Solivagant USA

I’m heading north on The Great River Road alongside the Mississippi River. Arkansas has several stops on the Road that gave me pause to reflect not just on the history of this state, but of this area’s importance since 1682. I’ve spent thousands of hours over the years exploring our National Parks, and lands. Do yourself a favor—spend a few hours at this Memorial. What will you see and learn?

How the French and Quapaw become allies as Henri De Tonti established a Fort and Post here that the survivors of his benefactor, La Salle, in 1687 discovered ”…a great cross…and a house built after the French fashion.” Arkansas Post, as did many others in the decades following, came and went up and down the river with the glut of beaver pelts, British competition, flooding, Chickasaw raids, war with England, cession of land to Spain, American Revolution 1783 battle, US territory, part of Louisiana and, by 1819, named the capital of the new Arkansas Territory. The capital moved to Little Rock, the Quapaw were forced to relocate in 1824, and their lands were became the center of cotton production, slavery, and a major river port.

Arkansas joined the Confederacy in May 1861 and built earthwork forts along the Arkansas River. Fort Hindman, on the site of this almost 200 year old location, housed 5000 soldiers. The rifle pits are visible today. Union General McClernand brought 30,000 infantry supported by gunboats on Jan 10, 1863 to attack. Walking the grounds I could easily understand the difficulty of slogging through mud and cold to reach the fort, and the anxiety of those defending caught between advancing troops and gunboats firing on the fort. On my visit, March 13, 2022, I was shown a recent display of bullets retrieved two years ago from the site of the battle. She reminded me that floods, drought, contraction—all of what nature does to the land upon I walked will expel what was once left behind.

River traffic gave way to railroads. The Arkansas River changes course in 1912, leaving the Fort 1/2 mile away. Today, over a hundred years later, I enjoyed a walk through the centuries learning of its history. Equally important, as there remains significant open area, I could sit and listen to the early springtime birds, see the tracks of an alligator, and marvel at my good fortune.