Civil War Helena

This is the Story of Our Nation’s Struggle.

This is Our History.

A Special Supplement to Arkansas Times

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CIVIL WAR

HELENA

text by erica sweeney

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Battery C A replica of Battery C, one of the major sites of the Civil War Helena Interpretive Plan, is scheduled to open this fall.

Battery C was one of four earthen batteries built by the Union army in 1862, and the only one captured by the Confederates during the Battle of Helena in 1863.

The Confederates were bombarded by the other three batteries and the U.S.S. Tyler warship, and were later defeated in the battle.

The site offers amazing views of the Mississippi River.

Highlights of the site will include reproduction artillery and wayside exhibits explaining the battery’s significance, its role in the Battle of Helena, archaeological investigations and the land’s use as a cemetery before the Civil War.

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CR E ATING CI V IL WA R H ELENA

or generations, stories of Helena’s Civil War history focused solely on the battle there in 1863 and the seven Confederate generals from the town. But, there’s a lot more to Helena’s story, including Union occupation, thousands of freed slaves and the formation of United States Colored Troop regiments. Through an ongoing initiative, led by The Delta Bridge Project (DBP), the complete story of Civil War Helena is finally being told.

As a Helena native, City Councilman Jay Hollowell, also a former member of the Advertising and Promotion Commission, said, like most residents, he wasn’t aware of Helena’s complete Civil War history until 1990, when the Delta Cultural Center (DCC) opened. He said the center “spurred” the plan to develop Helena’s story as a source of tourism.

“I’ve learned a lot that wasn’t in the history books,” he said. “I didn’t know so many freed slaves came to Helena.

It’s ironic how many years after the war we’re just now getting to this.”

More than 20 years in the making, the Civil War Helena Interpretive Plan “started as a slow process, without money or a well-thoughtout plan,” said Cathy Cunningham, community development consultant at Southern Bancorp Community Partners. She credits Ronnie Nichols, who was director of the Delta Cultural Center in the early ‘90s, with bringing the importance of Helena in African-American history to the forefront and generating the first ideas for the project.

When he was director of the Delta Cultural Center, Nichols said he constantly looked for ways to promote Helena and the whole Delta region, and because Helena was a “real focal point” in Civil War history, it seemed natural to use that to attract visitors. He even had the idea to rebuild Fort Curtis back

then, but the project was only just completed last year.

“History can be a stumbling block,” Nichols said, and at first, felt a kind of “hesitancy to dredge up the history of both sides.”

“Helena was very prominent during the Civil War,” he said. “There’s not going to be a Ford plant built in Helena, so we need to focus on history, blues and things that are natural to the locale.”

Using History to Promote the Future In 2004, the DBP emerged in Phillips County, an initiative of Southern Bancorp Community Partners, which included a heritage tourism component. This led to the Civil War Helena Interpretive Plan, also an outgrowth of the Delta Bridge Project, a community-led project to revitalize the struggling Delta region.

In 2008, the Delta Bridge Project, DCC, and the Helena Advertising and Promotion Commission, contracted with Mudpuppy & Waterdog Inc., a research and preservation consulting firm based in Versailles, Ky. Cunningham said after much research, the consultants determined how to best interpret the Civil War-era sites in Helena.

Helena River Park

Southland College

With a boardwalk leading visitors to

Southland College became the first institu-

stunning views of the Mississippi River,

tion of higher education for black students

this park features wayside exhibits

west of the Mississippi and operated until

focusing on Union encampments

1925. Its founders Alida and Calvin Clark were

on the riverbanks and role of the

abolitionists, and first established the site

U.S.S. Tyler in the Battle of Helena.

in 1864 as a haven for lost and abandoned

The park is also a wildlife sanctu-

black children. The site features a bronze

ary and a great spot for fishing.

sculpture of a child and site interpreta-

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tion in the Courthouse Square Park area.

Originally, Mudpuppy & Waterdog, owned by Maria Campbell Brent and Joseph Brent, planned to create a driving and walking tour of Helena’s Civil War sites, but quickly realized that a larger-scale project was necessary for the kind of economic development the area needed, said Maria Campbell Brent. In 2009, their completed proposal outlined 27 interactive opportunities for Civil War Helena, and the group has been retained to develop the sites and wayside exhibits, she said.

“We’re letting people know what their history is,” she said. “Before, there was an emphasis on the battle and seven Confederate generals.

We’ve worked to develop an inclusive, complete story.”

Once the strategic interpretive plan was in place, obtaining funding to continue the project was much easier, Cunningham said. She said funding has come from several sources, including grants from the American Battlefield Protection Program (National Park Service), Civil War Trust, Southern Bancorp Community Partners, and Delta Cultural Center, just to name a few.

“We’ve been fortunate to be able to piece together small funding sources,”

she said. “It’s very exciting to see how things are falling into place.”

CIVIL WAR

Telling the Whole Story Telling the whole story, including the African-American history, makes Helena rare among Southern locales with Civil War history, said Joseph Brent of Mudpuppy & Waterdog.

“What Helena is doing is righting a wrong, by telling the inclusive story,” he said. “A lot got lost in the interval between the Civil War and the civil rights movement.”

Nichols, a historian, visual artist and owner of Nichols Consulting, has been dedicated to educating others about the complete Civil War story since he was in high school. As the lone black student in his history class at Little Rock Central High, he said his teacher went through the Civil War lesson “faster than Sherman went to the sea” and left out the fact that “black people participated in their own freedom.”

Nichols’ family was also part of this history. His great-great-great uncle went to Helena to gain freedom and served in the Union army. Next year, he will be curator of an exhibit at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock about African-Americans during the Civil War. “It’s a learning process, but it’s our history, our heritage,” said Hollowell. “As tourism in our area has progressed, it has encouraged people to open their eyes. What’s happening now is we’re seeing the full picture, and it’s kind of neat that others are coming to see it.”

Over the years, Cunningham said more than 500 people have been involved with the project in some way. Everyone has come together to promote Helena, by telling its Civil War story and attracting visitors to share in its history.

“It’s been a great way to bring the community together,” she said.

“It gives people a real sense of place.

Our history is indeed everyone’s history.”

HELENA

Freedom Park Built near the location of a Contraband camp, Freedom Park is the first location in Arkansas designated by the National Park Service as a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site.

Opened in February 2013, the park includes five interpretive exhibits focusing on the refugee slaves who came to Helena during the Union occupation in the 1860s seeking freedom and a better life. Two structures feature illustrative panels and metal silhouettes depicting a plantation where a slave may have escaped and a refugee dwelling.

General Patrick Cleburne An exhibit outside of the Helena Museum pays homage to Helena’s best-known Confederate general, Patrick Cleburne.

The exhibit features a life-size bronze statue of Cleburne and waysides discussing his childhood in Ireland, his life in Helena and his military career.

General Cleburne is considered by many to be one of the most famous Confederate generals, much loved by his men, as well as a highly skilled military tactician. Each March, about 100 devotees visit Helena to hold a memorial service for him.

Cleburne came to Helena in the 1850s as an Irish immigrant. He was an apothecary in a shop, and later bought the business.

Cleburne was active in Democratic politics, the Episcopal Church, and was an advocate for freeing and arming slaves to serve in the Confederate Army.

He served in the Army of Tennessee and rose through the ranks to become a Major General. Cleburne was killed in the Battle of Franklin in 1864. He is buried in Helena’s Confederate Cemetery.

Visitors can also see a life-size bronze statue of a black Union soldier, with a wayside exhibit explaining the enlistment of freed slaves into the Union army. Exhibits also discuss the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as the modern civil rights movement and the election of President Barack Obama, the country’s first AfricanAmerican president. Earthworks representing the embattlements and metal silhouettes of members of the Second Arkansas Infantry (African Descent), also known as the 54th U.S. Colored Infantry, stand where troops were stationed during the Battle of Helena in 1863.

On the Cover 1

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1. Private James Wallace 2. Kathrine Stephens 3. Unidentified soldier 4. General James Fagan 5. General Eugene A. Carr 6. Lieutenant William Williams

7. Sister of Mercy 8. Charles Adams 9. Captain Stuart Williams & Unidentified Woman 10. Governor Henry Rector 11. General Patrick Cleburne 12. Unidentified Woman

Estevan Hall

Tappan-Pillow House

Court Square Park

Built in 1828, this is the oldest house in Helena,

This home was confiscated by Union troops for

Located across from the Phillips County Court-

possibly the oldest in Phillips County. Fleet-

use as administrative offices. It had been left

house, this outdoor pavilion and exhibit features a

wood Hanks built the home on Biscoe Street,

vacant after James Camp Tappan enlisted in

reproduction cannon, bronze statue and historical

and it remained the Hanks family home for more

the Confederate army and his wife, Mary, ac-

markers. Exhibits tell the story of Helena’s Confed-

than 170 years. Outdoor exhibits tell the story

companied him. The home is currently a private

erate solders, early African-American education

of the house and Hanks family, including their

residence and not open for tours, but an exhibit

and African-American participation in Arkansas’s

Civil War experiences. When restoration is

outside discusses the Union army’s occupa-

1868 Constitutional Convention. Today, the pavilion

complete by summer 2014, the house will serve

tion and subsequent damage to the home.

is home to the Downtown Helena Farmers’ Market.

as the Civil War Helena Visitor Center.

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CIVIL WAR

HELENA

A HISTORY OF H ELENA IN TH E 1860 s

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Helena Museum The Helena Museum of Phillips County provides a wealth of Civil War-era history and artifacts, while preserving the culture of the Mississippi Delta for future generations.

Civil War collections include a diorama of the Battle of Helena, a desk belonging to General Thomas Hindman, General Patrick Cleburne’s prayer book, a shirt with a bullet hole worn by a soldier killed during the battle of Helena, Civil War currency, a revolver and much more.

In addition to the Civil War exhibits, the museum includes artifacts from Native American Indians, Thomas Edison’s belongings, Mark Twain’s documents, fashion, fine art, military uniforms and more.

The building housing the Helena Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was once the Hook and Ladder Company, a volunteer fire department, which began lending books and newspapers in 1874. The Women’s Library Association operated a small library there until 1920, when it became the Helena Public Library Association. Soon after, the library began accepting community donations of historic artifacts, and the Phillips County Museum Annex, designed by Helena native Andrew P. Coolidge, was completed in 1930.

ying in a valley of Crowley’s Ridge, Helena’s hilly landscape distinguishes it from the typically flat marshlands of most Mississippi Delta towns. In its early days, Helena saw its fair share of gamblers, adventurers and traders, characteristic of river towns at the time. But its rich, fertile soil and access to the Mississippi made it a prosperous community in the mid 1800s.

In the years just before the Civil War, Phillips County was one of the wealthiest areas of Arkansas, home to more than 250 plantations.

Many sons of wealthy plantation owners in nearby states flocked to Helena to buy land and make their own fortunes. Cotton was the cash crop, and the demand for it was a boon to Helena’s economy and created “tremendous opportunity for wealth,” said Maria Campbell Brent, co-owner of Mudpuppy & Waterdog Inc., the Versailles, Ky.based consulting firm involved with developing sites for the Civil War Helena Interpretive Plan.

Helena was “full of fabulously wealthy people,” said Joseph Brent, co-owner of Mudpuppy & Waterdog. The wealth was largely tied to the land and dependent on slave labor. Most of Helena’s seven Confederate generals were plantation owners, lawyers and politicians, and “wealthy,” he said.

Hell-in-Arkansas After failing to take Little Rock, Curtis set his sights on Helena, likely because of its proximity to the Mississippi River. Curtis’ army arrived with 12,000 soldiers and a few thousand freed and escaped slaves (called Contraband by the Union). The addition of thousands of people to the existing population led to overcrowding, unhealthy conditions and many deaths in the town.

The Union occupation made Helena a “remarkably unhealthy location,” Christ said. “The odds of getting really sick and dying were really high.”

Many of the soldiers arrived sick and wounded. Union troops from the North and Midwest were not accustomed to the hot weather and mosquitoes of the Mississippi Delta, and this created more illness. Some soldiers were instructed to drink out of the Mississippi River, which also made them sick.

Accounts from soldiers tell of sev-

eral men buried each day in Helena because of illness, and regiments of 800 with so many sick and injured that only about 150 were fit for service, said Joseph Brent.

The overcrowding, poor sanitation and other extreme conditions in the town made illnesses, like malaria, typhoid and others, more widespread. This prompted soldiers from Iowa to nickname the town “Hell-in-Arkansas.”

The Union Army took over most aspects of the town. Curtis set up his headquarters at the home of Thomas Hindman, one of Helena’s Confederate generals. They worked to fortify the town, and began construction on Fort Curtis in August 1862. Once it was completed that fall, Curtis had been replaced by General Benjamin M. Prentiss, and plans to build four batteries on Crowley’s Ridge were in the works.

The Union Army arrived with few provisions and needed to provide for its thousands of troops and Contraband. They started scouting missions in the countryside, where they took food livestock and other supplies, Christ said.

Scouting was also a way to ensure that Helena’s citizens were not assisting the Confederates. Citizens’ movement in and out of the Helena was closely watched, and they were forbidden to take merchandise they purchased in town to the countryside. The Union Army also attempted, unsuccessfully, to force these citizens to take an oath of allegiance to the United States, Joseph Brent said.

Social Change The Emancipation Proclamation, announced in September 1862, was in effect wherever the Union army was in control. That made Helena a “center for freedom seekers,” in the Confederacy, said Maria Campbell Brent.

Magnolia Cemetery Encompassing 36 acres in a Crowley’s Ridge valley, this African-American cemetery, located on Wire Road in Helena, pre-dates the Civil War. Many of Helena’s African-American leaders and pioneering families are buried here, including W.H. Grey, one of the state’s first black legislators, and Abraham Miller, a successful businessman and also a state legislator, and his wife Eliza, a philanthropist. Many Civil War, World War I and World War II veterans are also buried here. A wayside exhibit discusses the cemetery’s history.

Admission to the museum is free.

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In 1860, Helena had the largest slave population in the state at 9,000. The total population at the time was 15,000. Helena’s plantation owners were concerned with protecting their wealth by keeping their slaves tied to the land. The town became pro-secession before Arkansas officially seceded from the Union in May 1861, said Mark Christ, community outreach director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

Demonstrating their loyalty to the Confederacy, militias, led by Helena’s seven Confederate generals, were formed, some before secession. Soon Helena’s generals and hundreds of men marched off to fight for the Confederacy. This left Helena and its plantations “undermanned” with no Confederate defense when Union troops, led by U.S. General Samuel Curtis, arrived in July 1862, Joseph Brent said.

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Delta Cultural Center Since it opened in 1990, the Delta Cultural Center in downtown Helena has been dedicated to exploring the history of the Mississippi Delta region. The museum focuses on blues music, Civil War history, the Mississippi River and more.

Re-enactors at Fort Curtis

Thousands of freed and escaped slaves from around Arkansas and other states abandoned the only homes they’d known to go to Helena for a new life. Many felt that whatever fate they met in Helena was better than what they had as slaves, Christ said “The tremendous number of slaves set free saw their status change from being property to being free,” he said. This is an “extremely important development in the Civil War and the death knell of slavery in Arkansas.”

No one knows exactly how many slaves sought freedom in Helena, but it was likely thousands at any given time. Left without its main workforce, many Confederate states saw their economies crumble and social structure change forever, said Maria Campbell Brent.

“Helena was a city transformed,” she said. “Everything was in turmoil. It was stood on its head. The social order was upset. There were so many changes and repercussions beyond the war.”

In the spring of 1863, U.S. Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas

visited Helena and began recruiting Freedmen into the Union army.

Several Freedmen regiments were formed in Helena: the 1st Arkansas Infantry of African Descent, renamed the 46th Regiment United States Colored Troops; the 2nd Arkansas Infantry of African Descent, renamed the 54th United States Colored Infantry; and the 4th Arkansas Infantry of African Descent, renamed the 57th United States Colored Infantry.

“It untapped a source of manpower into the Union army and gave them the opportunity to fight for their freedom,” Christ said.

Freedmen played an active role in fortifying Helena. They provided much of the workforce in building Fort Curtis and the four batteries, which were all completed by June 1863. When the time came, they took up arms to fight for the United States. Along with the Union army, the U.S. Colored Infantry were ready when the Confederates attacked on July 4, 1863 and the Battle of Helena ensued.

The center is part of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and focuses on exploring the area’s rich history through education, exhibits and tours. The Delta Cultural Center consists of two museum locations: the Depot and the Visitors Center. The Depot includes exhibits about the earliest inhabitants of the Delta, the first explorers of the area, Mississippi River floods, Union occupation during the Civil War and the Battle of Helena.

“Interpretation of the Civil War is part of our mission,” said Katie Harrington, director of the Delta Cultural Center. “A lot of these stories are not really known or appreciated.”

The Visitors Center features the “Delta Sounds” music exhibit, with a live radio show and changing exhibits. “King Biscuit Time,” the nation’s longest-running blues radio program is broadcast from the Visitors Center by “Sunshine” Sonny Payne on weekdays, from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

The center has a permanent collection and features traveling and temporary exhibits. Stories are told through photos, artifacts and more. This summer, the “Songs from the Field” exhibit opens exploring slave songs and field hollers, from pre-Civil War to its influence on modern music, Harrington said. The exhibit will include many interactive components, including a listening station and Xbox Kinect gaming system technology putting visitors right in the fields.

“We want to ignite a passion and love for Helena for future generations,” Harrington said. “We tell the stories of real people, and have a little something for everyone. Once people get here, I know they’ll have a good time.”

Admission is free and tours are available upon request.

Moore-Hornor Home

Kelly Courtyard

Built in 1859, this house belonged to the Moore and Hornor families

Exhibits examine the recruitment of Freedmen into the Union army

for more than 100 years, until the Hornor family gave it to the Delta

in 1863, including why they chose to serve in the Union army, the

Cultural Center. Union General Frederick Salomon made the home his

formation of the 54th and 57th United States Colored Infantry regi-

headquarters during the Civil War, even though members of the Moore

ments and the U.S. Colored Troops regiments that served in Helena.

family remained in Helena. Located on Beech Street, just below Battery C, it was at the center of fighting during the Battle of Helena. Bullet holes in the parlor doors remind visitors of the history of the home, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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BATTLE OF HELENA 150 - Schedule

of Events

Join us May 24-26 in historic Helena. This observance of the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Helena is sponsored by the Delta Cultural Center, the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, CIVIL WAR and the Helena Advertising and Promotion Commission.

For more information, contact the Delta Cultural Center at 870-338-4350.

HELENA

Friday, May 24

Spectators are encouraged to visit the camps during the day. Registered food and merchandise vendors will be open for business.

All Day Reenactor, Artillery and Vendor set up 9 AM – 5 PM Participant Registration Open Delta Cultural Center Depot Noon-7PM Vendors Open at Cherry Street Pavilion Noon-5PM Moore-Hornor Home Open for Tours Noon-Sunset Camps Open for Visitors 5PM After-hours viewing of “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” exhibit Delta Cultural Center Visitors Center 7PM Battle Briefing at Beth El Heritage Hall (Open to Re-enactors and the Public)

Saturday, May 25

Designated areas will be provided for viewing the assault on the Fort. Some activities are restricted to registered Reenactors only. Spectators will hear distant gunfire moving closer to town as the morning progresses and the activity nears Fort Curtis.

Battle of Helena Reenactment Event 9AM-Sunset Camps Open for Visitors 8AM-10AM Participant Registration Open at Delta Cultural Center Depot 9AM-Noon Moore-Hornor Home Open for Reenactment Tours Living History & Civil War hospital interpretation 9AM Confederate Army begin their march through Crowley’s Ridge toward Helena 9AM-11PM Skirmish atop the ridge road toward Battery C 10AM-9PM Vendors Open at Cherry Street Pavilion 10AM First shots of the Battle of Helena 150 (Confederates start driving in Federal pickets) 11AM-1PM Spectators Witness the Battle of Helena 150 reenactment.

Designated viewing area near Fort Curtis 11AM-11:30AM Skirmish on historic Battery C 11:30AM-Noon Attack on Battery C and Fort Curtis (Federal retreat from Battery C to Fort Curtis – Confederates pursue) Noon-5PM Moore-Hornor Home Open for Regular Tours Noon-1PM Final charge onto Fort Curtis 1PM Battle of Helena Reenactment concludes 3PM-7PM Artillery training in Fort Curtis (Registered Reenactors Only)

Battle of Helena 150 Lectures

The reenactment will be followed by a series of Civil War lectures at Beth El Heritage Hall at 406 Perry Street. The lectures are free and open to the public.

2PM Music by Harmony 3PM Dyan Bohnert: “Food and Medicine of the Civil War and Before” 4PM Mark Christ: “The Battle of Helena” 5PM Music by Harmony 6PM Jack Myers: “U.S.S. Tyler”

Downtown Evening Events

Spectators are encouraged to attend the artillery demonstration and free outdoor concert.

Sunset 8:30pm

Artillery demonstration on levee near Cherry Street Pavilion Civil War concert and dance at the Cherry Street Pavilion

Sunday, May 26

Spectators are welcome to observe the reenactment at Fort Curtis.

Secondary Battle of Helena 150 Reenactment: 8:00 – 9:30am Battle at Fort Curtis 10:00am Worship Service at Cherry Street Pavilion 11:00am Battle of Helena 150 Concludes 11:15am Artillery training in Fort Curtis (Registered Reenactors Only)

Notes: Some activities and events are for reenactors only. Spectator areas will be designated. Please bring your own lawn chairs. Registered food and merchandise vendors will be set up.

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General Benjamin M. Prentiss

MISCOMM UNIC ATIONS AT TH E BAT TLE OF H ELENA

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arly July 1863 was a rough time for the Confederacy. They were defeated at battles in Gettysburg and Vicksburg, within a few days of each other. After an illconceived plan to take Helena, the Confederates also suffered a loss at the Battle of Helena on Independence Day. The Union army occupying Helena, led by U.S. General Benjamin M. Prentiss, had worked to fortify the town and was ready for a possible Confederate attack. By June 1863, Fort Curtis and four batteries (A, B, C and D) had been completed. Helena’s defenses included the U.S.S. Tyler gunboat, land-based artillery, barricaded streets and earthworks extending to the river on both the northern and southern approaches. Cavalry patrols were sent out daily, and each cannon and soldier were issued 200 rounds of ammunition.

The Confederate’s plan to attack Helena was based on misinforma-

tion. In mid June 1863, Confederate General Theophilous H. Holmes, Commander of the District of Arkansas, received a report from Brig.

Gen. John S. Marmaduke that many Union troops had left Helena for Vicksburg, Miss., about 175 miles away, to reinforce U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant’s army. Marmaduke’s report suggested that it was a prime time for a Confederate attack because Helena was vulnerable. The report turned out to be incorrect.

On July 3, 1863, Holmes and four regiments arrived in Helena with nearly 8,000 soldiers ready to attack.

Meanwhile, Prentiss ordered the entire Union garrison to be ready and armed by 2:30 a.m. on July 4. Instead of going ahead with the planned Independence Day celebration, he ordered that a single gunshot be fired from Fort Curtis when the Confederates had attacked. That shot came about 4 a.m.

Holmes ordered that the four commanders attack at daylight, but each had a different interpretation of what “daylight” actually meant, said Mark Christ, community outreach director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

The miscommunication caused the commanders to lead their attacks at different times.

Brig. Gen. James F. Fagan and Gen. Marmaduke’s troops attacked at first light. Both commanders unexpectedly ran into trees felled by the Union army, which blocked the roads.

Their troops were not prepared. Gen. Sterling Price waited until sunrise to attack, about four hours after Fagan and Marmaduke. Price’s troops were successful in taking Battery C, the

only of Helena’s four batteries to fall to the Confederates.

Confederate fortunes were further damaged when Holmes arrived at Battery C and ordered Brig.

Gen. Mosby M. Parsons’ Missouri Confederates to attack the heavily armed Fort Curtis. The failure of this attack led the Confederates to break off their attack and retreat.

The Confederate attack on Helena was a “desperate plan,” said Christ. He said coordinating the attack proved difficult for the Confederate commanders because of the initial misinformation. The ambiguity of Holmes’ order of when to strike “destroyed any plan of succeeding.”

Of the nearly 8,000 Confederates troops that fought in the Battle

A WOR K IN PROGR ESS

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or the Civil War Helena Interpretive Plan, the best is yet to come. This plan to revitalize the Phillips County region and tell its complete Civil War story continues as a work in progress. As research and development continue and new sites open, more and more visitors are expected in Helena and the area is banking on the economic development it will bring.

The goal is to complete interpretation and development, and open the remaining Civil War sites within the next three to five years, said Cathy Cunningham, community development consultant at Southern Bancorp Community Partners, which has led the plan in partnership with the Delta Cultural Center and the Helena Advertising and Promotion Commission.

As Civil War sites are unveiled, more tourists are expected, spurring economic growth, said City Councilman Jay Hollowell, also a former member of the Advertising and Promotion Commission. The “trials and tribulations” of Helena’s past has made the town “not as economically viable” as other areas with Civil War history, so the success of the interpretive plan is especially important for growth, and the town has great potential, he said.

This fall, Battery C, one of Civil War Helena’s major sites, opens to the public. Of the four earthen batteries built by the Union army, Battery C was the only one captured by the Confederates during the Battle

of Helena. The site will include reproductions of artillery and wayside exhibits explaining its significance.

Cunningham expects this to be a major draw for tourists, and even locals.

“I can’t wait to see it myself,” Hollowell said. Battery C will be a “heck of an attraction.”

Once Battery C opens, there will be an “aggressive” marketing campaign to attract visitors to Helena, said Maria Campbell Brent, of Mudpuppy & Waterdog Inc., the research and preservation consulting firm based in Versailles, Ky., that has developed and interpreted many of the sites.

“The Civil War Helena story is still under development and more is to come,” she said. “We’re going to keep at it until it’s finished.”

Continuing Civil War Helena means identifying and purchasing land, as well as applying for more grants, an uncertain and often lengthy process, Cunningham said. Upcoming projects include completing an exhibit depicting the Union army’s entrance into Helena and constructing an exhibit relative to the Hindman House, which belonged to Confederate General Thomas Hindman and was seized by the Union army.

“The Civil War was the most important turning point in American history, and a lot happened in our state,” said Mark Christ, community outreach director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

of Helena, 173 were killed, 687 were wounded and 776 went missing.

Only 57 Union troops were killed, 127 wounded and 36 missing, out of the more than 4,100 who fought.

When asked if the Confederates would have been more successful at Helena with better organization and clearer communication, historians say it’s unlikely. The Union army was simply better prepared and better organized, said Joseph Brent, co-owner of Mudpuppy & Waterdog Inc., the Versailles, Ky.based consulting firm involved with developing sites for the Civil War Helena Interpretive Plan.

“Maybe, but it’s hard to say,” he said “It seems unlikely but we’ll never know.”

The Civil War Helena experience offers “tangible links to the past, and it’s a great opportunity for modern people to see what transpired,” said Christ, who assisted in research for the plan.

“People will walk away with an appreciation that these things happened, and this is our story as a state.”

Helena Mayor Arnell Willis said the town is already seeing an influx of visitors, many en route to Vicksburg, Miss., which is only about 175 miles away and a destination in its own right for Civil War history buffs.

Cunningham and the other organizers believe many tourists visiting Vicksburg will make a short detour to Helena to complete their Civil War experience.

In fact, Cunningham said consultants have estimated that once all Civil War sites are introduced in Helena, the area should attract at least 20 percent of Vicksburg’s annual 600,000 visitors. That amounts to about 120,000 additional visitors to Helena, and each spending an average of $50 per day could add an estimated $6 million in annual revenue to the local economy.

“When you work toward improving something for visitors, it improves it for those who live here,” Cunningham said. The increased tourism also increases the need for more restaurants, hotels and shops, so the goal is for the project to eventually create more jobs and attract more business to the region.

“It’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Willis said. “We’re on the verge of a breakthrough in revitalizing the community.”

CIVIL WAR HELENA CIVIL WAR HELENA

Maple Hill & Confederate Cemeteries A few of Helena’s famous Confederate generals, as well as other Confederate soldiers are buried at the Maple Hill and Confederate cemeteries.

Generals Thomas Hindman and James C. Tappan are buried at Maple Hill Cemetery. Wayside exhibits located near their graves discuss their careers and their roles in the Civil War. As a politician, planter and lawyer, Hindman was instrumental in the secession of Arkansas from the Union. He was extremely wealthy and fled to Mexico after the war.

He was assassinated in his home shortly after returning to Helena in 1868. Tappan spent much of the war in the Trans-Mississippi region, and participated in the Red River campaign and General Price’s last raid in Missouri. After the war, he returned to Helena, where he continued practicing law and served in the Arkansas legislature. He died in 1906.

Nearby, Helen’s most well-known general, Patrick Cleburne, and many Confederates killed in the Battle of Helena are buried at the Confederate Cemetery. The site features a three-panel kiosk telling the history of Cleburne and the cemetery. A wayside exhibit discusses all seven of Helena’s Confederate generals.

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Civil War Helena Tour

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11. Beth El Heritage hall, 406 Perry

Helena Harbor

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levee onto the levee 16. Tappan-Pillow House, 717 Poplar 17. Battery C, entrance at the end of Yorkshire 18. Battery B 19. Battery A

Confederate Cemetery, entrance on

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14. Levee Walk, above Cherry Street on the 15. Helena River Park, follow Perry east,

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13. Kelly Courtyard, 415 Cherry

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20. Cleo Dunning Park, Cherry and Monroe

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12. Court Square Park, 622 Cherry Street

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Site of the original Fort Curtis,

Museum, 623 Pecan

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New Fort Curtis, 350 Columbia

10. General Patrick Cleburne, Helena

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St. Catherine Convent and

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Estevan Hall, 653 South Biscoe

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Academy, on Biscoe at Arkansas

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Freedom Park, 700 South Biscoe

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Union Army Marches into Helena, 1000 South Biscoe

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B. Helena Museum, 623 Pecan

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A. Delta Cultural Center Depot

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Museums in Green

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Sites coming throughout 2013 in Blue

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Interpretive Sites in Red

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22. Magnolia Cemetery, entrance on Wire Road

For help planning your Civil War trip contact Julia Malinowski with the Helena A&P Commission at 870-714-2844 or julia@VisitHelenaAR.com