Massard Prairie Battlefield
Park
Located at the corner of Red
Pine Drive and Morgan’s Way in Fort Smith
www.fortsmithparks.com
From a brochure produced by
the Parks and Recreation of Fort Smith:
July 27, 1864
From the time the Confederate
forces abandoned Fort Smith in September of 1863, Rebel officers in the
region wanted it back. By July 27, 1864 the time was right to make a
bid for control of the important garrison on the Arkansas River.
Among the Federal troops
stationed in Fort Smith, were a number of regiments from the State of
Kansas, Companies B, D, E, and H of the 6th Kansas Cavalry
had been given the task of caring for the regimental horses in a camp
about 7 miles from the garrison.
At 6:00 a.m. on July 27th,
a force of approximately 600 Confederates under the command of Col. S.M.
Folsum, attacked the outpost seven miles from Fort Smith. The camp
consisted of about 200 men of the Sixth Kansas, under command of Capt.
Mefford. The Confederates moved up in two columns, one driving in the
pickets and the other flanking them. Capt. Mefford and his men fought
bravely, but were soon overpowered, and he and 82 of his men were taken
as prisoners. Total Federal losses were 10 men killed, 15 wounded, and
124 prisoners. Confederate losses included 7 killed, 26 wounded, and 1
missing.
The attack was part of a plan
to lure Federal troops to the southwest part of Fort Smith where another
Confederate force waited in ambush. Federal troops failed to pursue far
enough much to the disappointment of the Rebel commanders. In turn,
over the next 5 days, the Confederates harassed and probed the Federal
lines and even fired on the garrison from across the Poteau River before
retiring August 1.
Tick-Homma or Red Pine
(William Cass) was the only casualty mentioned by name in the Official
Records. He was Chaplain for the Choctaw Confederate Troops.
Preservation of the action at
Massard Prairie has involved the work of many individuals, as well as
corporations, city, state, and federal agencies.
The site was located by local
historian Steve Cox in 1979. Justin Douglas contacted mayor Ray Baker
of Fort Smith when the site was about to be developed. The Mayor
appointed a commission to discuss and take action to preserve the site.
Negotiations with Stephens Production Company resulted in the generous
donation of 5 acres of the site to the City of Fort Smith for a future
park. November 7, 2001 the site was added to the Arkansas Register of
Historic Places. The site remains today to honor the brave men on both
sides who struggled here in 1864. Today, four major areas of the camp
are preserved:
The Parade Ground
Kitchen or Mess area
The camps of Companies “B”
and “D”
