Civil War Soldier's Letter Home

The Old Jail Museum is proud to include among its collection a letter written by W. H. Cross to his son J. W. in 1861. Cross died soon afterwards in the Battle of Shiloh on Sunday, the last day of the fight.

Mr. Cross writes: " God in peace which let me enjoin you as your affectionate father if we (n)ever meet again on earth, do, do try to meet me in Heaven where we will enjoy uninterrupted happiness while eternity's ages shall roll around us and, my Son, if it pleases God to show you the light of His countenance reconciled through Jesus Christ our Lord. Do not forget to instruct your little sisters and brothers in the way of life for the duties of brother, son and father devolve upon your shoulders in my absence and in all human probability I may never return..."

Descendants of Cross include South Sebastian County's Stanfill family. This letter can be found in its entirety at the Museum in the desk reference in the entry room. The desk reference contains many touching Civil War stories of South Sebastian County families.

Tom Wing Presents Gift to SSCHS

Tom Wing, UAFS Assistant Professor and Director of Van Buren's Drennen Scott House, presented the SSCHS with the gift of a Civil War canister ball found on Devil's Backbone Ridge where the Confederates were situated. The 12 or 14 pound canister ball would have been fired by the Federals at the Confederates. Twenty-seven canister balls were fired at one time from a cannon, producing the effect of a shotgun, and yielding devastating results. The canister ball will be on display at the Old Jail Museum through the end of October.

Wing is pictured showing the ammunition to SSCHS officers (left to right): Glenda Wallace, vice president, Ruth McConnell, president, and Joicie Gilbreath, recording secretary.

Wing entertained and informed the SSCHS membership with a slideshow and discussion of a book he editted, "A Rough Introduction to This Sunny Land: The Civil War Diary of Private Henry A. Strong, Company K. Twelfth Kansas Infantry."

Professor Tom Wing To Speak Monday

Tom Wing, assistant professor of history and historical interpretation at UAFS and director of the Drennen-Scott House in Van Buren, will be the guest speaker at Monday night's meeting of the South Sebastian County Historical Society. Wing will discuss "A Rough Introduction to This Sunny Land, the Civil War Diary of Private Henry A. Strong, Company K, Twelfth Kansas Infantry."

The meeting will convene at 7 pm at the Community Room of Farmer's Bank in Greenwood. Professor Wing is an entertaining and informative speaker. All are invited. Refreshments will be served following the meeting.

Historic Fort Chaffee

News reports indicate that the historic old hospital and upwards of one hundred other buildings were destroyed in this week's fire at Camp Chaffee. This is a tragic loss for the community. Many residents have fond memories of the Fort. If you'd like to see your story preserved by the Historic Society, please mail it to: Curator, SSCHS, P.O. Box 523, Greenwood, AR 72936. Stories will be preserved in the society's archives and may be published at some future date. Be sure to include your name, address, phone number and email.

We Heart Our Historic Properties!

A friendly reminder: We are asking our Museum friends, volunteers and visitors to use extreme caution with combustible materials on and around the Museum grounds due to the county's extreme drought. Please refrain from smoking and dispose of cigarette's in a safe manner and place away from the Museum and grounds. Thanks for helping us protect our treasured schoolhouse, barn, cabin and jail!