Civil War Camps At Pocahontas

General William Hardee

General William Hardee

Camp Shaver was established in 1861 in two locations. Located along Mill Creek in south Pocahontas, the Army of Northern Arkansas was commanded by General William Hardee (the force was later moved to Pitman’s Ferry in NE Randolph County).  The men there prepared fortifications along the creek.  Some 800 are said to be buried there (we don’t know exactly where), victims of a measles epidemic.  The other part of Camp Shaver was Arkansas’s first and primary basic training camp.  That was located in the area behind radio station KPOC in north Pocahontas.

General Sterling Price

General Sterling Price

When the Confederate Army of Missouri under General Sterling Price was run out of that state by Union forces, they relocated here.  Constant disputes between Price and the Confederate generals here led the Confederate government in Richmond to create the Army of the West under Major General Earl Van Dorn early in 1862, headquartered here in the old St. Charles Hotel on the court square in downtown Pocahontas.  Our City became headquarters for all Confederate forces west of the Mississippi.

General Earl Van Dorn

General Earl Van Dorn

All together, between 30,000 and 35,000 Confederate forces were stationed here at various times.  All these forces were moved east of the Mississippi in 1862 to face Grant at the Battle of Shiloh.

Later in the war, thousands of Union troops were stationed here, at various times.

33rd Annual Maynard Pioneer Days

The 33rd Annual Maynard Pioneer Days will be held Thursday, September 12 – Saturday, September 14.

Thursday Events

  • 4:30pm – Pet parade sign in
  • 5:00pm – Pet Parade and Pioneer Prince & Princess Winners announced
  • 5:00pm – School Night Begins

Friday Events

  • 9:00am – Craft Fair Opens
  • 5:00pm – Chicken N’ Dumplin or Hamburer Plate, Baked Goods Contest & Auction, Door Prizes
  • Live Gospel Music with The Peppers

Saturday Events (starting at 10am)

  • Parade Starts ending at park
  • Parade Winners Announced
  • Tours of Pioneer cabin, Museum, & Church
  • Demonstrations of Pioneer Life throughout the day behind the Museume (by Northeast Arkansas Living Historians)
  • Live Music with Billy Wayne’s Country Ledgends

2013 pioneer days

Our Civil War History: Pocahontas’ Strategic Location

When Arkansas voted to secede from the United States in 1861, Arkansas’ Governor Rector ordered every available soldier in the state (members of the State Voluntary Militia like the Hempstead Rifles militia pictured above) to report to Pocahontas.  The reason was that this was the logical invasion route into Arkansas by Union forces in Missouri.  To our west was the virtually roadless and rough terrain of the Ozarks.  To the east were the vast, swampy and also roadless wetlands of eastern Arkansas.

Henry Massie Rector (1816–1899), Sixth Governor of Arkansas

Henry Massie Rector (1816–1899), Sixth Governor of Arkansas

Here in Randolph County there was a road—the federally maintained “Old Military Road”, as well as river transportation and supply from here into central Arkansas.  Pocahontas was the focus of the defense of Arkansas in the early years of the war.  The Port of Pocahontas was the main Confederate supply depot in those early years.  Pocahontas was also the location of the first Confederate military hospital in the state.