JACKSONPORT, AR (PRWEB) September 5, 2004
History will be repeated here Oct. 9, when Civil War actors re-stage a flag presentation that originally occurred 143 years ago. Scheduled as part of the ÂAmbush at Jacksonport Civil War Weekend, the flag ceremony will honor a rare and authentic battle flag that was handmade by local women and given to the Jackson Guards as they departed for Virginia on May 5, 1861.
Thought to be Âlost to history, the large 4 x 9-foot silk flag was located almost three years ago at the Museum of Confederacy in Richmond, VA. The Thackston Family Foundation and related families, the Jackson County Historical Society and interested individuals raised $12,500 needed to restore and preserve the tattered nine-star banner. It has been on exhibit at Jacksonport State Park this year and will remain until mid-December.
The Civil War weekend will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, when the encampment opens for tours and the flag presentation gets underway with speakers and guests. The first battle re-enactment will be staged at 11:30 a.m., and an Âambush follows at 2 p.m. with a Union forging party as the target. Camps will remain open until 6 p.m.
Some of the units participating in the programs will include the First Arkansas, Sixth Arkansas (Capital Guards), Seventh Arkansas, the Civil Corps from northeast Arkansas, Sixth Missouri and the ÂWretched Mess unit from central and northeast Arkansas. Military drills, living history exhibits, camp-life tours and artillery volleys are planned.
The camps will reopen at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 10, with living history programs, Union attack on Civil Corps troops, ambush on forging party and final tours of the camp. The event ends at 4 p.m. No admission will be charged to attend any of the outdoor events.
The ÂJackson Guards flag is displayed inside the beautifully restored 1869 Jacksonport courthouse. Local letters, photographs and memorabilia from the Civil War years complement the exhibit. The stately Mary Woods, No. 2 steamboat will be open for tours and also play the part of the 1861 boat that carried the Jackson Guards and its colorful flag away to war.
Jacksonport State Park is located three miles north of Newport, off Arkansas 69. For more information, call (870) 523-2143; or visit http://www.ArkansasStateParks.com.
Photo Available: http://www.arkansas.com/media; 501-682-7609
By Craig Ogilvie, travel writer - Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
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