superintendents 'and provide 'lodges at. the cemeteries. for

'

. t h e i r .ho,using'. he, prov~sion's' , of these' legi S-lative di rectivei w e r e cdmplied .wi th - .a t For,k. S d t h , The o i d p o s t cemetery, - - . - - *

wa.s enlarged. and. became Fort smi th ' ~ a k i o n a l ' ~ e f k t e r y . - - ~ a t f i c k . . H a r t , --a C i i r i l W* 'vev&a.n,, who had ,served as: a captain with . '

. . the .15th Battery,--New Y o r k ~ighk~. 'Ar t i l . l e ry . , w a s . appo2nked + '

the first. superin$efldent:Of h e Fort Smith' Nationa-l Cemetery.. -+PI& sefved in -that p ~ s i t i o n unt5f 1877,. . . -

Legislation enacted -February 24; .187.1 provided ,foc t h e d i s - - posilhon of certaih~use.less. mili . tary rese,mations by transfer

. . f r o m t h e War' Department of the. Departmen* of t h e : . ~ n t e r i d r , - which office would'. then 'qffer' ' t h e -prgper$y -for gale;. The m i l i t d r y reservation '.gt Fort. Smith was among th'e surplus pk0pertie.s slated: E d dispasal, 'and -transfer of the Fort Smi th mi l l t a r y -rese+atf an ~ j g s ' G f fecte'd on March- :2Sj 1871; . In May of that year -C!uar.$emasf ei General Mont.gomery C..

'

Meigs, advLsed' secretary of War l i ? i l l i a m .W, Belknap' that a -

nat io l ia l militaky .cem@tery had been ' es tabl ished on the ~ o r t . Smith .reservation dfid t h a t it t h e n contained. l ,998 . graves of decea'sed Union soldiers. ' Gerk&ral .MeLgs ' requested .

- t h a t the n a t i o n a l 'cemetery be excepted frorh tlie sale di- d rected by ~ o n ~ r e ' s s ; . he rksponse was. a brief Executive O r d e r 'signed by presidetit W. S+. Grant .on May 22, lg71A, which re- moved thearea occupied by t h e Fort Smith National Cemetery from sale by t h e Department of the In t e r t o r and r e s t o r e d . ' . it to t h e custody of t h e W a r Department .

Form 1 D - W m . Ut41TED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERlOR (July 1969) NAJIOHAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL R E G I S TE2 O F HISTORIC PLACES

INVENTORY - MUMIHATION FORM .

Significance (Continued - Page 5 )

During the years following the great struggle of 11861-1865 . t h e number of surviving veterans of t h a t war s t ead i ly dimin- ished. Many of these veterans res id ing in the v i c i n i t y of Fort Smith were accorded honored burial i n Fort Smith ~ a t i o n a l ' Cemetery. One such gravesite marks the f i n a l r e s t i n g place of Issac C, Parker, a corporal in Company A 61st Missouri Infantry dur ing t h e Civi l War. Issac C. Parker's post war activities had gained f o r h i m a reputa- t i o n and a degree of recognition which extended beyond his war t i m e semfce. Parker was known as " the hanging judge. A lawyer by profession and a c i r c u i t judge in Missouri prior to the C i v i l W a r , Mr. P a r k e r served t w o terms in the- U. S, Congress after the war. Then in 1875 president Grant appointed h i m United States D i s t r i c t Judge for the Western District of Arkansas. The area w i t h i n t h e jurisdiction of Judge Parker's c o u r t was for t h e m o s t part f r o n t i e r t e r r i - . t o r y and included the Indian Territory, which was l a t e r to become the S t a t e of Oklahoma. Here during t h e Last quarter of the nineteenth century in a t y p i c a l f r o n t i e r environment, t h e forces of law and order were in frequent conf l ic t w i t h those who considered themselves above t h e laws of t h e United- States. C r i m e s of every de sc r i p t i on w e r e common. It is sa id t h a t more t h a n 13,000 cases came before Judge Parker's court during the twenty-one years that he presided as U n i t e d States Dist r ic t Judge, Of t h e 12,000 criminal cases which came before Judge P a r k e r , there were 88 cases in which the pena l ty of death by hanging was upheld and carr ied out on a gallows erected near the U n i t e d States Court House in Fort Smith, Judge Parker d i e d on November 17, 1&96, and was buried in the For t Smi th N a t i o n a l Cemetery,

Many of the Uni ted Sta tes Deputy Marshals who "rode for Parker," performing w i t h courage and d a r i n g t h e i r tasks of bringing c r i m j n a l s to justice, were also campaign tes ted veterans of t h e C i v i l War, The records of Fort S m i t h National Cemetery list the burials of some of these cou- rageous f ront ier law officers : Randolph B. Creekmore, who s erved w i t h Company E , 6th Kentucky Cavalry; Joseph Gramlich, war t i m e meniber of Company E, 14th Illinois I n f a n t r y ; Calvin IThikson, who served w i t h the T h r i d Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry, a regiment of loyal Union s o l d i e r s organized at

G P O 92t.72.l i

Form 10-3000 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ISTATE 1 (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HfSTORlC PLACES Arkansas

IHVENTOXY - NOMIHATIOH FORM '

Significance (Continued - Page 6 )

Sebastian FOR N PS USE ONLY

I

Little Rock in 1864; and Jacob Yoes, another Union soldier f r o m Arkansas, serving as a sergeant with Companies 13 and F, 1st ~rkansas Cavalry.

ENTRYHUMBER

Fort Smi th National Cemetery is also the b u r i a l place of one of its' early superintendents. Private F J i l l i a m D i l l o n , Company G, 2d New Hampshire Infantry, was severely wounded at Gettysburg and was honorably discharged from the Union A r m y on September 5, 1864. He was appointed a nat iona l cemetery superintendent. on September 1, 1875, and in 1877 became the second superintendent of Fort Smj_ th National -. C e m e t e r y until 1884, and again' f r o m December 1902 to d

September 1930. Many of the large trees which now beaut i fy the cemetery were planted dur ing Superintendent Dillon's long period of service. He died on November 17, 1930, and is i n t e r r e d in t h e cemetery,

P A T E

A t Fort Smi th N a t i o n a l Cemetery more than fom thousand headstones and monuments mark t h e final res t ing .p laces of m e m b e r s 0 5 t h e Armed Forces of the United Skates. Though many such mil i ta ry cemeteries exist th roughout the United +

States, t h i s one is especialyy s i g n i f i c a n t because of i t s long history as a frontier cemetery. For over t h ~ e e - quarters of t h e 19th century this cemetery l a i d to rest those veterans' of a l l w a r s who died on the Indian frontier. The For t Smith National C e m e t e r y reflects the events, mi l i ta ry engagements, and w a r t i m e casual t ies of United Sta tes h i s t o r y f r o m the first major c o n f l i c t in 1812 to t h e most recent m i l i t a r y engagements in Southeast A s i a .

(Con tinuation Sheet) 1

- . 9. MAJOR B ~ ~ ~ ~ O G R A P H I C A ~ REFERENCES , , ' . ' ., , :; -.' ,' , - ~ : s .-'';-; .' ( ~ ~ r ,,.-,, ;.:. - . .> , < > < 2 . , . I C < >T , -I

U. S . Department df the Army- U. S . my Memorial A f f a i r s Agency. F o r t Smi th Nat iona l ~ A e t e r v . Washing- t o n , D. C. : C b v c r n m c n t P r i n t i n g O f f i c e , 3973.

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Dianna Kirk, Staf f H i s t o r i a n ORGAN1 ZPTlDN D A T E

Arkansas H i s t o r i c Preservation Program F P ~ . . 1974 STREET A N D NUMBER:

SuEte 1030 - Plaza West CITY OR TOWN: ~ S T A TE I eabc

I L i t t l e ~ o c k 2;. S T N f L I ~ ~ S O H ' W F I C E R ' ~ ~ ~ T ~ F ~ C X ' F I O U ' ' . ~ T ~ N ~ L R E G ~ I T ~ ~ ~ A j p f U - r m ~ , : . . ;';'

As the designnted State Liaison Officer fw the Na- timal Historic Pteswation Act of 1966 (Public Law

89465). I hersby nominate this pr~perty for inelusialr

in the N a t l o ~ E Rggiskr and certify that it bas keen -valuated nccardr+rq to the c-iteria and p m e b r r s set

by ihe ~n.sti-1 Park Serv~ee. 7% recommended

level of significal~cc of this nomination is: Watiorut S t s t e a Z&Z

I h n b y certify that this w r t y is included in ths

NstimaE Rcgiater.

Title

Kenper of The NatImaF Redislet

I bate I

GPO 031.894