Union Troops Set up a Camp Here and later Designated the Land for Civil War Burials

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The Civil War dramatically altered the course of the future of the City of Little Rock. Confederate leaders in Arkansas had long feared that the fall of Vicksburg would have dire consequences for the capital. These fears proved to be well-founded. General Ulysses S. Grant's capture of the Confederate stronghold freed thousands of Union troops for other campaigns, including the re-establishment of Federal control in Arkansas. Before the month of July 1863 was out, Major General Frederick Steele had arrived at Helena to take command of all Federal forces in the state. Steele's superiors recognized that control of the Arkansas River was necessary to secure Missouri and northern Arkansas against future Rebel incursions and as a base for operations against the rest of the state. In Little Rock, Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes had become ill following the debacle at Helena, and responsibility for the defense of the city had passed to Major General Sterling Price. Price set about devising a plan for the capital's defense.

On August 10^th and 11^th, Steele sent his six thousand infantry, backed by sixteen pieces of artillery, west from Helena toward Clarendon on the White River. There he would rendezvous with a like number of cavalry moving south from Missouri under Brigadier General John Davidson. Davidson reached Clarendon on August 8th. By the time Steele arrived on the seventeenth, he had already encountered an enemy more troubling than the Rebels, disease. More than a thousand of his troops were sick. He made plans to move the base of his operations upriver to the higher and allegedly healthier ground at DeValls Bluff, and he sent Davidson across the river to find the rebels. On August 23^rd, Price ordered John S. Marmaduke to join forces with L. M. Walker at Brownsville, along a major approach to Little Rock. At sunrise on August 25^th, advance elements of Davidson's cavalry collided with Marmaduke's thirteen hundred horsemen near Brownsville. Outnumbered four to one in men and eight to one in artillery, Marmaduke could not hope to defeat the Federals, but the Missourian gave ground grudgingly before retiring from the field. He formed a new battle line six miles west of the town, and there he temporarily halted the Union advance. On August 26^th, Price ordered Walker and Marmaduke to withdraw to Bayou Meto, a sluggish stream running east of the capital, and to "hold it as long as possible." Their combined forces took up positions at Reed's Bridge on Bayou Meto, approximately twelve miles northeast of Little Rock.

They did not have to wait on the Federals for long. Around noon on August 27^th, Davidson's cavalry drove the Rebel pickets across Bayou Meto and attempted to seize the bridge, but the Confederates had prepared to burn the bridge and, as the northern cavalry advanced, the Rebels set it afire. Union troops came dashing down toward the bridge (which was now burning) and the bayou. Suddenly, artillery and small arms fire opened upon them with deadly effect and caused a precipitate retreat. Soon the enemy formed their line, brought up their artillery, and the fight continued until sunset, when the enemy, failing to occupy the river, retired after a heavy loss, leaving a number of their dead on the ground. That night the Confederates were ordered to withdraw to within five miles of Little Rock.

On September 2^nd, Steele arrived at Brownsville with his infantry to join Davidson's force. Reinforcements had brought his total strength to nearly 14,500 men. He spent the next three days gathering information, then resumed his advance on September 6^th, moving south along Bayou Meto and crossing it at Shallow Ford. On the seventh, he reached the Arkansas River near Ashley's Mill. Here, Davidson's cavalry, in advance of the main force, skirmished sharply with Confederate cavalry under Robert C. Newton. Steele used the two days of September 8^th and 9^th to scout, to bring up his supplies, and to finalize his plans for the attack.

Price had issued an appeal to the citizens of Little Rock that urged every able-bodied man to arms. Neither the appeal to honor nor the threat of arrest produced results. Steele, meanwhile, was preparing to send Davidson's cavalry across the river at a place called Terry's Ferry. Construction of a pontoon bridge was begun on September 9^th and finished on the morning of the tenth. A Confederate battery of four guns attempted to contest the crossing but was driven off by twenty Federal cannon. By 11 a.m., Davidson had all three brigades across the river and was moving toward Little Rock along the south bank. Steele led his infantry toward the city along the north bank. He had hoped that Davidson's flanking movement would force Price to weaken or abandon his fortified position on the north shore, and he was not disappointed. At 11 a.m., the Confederate commander began to withdraw his men from their entrenchments and to cross them back into Little Rock on pontoon bridges. He then began to evacuate the city, his troops falling back toward Arkadelphia.

South of the river, Confederate forces under Marmaduke fell back toward the capital, skirmishing with the advancing Federals as they went. Along Fourche Bayou, about five miles from the city, they made a stand. The fierce Rebel resistance brought Davidson's advance to a standstill, but enfilading fire from Steele's artillery across the river came to the rescue. The engagement at Fourche Bayou cost the Federals seven killed and sixty-four wounded and gave Price time to evacuate the capital. The last Confederate defenders rode out of town about 5 p.m., with the Federal cavalry entering hard on their heels. At 7 p.m., Little Rock's civil authorities formally surrendered the city.

The Federal campaign against Little Rock lasted forty days and cost 137 casualties (18 killed, 118 wounded, 1 missing). Incomplete Confederate reports listed 64 casualties. Price had managed to evacuate his army and a large portion of his supplies to Arkadelphia, but the Little Rock arsenal, with three thousand pounds of powder and a considerable quantity of cartridges, fell into Union hands.

The land now occupied by the national cemetery was located approximately one and one-half miles outside the city limits and was used as a camping ground by Union troops. Later, the space was used as a city cemetery established for the purpose of burying the Civil War dead. When United States troops were occupying the city in 1866, a portion of the new city cemetery (9.1 acres) was purchased by the United States and set aside as a military burial ground for the occupation forces. The military plot in the Little Rock City Cemetery was then enlarged to 12.1 acres and, on April 9^th, 1868, formally designated a national cemetery in which were to be concentrated the remains of Union deceased buried throughout the State of Arkansas. The remains were brought from Pine Bluff, DeVall's Bluff, Lewisburg, Princeton, Marks Mill, and other places in the state.

In 1884, a Confederate cemetery was established adjacent to the national cemetery, and the remains of 640 Confederates were removed from the Mount Holly Cemetery and reinterred in the Confederate Cemetery. By Act of February 7^th, 1913 (37 Stat. 683), Congress authorized the Secretary of War to accept from the city of Little Rock a deed to the Confederate Cemetery (11 acres) with the restriction that only Confederate veterans were to be interred in this newly acquired land. This restriction was removed by Congress in an Act approved March 26^th, 1938 (Public Law 448, 75^th Congress), and the Confederate Cemetery became the Confederate Section of the Little Rock National Cemetery open to the interment of any eligible decedent.

Subsequent land acquisitions include a 1.79-acre parcel conveyed by the city of Little Rock by quitclaim deed dated February 19^th, 1949, and a donation of 5.8 acres in 1990 by the Little Rock National Cemetery Expansion Corporation. The total area of the cemetery is 30.7 acres.

Site Description

The Little Rock National Cemetery is located at 2523 Confederate Boulevard, two miles southeast of the State Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas, in Pulaski County. The main entrance is on Confederate Boulevard at the center of the east side and is protected by a double iron gate, with a pedestrian gate on each side. There is an additional double iron gate entrance on the south side at East 26^th Street. The cemetery was originally enclosed by a three-foot-high fieldstone wall constructed in 1869. In 1921 and 1929, portions of this wall were replaced by iron fencing. Later, additional sections on the north boundary were replaced by chain link fencing. A 644-foot section of wall on the southeast boundary and the wall along the north boundary are the only portions of the original perimeter wall that remain. The Oakland Cemetery, a city-owned cemetery, is located adjacent to the national cemetery near the northeast corner. The main entry road of the national cemetery extends approximately one-half the length of the cemetery ending at a circle where the flagpole is located. The administration building is located south of the main entrance roadway, and the service building is directly behind the administration building. A committal service shelter is situated to the north of the main entrance.

The cemetery was established on April 9^th, 1868. The first superintendent of the cemetery was James Hill, a discharged sergeant of Company G, Second Regiment of the Cavalry, whose appointment was dated June 1^st, 1868.

Graves were originally marked with numbered stakes that were later replaced with upright marble headstones. In 1982, a policy decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs provided for the use of flat markers in national cemeteries. As a result, the graves in Section 15A are marked with flat granite markers. The policy decision was later reversed by the passage of Public Law 99-576, which mandated that for all interments that occur on or after January 1^st, 1987, the grave markers will be upright. As of July 30^th, 1996, there were 20,288 graves used for the interment of 22,067 casketed remains and 361 sites used for the interment of 479 cremated remains. Interments of casketed remains in occupied graves and reserved graves, as well as interments of cremated remains, continue. As of July 31^st, 1996, there were 1,162 gravesites available for the interment of casketed remains (188 reserved) and 163 sites available for the interment of cremated remains. The cemetery is expected to remain open until 2001.

The original superintendent's lodge was in the course of being constructed in January 1869. It was brick, contained three rooms with a projecting roof and piazza all around. This lodge was later removed and a new brick and stone lodge with a slate roof was constructed in 1908. Sometime between fiscal years 1933 and 1939, a sunroom and sleeping porch were added. This structure was a two-story, six-room building with a hip roof. The first story was of brick and the second story of frame. The front entry door was centered, and there was a single double-hung six-over-six window on either side. The second story had two single, six-over-six double-hung windows centered over the first-floor windows. There were two porches attached to the first floor, one on the right side and the other at the rear. This lodge was demolished in November 1995.

A new brick administration building with public restrooms was constructed on the former site of the lodge. The roof is tile. Construction was completed in June 1996, with a dedication ceremony held on July 11^th, 1996.

The original brick and cement utility building with a slate roof containing a brick addition on the south end with composition roofing and the brick public toilet with a slate roof were removed in 1949 and replaced with a brick and concrete utility building in 1950. The roof is asphalt shingles. There are four service bays and public restrooms in the building. There is a brick wall, approximately four feet in height, along with wooden fencing, shielding the service area from the cemetery proper. The wall was constructed circa 1938.

An iron gate in the north wall of the cemetery was removed in 1958 and the opening sealed with matching stone masonry.

A stucco committal service shelter, located to the north of the main entrance, was constructed in June 1996.

A brick and cement square-type rostrum, 14 feet 6 inches square, with an asphalt shingle roof is located in the Confederate section. New concrete steps were built in 1925. The exact date of construction is unknown, but affixed to the rostrum is a plaque dated 1907, which reads:

A second plaque affixed to the monument reads:

This rostrum is used once a year during ceremonies on Confederate Memorial Day.

A second rostrum, octagonal type, constructed of brick and iron, was located near the southwest corner of the cemetery. The date of construction is unknown, but the structure was removed some time after 1935.

There are two commemorative monuments in the Little Rock National Cemetery:

Confederate Monument - Located in the Confederate Section behind the utility building and erected in 1884 by the Trustees of Mount Holly Cemetery, from where the remains of 640 Confederate soldiers were moved and reinterred in the national cemetery. The inscription on the west side reads as follows:

Inscribed on the east side is:

Minnesota Monument - This monument, located in Section I, was created by John K. Daniels, a sculptor from St. Paul, Minnesota. Daniels, a native of Norway, was a highly acclaimed artist who was noted for the versatility and spirituality of his work. He had won numerous awards and had been decorated by the King of Norway. He was selected by the Minnesota Monument Commission, a commission established by an act of the Minnesota State Legislature in 1913 to organize the construction of memorials honoring Minnesota soldiers of the Civil War who were buried in national cemeteries in several southern states. In 1915, another legislative act appropriated money to fund a monument to be erected in the Little Rock National Cemetery, as well as at national cemeteries in Memphis, Tennessee, and Andersonville, Georgia. The monument depicts a Union soldier standing bare-headed with his head slightly bowed. The figure's hands rest atop the butt of his rifle, which is inverted with the barrel resting on the ground before him. His cap is held in his proper right hand and rests against his proper left shoulder. He is dressed in a rain slicker, which billows out behind him. The base, which is made of Minnesota granite, is 106" x 95"x 95". The sculpture, made of bronze, stands 7' x 33" x 1". On the east side of the base are crossed palm fronds, followed by the inscription:

The monument was officially dedicated on September 22^nd, 1916, with a ceremony that featured dignitaries and veterans from both Minnesota and Arkansas. Governor J.A. Burnquist of Minnesota and General Christopher Andrews, commander of the Minnesota troops in Arkansas and chairman of the Monument Committee, were among the speakers.

Site Map (1996)

Main entrance gate, view looking east (1996)

Gate at south side of cemetery (1996)

Flagpole, view looking northwest (1996)

Administration building, north elevation (1996)

Administration building, northwest elevation (1996)

Utility building, northwest elevation (1996)

Utility building, west elevation (1996)

Service building, south elevation (1996)

Service building, east elevation (1996)