First program on Red River Campaign set

The Bella Vista Civil War Round Table has announced its next program will be “An Overview of the 1864 Red River Campaign,” presented by Bella Vista Historical Society Co-President and Civil War Round Table Vice-President Dale Phillips. The program will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5 at the Bella Vista Historical Museum.

The program will provide an overview of the controversial 1864 Red River Campaign and will look at the reasons for the campaign and why it mattered to the Union cause. The program will examine the successes and failures by Union forces commanded by General Nathaniel Banks and Confederate forces commanded by General Richard. There will be detailed examination of the Bailey’s Dam story and the near destruction of an entire United States Navy fleet that was trapped in the Red River at Alexandria, La.

Phillips was a park ranger/interpreter/historian for the National Park Service for 41 years. Among his duty stations were Gettysburg, Fort Sumter, Chickamauga/ Chattanooga, Jean Lafitte NHP&P (Chalmette Battlefield), and George Rogers Clark NHP. He retired as superintendent of Lincoln’s Home in Springfield, Ill.

This program is the first in a trilogy of presentations that will be given over the next three months that will center on the 1864 Red River Campaign. The Oct. 3 program will be “The Confederate Defense of Shreveport, La.,” and will be presented by award-winning and nationally-recognized author Dr. Gary Joiner. The third program on Nov. 7 will cover the Arkansas part of the campaign, often referred to as “The Camden Campaign.” It will be presented by the Round Table’s own Russ Pennington.

The purpose of the Bella Vista Civil War Round Table is to educate and stimulate interest in the period of United States history known as the “Civil War,” and to promote historical, educational, and literary study and activities related to the Civil War, including events and circumstances related to the cause and effect of the war.

The Round Table normally meets at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month at the Bella Vista Historical Museum, 1885 Bella Vista Way (intersection of Highway 71 and Kingsland Road). Admission is free but donations are accepted to cover the expenses of the guest speakers.

For more information email dkp55@ymail.com or call 479-855-2335.