stated defiantiy that he would engage in “open combat."
"There remains for us no other recourse than to die
killing." Fortunately for the garrison, the Osage attack
never materialized.’

The Spanish reacted to Osage aggressions by persuading
the Quapaw to wage war on their western relatives. Spain
agreed to compensate Quapaw warriors for any scalps
delivered to the post. In April, 1772, Quapaw warriors
brought back five scalps and one woman and child as
prisoners. In a short time the main gate of the fort was
burdened by the grim trophies of war, as it had hecome the
custom to hang scalps there. By March 1777, the Osage,
weary Of Quapaw harassment, petitioned for peace. Peace,
however, eluded Arkansas Post.®

Competition with aggressive British traders increased

markedly following the Seven-Years War. The Chickasaw,
motivated by British propaganda, continually harassed
hunters from the Spanish post. On January 13 1769, a

Chickasaw war party robbed Francis, a resident hunter. Two
Englishmen and a Canadian named Charpentier commanded the
party. In 1770, the post commandant reported that seven
Chickasaw war parties passed through the Arkansas country.
Many French hunters were robbed, losing their arms and
ammunition to the invaders.

Now with control over the east bank of the Mississippi,
British merchants established posts and traded with Indians
living under Spanish jurisdiction west of the river.
Unfettered by strict trade policies, the British could offer
cheaper trade goods and liberal quantities of alcohol.
Spanish Indians frequented British posts and were plied with
gifts and ardent spirits. At other times, unscrupuloug
merchants boldly trespassed, carrying their wares and
propaganda to the Indian allies of Spain,

In 1769, an Englishwoman, known only as “Magdelon,”"
established a trading post on the east bank of the
Mississippi opposite the mouth of the Arkansas River.
Mindful of the presence of this aggressive woman, the
commandant of Arkansas Post sadly commented: "I see no
longer a day of tranquility." Later in the year, Magdelon's
barge, referred to by the commandant as a “Floating
canteen,” entered the Arkansas River. Pretending to be aut
of provisions, Magdelon and 10 British traders visited the
Quapaw villages where they distributed liquor and
anti-Spanish propaganda. According to the commandant:

this English woman wishes to persuade the Arkansas

[Quapaw] that she will expulse us from this fort, that
the savages are going to depend on the English and that

55


CHAPTER 20
DEMISE OF ARKANSAS POST

Arkansas Post never recovered from the ill-effects of
war and reconstruction. The Federal assault inflicted
irreparable damage on buildings and post residences.
Shelling by Union gunboats demolished the former bank
buiiding, used by the Confederates as a hospital, "knocking
it hither and yon." Reportedly, some houses in the town
were torched by "Yankees."

Reconstruction at Arkansas Post was especially
difficult. When peace returned to Arkansas in the spring of
1865, properties were extensively damaged, siaves
emancipated, and the planters were brake, Crops failed in
1866, Conditions worsened so that by April 1867, the county
court ordered that $3,000 be appropriated to purchase corn
for those in need. James H., Lucus, St. Louis banker and
former post resident, learned of the plight of the
inhabitants and generously shipped $300 worth of supplies to
be billed to his personal account. Many inhabitants, unable
to pay taxes, lost their lands. By 1900, Arkansas Post had
become a small farming community with less than 100 citizens
living a short distance north of the present historic site.!

During the early part of the twentieth century,
Arkansas Fost fought yet another battle--the foa, more
destructive than McClernand's soldiers, was the Arkansas
River. Year after year, successive rises of the river
claimed a little more of the friable bank and the history it
preserved. By 1880, the site of the confederate fort nad
entirely disappeared. In 1903, the Arkansas River
temporarily changed course one half mile south of Arkansas
Post, a change that became permanent in 1912. In 1927, a
particulariy damaging flood covered the entire site, and the
murky waters swallowed many old buildings in the town.

Today, little remains of Arkansas Post--but the site is
rich in history. In the early days of colonization,
Arkansas Post was the first European settlement in the lower
Mississippi Valley and helped establish the claim of France
to the greatest waterway on the continent. From Arkansas
Post, traders made their way up the Arkansas River and
forged alliances with numerous interior Indian tribes. The
tiny Arkansas establishment became a center of the Indian
trade, As a river port, Arkansas Post provided a midway
point for convoys traveling between St. Lovis and New
Orleans. In this capacity, Arkansas Fost played a role in
the development of both cities.

11g



Boulaye explained that they were sent to the Law colony to
assist the inhabitants in cultivating their fields.®

On March 2, La Harpe proceeded to the concession
approximately ane and one half miles west-north-west of the
post. Here he discovered about forty seven persons in all.
The two hundred Germans slated to occupy the concession had
learned of Law's failure and settled instead on Delaire'’s
grant in lower Louisiana.’ The season had been so wet on
the Arkansas that the colonists were unable to raise a crop
or even trade for provisions from the Indians who saved not
even enough corn for the next season's planting. Few
improvements had been made over the course of a year, and La
Harpe sadly noted that "their works still consist of only a
score of cabins poorly arranged and three acres of cleared
ground. "®

La Harps remained at the colony until March 10, long
enough to barter for supplies from the Indians and register
colonists for the Companie. Dumont spent his time laying
out streets, along which permanent houses could be built.
Departing the colony, the explorers ascended the Arkansas
River and devoted a number of days to making scientific
observations. Because of low water, however, the party
ended its ascent somewhere in the vicinity of Cadron Creek.
La Harpe landed once again at Law's concession only to find
that the majority of the colonists had “gone down the
river." Ironicaliy, the departing Frenchmen narrowly missed
a supply boat dispatched from New Orleans. Lamenting the
failure of the enterprise, La Harpe wrote that it was “a
very great injury, this concession being absolutely
necessary to this post, for the help in provisions that it
will furnish to the convoys, destined for navigation of this
river."? At least a few Frenchmen, however, did remain on
the concession.

Deron de Artaquette, an official of Companie des
Indies, visited the concession a year later. While at the
faltering colony, he observed: “only three miserable huts,
fourteen Frenchmen and six negroes whom Sr. Dufresne, who is
the director there for the company employs in clearing the
land. Since they have been on this land they have not even
been able to raise Indian corn for their nourishment, and
they have been compelled to trade for it and send even to
Illinois for it." De Artaquette visited the garrison later
the same aay and found that the post contained a "hut for
Commandant La Boulaye and a barn which serves as lodging for
the soldiers stationed there."!?

Unimpressed by the developments De Artaquette found on

the Arkansas, Companie des Indies officially abandoned the
concession in 1726. Governor Bienville ordered partial

21


13 Mattison, p. 17.

14 Ibid., p. 82.

15 Smith, p. 349.

16 Mattison, pp. 17-18.

17 «Ibid.

18 Ibid., p. 22.

19 Arnold, "Relocation of Arkansas Post," p. 4.

20 Mattison, p. 22.

21) Ibid.

22 WwW. David Baird, The Quapaw Indians, a History of the
Downstre {Norman: University of Oklahoma Fress,
1980), p-

23 Faye, p. 634. Mattison, p. 85.

24 Mattison, pp. 99-113. Arnold, p. 322, n. 3.

25 Mattison, p. 8B.

26 Ibid., p. 33.

27 Arnold, pp. 320-21.

28 McCiurkan, pp. 32-39.

29 William A. Westbury, Archeological Assessment, Arkansas

Fost National

Memorial (Dallas: Southern Methodist

University Archeology Program,

30

5.
31
32
33
34
35

Gilbert C.
1763-1803," Arkansas Historical Quarterly,

1976).

Din, “Spanish Fort on the Arkansas,

42 (Autumn 1983),

Tbid.,
Ibid.
Mattison,
Ibid., p.

ibid., p.

Pp.

283-84.

p. 96.
97.
126.

150


the fort is situated three leagues [nine miles] up the
river Arkansas, and is built with stockades in a
quadrangular form. The sides of the exterior polygon
are about 180 feet, and one 3-pounder is mounted in the
flanks and faces of each bastion. The buildings within
the fort are: a barracks with three rooms for soidiers,
commanding officer's house, a powder magazine for
provisions, and an apartment for the commissary, all of
which are in ruinous condition. The fort stands about
200 yards from the waterside, and is garrisoned by a
captain, a lieutenant, and French soldiers, including
sergeants and corporals. There are eight houses
without the fort occupied by as many families, who have
cleared the lend about 900 yards in depth.?®

In 1776, Captain Balthasar de Villiers assumed command of
the post. In 1778, a particularly damaging flood, a problem
that plagued the post since its removal in 1756, prompted De

Villiers to request a change in location. De Villiers
favored two former post sites: the bank of Lake Dumond and
Ecores Rouges or Red Bluffs. When it was learned that the

river had separated from the former site at Lake Dumond
however, De Villiers requested that the post be relocated at
Ecores Rouges. It was reasoned that this location was more
easily defended and, being above the forks where the White
River entered the Arkansas, would be more effective in
keeping British hunters out of the district. Furthermore,
De Villiers believed that river traffic had slowed so much
by 1777 that a site near the Mississippi was no longer a
necessity. The reguest cleared official channels, and the
post was relocated in 1779.77

In 1882, Dr. Edward Palmer identified the site of
Arkansas Post (1756-1779}. In 1971, University of Arkansas
archeologist Burney B. McClurkan rediscovered this location.
Unfortunately, before an in-depth investigation could be
undertaken, the Arkansas River overflowed its banks, as it
had so many times hefore, destroying most if not all of the
site.“*

POST #6 (1779-1792)

On March 16, 1779, Commandant Balthazar de Villiers
reported that the move to Ecores Rouges aor Red Bluffs had
been accomplished. The site of the new settlement he
described as three hills adjacent to the river. On the
first hiil ascending the river, some Quapaw Indians had
already settled. On the second hill, De Villiers located a
number of Anglo-American refugee families, and on the third
hill he placed the Franco-Spanish families and projected a
fort. Construction of the fort progressed slowly. By July,

145


“Let's cake pride in America and
conserve out National, Regional,
State and local heritage."

Donated by;
Arckausas Post National Memorial
Route 1, Box 16
Gillett, Arkansas 72055
5OL/ 548-2432

Division of History
Southwest Cultural Resources Center
Southwest Region
National Park Service
Department of the Interior

As the natlon’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior
has basic responsibilities to protect and conserve our land and water, energy
and minerals, fish and wildlife, parks and recreation areas, and to ensure the
wise use of ail these resources. The department also has major responsibility
for American Indian reservation communities and for peopie who live in island
territories under U, 5, administration.



Small-arms fire cracked up and down the lines as Union
infantry advanced toward the rifle pits. Two 10-pounder
Parrotts in Hart's Arkansas Battery proved a firm obstacle
to the Union advance. Taking cognizance of this threat,
Colonel Charlies R. Woods of the 76th Ohia deployed
sharpshooters, wha inched their way into position. Their
deadly fire soon drove Hart's gunners from their pieces.

On the Confederate left, Deshler's line held fast.
Twice, Union troops were allowed to advance within 100-yards
of the entrenchments before being fired upon. Both times
the biuecoats fell back with heavy losses. After two more
unsuccessful advances, Srigadier General Charlies E. Hovey,
commanding the Second brigade of Steele's Division, ordered
two 12-pounder Napoleans to the front. Confederate rifles
were no match for these big guns. After only two rounds had
been fired, white flags began appearing along the
Confederate line to Deshler's right.

By 4:00 p.m., Union troops had moved within 200 yards
of the Confederate line of defense. The big guns in the
fort had been silenced. Taking cognizance of this
development, Admiral Porter sent two tinclads and the ram
Monarch upriver to cut off the Confederate line of retreat.
The ironclads began lobbing shells into the rifle pits. By
4:30 p-m., a number of white flags were visible above the
Confederate works. Federal troops began crossing over to
the enemy lines, disarming the greyclad soldiers, Admiral
Porter himseif ran the tinclads over to the fort and
accompanied by a naval landing party and some infantry,
clambered through an open embrasure. For all intents and
purposes, the battle of Arkansas Post was won. Confusion
still prevailed, however, in the sector defended by Deshler.

Having received no order to do so, Deshler refused to
surrender. General Steele advanced to the Confederate line
under a flag of truce. The two officers argued for several
minutes when from the corner of his eye, Deshier observed
that the Union troops had advanced within a pistol shot of
his position. The Southern officer shouted at Steele: “If
you do not command 'Halt', I will command 'Fire'."*® Steele
stopped his eager soldiers from advancing and the discussion
continued. The stalwart Deshler would not surrender without
express orders from the lips of General Churchill. It was
not until Churchill personally commanded Deshler to
surrender that he allowed the Yankees to cross Confederate
breastworks.

The Federal attack on Arkansas Post lasted two days,
resulting in a Confederate surrender, Union casualties
numbered 134 killed, 898 wounded, and 29 missing, Among the
Confederates, 60 were killed, 80 wounded, and 4,800 taken

415


Meanwhile, Colbert and his partisans were attacking
Spanish boats on the Mississippi, disrupting the supply line
and placing Arkansas Post in a precarious position. Because
of successive floods and drought, post residents had to rely
almost exclusively on outside sources of food.? On May 2,
1782, Colbert's band captured a boat at Chickasaw Bluffs.
On board the vessel was Nicanora Ramos, the wife of the
Spanish lieutenant governor of St. Louis, and her four sons.
Colbert tried unsuccessfully to exchange his hostages for
Blommart. After a 20-day captivity, Colbert released his
prisoners, vowing next to capture the Spanish post on the
Arkansas. The former prisoners reported this information to
Governor Esteban Miro, who responded by dispatching Antonio
Soler, second lieutenant of artillery, with a supply of
ammunition, two swivel guns, and orders to put the fort into
a state of readiness.}°

64



contradictory observation was made by Daniel T. Witter in
the same year:

I in the company with several gentlemen, went out to

hook at the old fort. Gov. Miller was one of the
party. We found a large unfinished building, built of
hewn logs and intended as a sort of block house, It

had the appearance of not having been built long before
that date and I learned from Gen, Allen, who was one of
the party, that U.S. troops had been stationed there
not long before, under the command of Major Armistead.
I saw no walls or breastworks and presume it was
intended for what in military parlence (sic.] is called
"Cantonment." There were no troops there at that time
and probably had not been for some 3 or 4 years.7%

During preliminary test excavations at Arkansas Post,
National Park Service archeologist Preston Holder identified
what he believed was the stockade of Fort Carlos III or Fort
San Esteban. Holder's conclusion was based on limited
evidence and has since been refuted by William A. Westbury,
Southern Methodist University archeologist.?% It is evident
from historical documentation that Fort Carlos III was
undermined by the river, and historian Edwin C. Bearss has
suggested the same fate for Fort San Esteban/Madison.*®

148


on
aan
o
=.
x
x
x

<

Figure 22. Fort San Esteban. Constructed by the Spanish in
1792, Fert San Esteban was regarrisoned by American troops
in 1864 and thereafter called Fort Madison. After an 1806
sketch by John B. Treat.

75


While ascending the Mississippi, the Frenchmen stopped
once again among the Quapaw. La Salle granted to De Tonti,
a large tract of land on the Arkansas River, the first land
grant mada in Louisiana. Apparently, La Salle foresaw the
potential of the Arkansas area both for trade with the
friendly Quapaw and as a stopping point for Mississippi
River convoys. Someday, envisioned the explorer, the
convoys would carry his furs to the gulf coast.

It appeared that La Salle's vision of a trading empire
would soon be realized; only a town at the mouth of the
Mississippi was needed. In 1683, La Salie returned to
France to gather colonists and supplies for his projected
town. In August of the following year the explorer departed
France with two-hundred colonists in four ships bound for
the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately for the expedition, the
haplhess fleet overlooked the mouth of the Mississippi during
a violent storm. Because of an argument between the fleet
captain and La Salle, the colonists were put ashore at
Matagorda Bay, in present-day Texas. Seemingly undaunted by
this sethack, the intrepid explorer constructed a fort from
which to explore the surrounding country and search for the
Mississippi.

Problems plagued the ill-fated expedition from the
start. Already responsible for a critical error in judgment
that stranded his colony deep within Spanish territory, La
Salle showed hesitancy and vacillation at critical moments.
The leader alienated his men by his haughty bearing and lack
of sympathy. In one particular instance, La Salle led a
scouting party along the seacoast in search of the
MisSiSsippi River. Two brothers--remembered only by their
surname, Langtot--accompanied the expedition. When the
younger Langtot lagged behind the procession, La Salle
angrily rebuffed the man, and ordered him to return
forthwith to camp. As he retraced his steps, alone, the
helpless Langtot was murdered by Indians. Blaming La Saile
for the incident, the elder Langtot "vowed to God that he
would never forgive his brothers death."® This incident
proved to be La Salle's undoing.

In January, while on another scouting mission, Langtot
avenged his brothers death. With several partisans he had
enlisted to his cause, Langtot volunteered to venture ahead
of the main party in search of three overdue hunters. La
Salle granted the request. Langtot soon found the missing
hunters who had stopped to dry the meat of a buffaio they
had killed. Since dusk approached, the group made camp.
Langtot convinced the three hunters, whom he knew were loyal
to La Salles, to take the first watch. After Fulfilling
their responsibility, all three men were murdered in their
sleep, As dawn approached, the camp was aroused by the

11



Investigations of Arkansas Post, Arkansas" {Typed manuscript
on file at Arkansas Post National Memorial, 1957) p. 74.

14 Anna Lewis, "French interests and Activities in
Oklahoma, "Chronictes of Oklahoma, 2 (September 1924), p.
255.

15 Faye, p. 637.

16 Lewis, p. 256.

17 De Tonty, pp- 96-98.

18 Faye, p. 680.

19 Caldwell, pp. 195-201.

20 Mattison, p. 10,

CHAPTER 2

1 Herbert Eugene Bolton and Thomas Maitland Marshall, The
Colonization of North Ameri {New York: The MacMillan

Company, 1920) p. 276.

2 Barnhart and Halsey, p. 2400.
3 Botton and Marshall, p. 281.

4 Baird, p. 29. Ralph A. Smith, "Exploration of the
Arkansas River by Benard Be La Harpe, 1721-1722" Arkansas
Historical Quarterly, 10 (Winter 1951), p. 342.

5 Elizabeth A. H. John, Storms Brewed in Other Men's
Worlds: The Confrontation of Indi Spanish and French in

(Lincoln: Univers ity of Nebraska

6 Smith, p. 342. Mattison, p. 17.

7 Morris S$. Arnold, Unequal _baws _Unto _a Savage Race:

European Legal Traditions in Arkansas, “2686-1836

(Fayettevilie: University of arkansas Press, 1985) p. 10.

B Smith, p. 349.
9 Ibid., p. 342.
10 Mattison, pp. 17-18.

11 Arnold, p. 116. Faye, p. 671 Mattison, p. 20.

i24



13 Arnold, Unequal Laws, pp. 192, 207-8.

CHAPTER 15

1 Shinn, p. 63. Diana Sherwood, "The Code Duello in
Arkansas," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 6 (Summer 1947),
pp. 186-97.
CHAPTER 16

1 White, pp. 21-22.

2 Edwin C. Bearss, Montgomery's Tavern and Johnston and
Armstrong's Store (Washington D.C.: Department of the

Interior, National Park Service 1971) pp. 3, 22-23.

CHAPTER 17

1 Walter Moffatt, "Transportation in Arkansas, 1819-1940,"
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 15 (Autumn 1956), pp. 194-95.

2 Malcolm J. Rohbough, The Trans Appalachian Frontier,
People, Societies, and Institu: Ss, 1775-1850 (New York:

Oxford University Press 1978) pp. 263- 85.

3 Ibid., p. 281.

4 Bearss and Brown, p. 15.

5 Shinn, p. 67. Bearss, p. 25-36.

6 Bearss, p. 36. Ted R. Worley, "The Arkansas State Bank:

Ante-Bellum Period," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 23
(Spring 1964), p. 69.

7 John W. Walker, Excavation of the Arkansas Post Branch
af the State Bank of Arkansas (Washington D.C.: Department

of the Interior, National Park Service 1971) p- 8.

8 Bearss an@ Brown, p. 17.

CHAPTER i8

1 The Goodspeed Biographical and Historical Memoirs of
Eastern Arkansas (Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Company
1890)

890) p. 636.

136


Figure 21.

Post from 1787-1790.

Mrs.

Howard Stebbins,

Captain Josef Valliere,

Original painting owned by Mr.
Little Rock.

70

commandant at Arkansas

and



Figure 9. Making a set. Original housed at the Jefferson
National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis.

28



Figure 31. Working on the plantation. With the support of
Slave labor, Arkansas Post became a center of cotton
production. From The Great South by Edward King.

99


In 1733, De Coulange reported that his tiny garrison
was “menaced from all sides." Following their defeat at the
hands of the French, the remaining Natchez Indians had
joined the Chickasaw, staunch allies of the British, and
began harassing the French from their lands east of the
Mississippi.? To the west, the populous Osage nation
endangered the post. Days before, these Indians killed 11
French hunters on the Arkansas.

Hostilities on the Arkansas River were only part of @
general unrest in Louisiana. Eager to compete with France
for the Louisiana trade in peitries, the British agitated
the Chickasaw and other eastern tribes against France and
her allies. To the alarm of the French, the Osage were also
responsive to British overtures. In an effort to halt the
erosion of French influence among the Louisiana tribes and
stop Chickasaw aggression, French officials organized a
campaign against these Indians.

35


entire harvest has been lost," indeed for the fourth year in
a row. Heavy rains in the spring of 1779 forced the
Mississippi to overflow. The muddy water backed-up the
Arkansas River inundating the post. By February 17, there
were two feet of water inside the fort. Weary of continual
flooding, De Villiers advocated moving the post to higher
ground.

Two former sites were favored by De Villiers: the
location where the Chickasaw attacked the post in 1749 or
Ecores Rouges where De La Houssaye moved the post in 1751.
De Villiers preferred Ecores Rouges. He believed that this
location was more easily defended and being above the
cut-off where the White River entcred the Arkansas, would be
more effective in keeping British hunters out of the
district. Furthermore, De Villiers reasoned that river
traffic had slowed so much as a result of British patrols
that a site near the Mississippi was no longer necessary.
As far as the habitants were concerned, De Vitliers believed
they would welcome the move.

De Villiers' request to move the post cleared official
channels, and on March 16, 1779, the commandant reported

that the move to Ecores Rouges had been accomplished. The
site selected for the new settlement was three hills on the
north bank of the Arkansas River. On the first hill
ascending the river, some Quapaw had already settled. on

the second hill, De Villiers located a number of
Anglo-American families, war refugees from east of the
Mississippi. On the third hill he placed the Franco-Spanish

families and projected a fort. Before it was completed,
however, Spain entered the American war for independence
against Britain.‘

By the time news of the war reached Arkansas Post,
Spanish Governor Jose Galvez had captured Natchez, Manchak,
and Baton Rouge and was preparing to move against Mobile and
Pensacola. Upon hearing that Spain had entered the war,
Commandant De Villiers crossed the Mississippi with a
detachment of soldiers and civilian witnesses. The band
landed at the deserted British station of Concordia on
November 22, 1780, and formally “. - .teok possession of the
left bank of the Mississippi River opposite to the Arkansas,
White, and St. Francis Rivers, as far as the limits of the
Natchez garrison as dependencies and jurisdictions of this
post. "> De Villiers' shrewd action helped reinforce the
post-war claim of Spain to the east bank of the Mississippi
and the region north of the mouth of the Yazoo River.

During the months following Galvez’ action on the
Mississippi, the major arena of conflict eccurred on the

60



few Frenchmen attracted by the hope of trade with the
Indians are settied nearby.

The missionary is a Jesuit (Father Avondj. The lodging
of the father is a makeshift hut; the walls are made of
split log, the roof of cyprus bark, and the chimney of
mud, mixed with dry grass which is the straw of the
country. I have lived elsewhere in such dwellings but
nowhere did 1 have so much fresh air. The house is
full of cracks from top to bottom.??}

In 1751, Captain De La Houssaye assumed command of the
post. Since the habitant village had been attacked by
Chickasaw Indians two years earlier, La Houssaye moved the
post to a more easily defended location.??

POST #4 (1751-1756)

According to La Houssaye, the site selected for the new
post was on the north bank of the Arkansas about forty-five
miles above the mouth of the river.??> This site is within
the boundaries of the present Arkansas Post National
Memorial. Apparently, construction of the post was
initiated in October, 1751, but may not have been completed
until 1755. A description and valuation of the post reveals
that on completion, the fort was enclosed by an 11-foot high
wall of double stakes, 720 feet in length. Platforms for
cannon batteries were set in the angles formed by three
bastions. Inside the fort, a number of buildings were
constructed including a commanding officer's quarter,
barracks, an oven, magazine, and latrines. Another building
contained rooms of the storekeeper and interpreter, and

housed the hospital and storehouse. A prison was
constructed beneath a cannon platform in one of the
bastions. Ultimately this location proved to be too

inaccessibie for boat traffic on the Mississippi River. As
@ result, the post was moved in 1756.74

POST #5 (1756-1779)
A 1766 account found the fort located:
a few miles from the mouth of the river [Arkansas],

[opposite which is an island 15 miles long] in the
neighborhood of the Indian village.*®

Shortly before Spain assumed control of Louisiana,
British Captain Philip Pittman made an inspection of French
forts and settlements throughout the province. Of Arkansas
Post, Pittman said:

144



CHAPTER 4
ARKANSAS RIVER, TRADE ROUTE

Benard de La Harpe thought "a very advantageous trade"
could be carried on with the Spaniards by using the Arkansas
River as a trade route. The first successful expedition,
however, reached Sante Fe along a much different course.

In 1739, Pierre Mallet and his younger brother Paul,
undertook the first successful expedition to Santa Fe. In
the company of six voyageurs, the Mallet brothers left St.
Louis, ascended the Missouri and Platte Rivers, then worked
southward deep into the heart of Spanish country. On July
24, the travelers reached Santa Fe and were cordially
welcomed.

The Frenchmen departed Santa Fe nine months later, this
time journeying eastward and picked up the Arkansas River.
Paul and Pierre Mallet followed the Arkansas River, reaching
Arkansas Post in July, 1746. The Mallet brethers settled at
Arkansas Post. Paul married and accepted the life of an
inhabitant (a resident trader and farmer}. Pierre remainad
a voyageur, trapping and trading on the Arkansas River.’

The return of Paul and Pierre Mallet touched off a
flurry of activity, and numerous exspeditions to Santa Fe
were launched. Spanish officials, however, alarmed by the
increasing number of Frenchmen entering their dominion,
thereafter seized all goods as contraband and greeted the
entrepreneurs with imprisonment. In actuality, only a
handful of French voyageurs ever reached Santa Fe. The real
benefit to Louisiana resulted from the relationships the
French established with the Comanche, Pawnee, Wichita
Jumano, and other tribes. Commerce with western Indians
burgeoned, and the tiny French settiement on the Arkansas
gained importance as a center of Indian trade.?

31


lower Mississippi and in West Florida. In March, 1780,
Galvez captured Mobile and soon launched an attack on
Pensacola. During the Pensacola seige, insurgents at
Natchez under the leadership of John Blommart, rose against
the Spaniards. On June 22, 1781, Galvez directed his
superior force against the rebels, crushing the rebellion.
Blommarct and several other leaders were imprisoned in New
Orleans. A number of insurgents avoided capture, however,
and fled to the Chickasaw, long-time allies of the British.
This group united under the leadership of James Colbert.
Colbert had been a former British Captain, but retired to
the Chickasaw nation following the Spanish capture of
Pensacola.

Colbert and the Natchez rebels vowed to disrupt Spanish
commerce on the Mississippi and thereby gain the freedom of
Blommart and the other insurgents imprisoned in New Orleans.
The proximity of this rebel band to Arkansas Post imperiled
the Spanish fort.

Commandant De Villiers learned of this newest threat
from four Americans who had been imprisoned by the rebels at
Natchez. At least one of the rebels, a man named Stilman,
formerly resided at Arkansas Post and knew the surroundings
particularly well. Thus, De Villiers feared that the rebels
posed a threat to the safety of his command. The post
inhabitants were fearful for their lives and a day later
offered to supply the garrison with pickets for 4 stockade.
De Villiers was overjoyed.®

By July 1781, the fort was finaliy completed. The new
stockade, made of red oak pickets, was 13-feet high and
about 75-yards to a side. Embrasures in the stockade were
covered with bullet-proof sliding panels. <A two-foot high
banquette surrounded the whole. Inside the fort were a
soldiers' barracks, storehouses, and several smaller
buildings. De Villiers called his new post "Fort Carlos
III“ and boasted that the king now has “. . . a solid post
capable of resisting anything that may come to attack it
without cannon, "”

Ironically, the first threat De Villiers encountered
came from within the garrison. In 1782, two German
soldiers--Albert Faust and John Frederick Pendal--and a
number of Anglo-American refugees participated in a
conspiracy to capture the post for Great s8ritain. The
conspirators planned to open the gates of the fort to
British sympathizers who would rush in and butcher the
sleeping garrison. Warned by loyal French inhabitants, De
Villiers promptly imprisoned the offenders. Both the
Germans and two of the Anglo-Americans were tried, found
guilty of treason, and executed in New Orleans.?®

63


Figure 32. A steamboat transporting cotton.

laden
Post.

with cotton bales were a typical sight
From The Great_South by Edward King.

100

Steam-boats
at Arkansas




Figure 13. An Indian raid, In 1749, the Chickasaw attacked
Arkansas Post, Killing six men and capturing eight women and
children. From Letters _and Notes on the Manners, Customs

and Condition of the North American Indians by George
Catlin.

41


Soudiern Types—-A Southern Plough Team.

Figure 24, A typical American farmer. American farmers
gradually replaced French trappers. From The Great South by
Edward King.

83


Figure 1.
unsigned,
warrior.

the other.

SEMAN CU GREE Meas Pei Vad Cod bert dst Qn y

Sauvage du Nord Ouest de la Louisiane. An
1741 engraving. The Indian is probably a Quapaw
He holds a scalp in one hand and a snake totem in



Introduction

Chapter 1.

Chapter 2.
Chapter 3.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.
Chapter 10.

Chapter ll.
Chapter 12.
Chapter 13.
Chapter 14.
Chapter 15.
Chapter 16.

Chapter 17.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

French Colonization and Arkansas Post

The Law Colony ween eee eee eee eee .
Trapping on the ArkansaS ~—.......... tenes
Arkansas River, Trade Route eee eer aaee

A Permanent Garrison on the Arkansas ove

War with the Chickasaw wee eee eee
The Chickasaw Attack Arkansas Post seeae
Arkansas Post in the French

and Indian War .....--se..e0-e ee
Louisiana as a Spanish Province ........

Arkansas Post in the
American Revolution as

Colbert's Raid

Spain Attempts to Hold Louisiana .......
Louisiana as an American Possession sae
Arkansas Post, Territorial Capital .....
Allen/Oden Duel daca rene mee a sere eens
The Territorial Capital Reiocated ......

Arkansas Post, Cotton Center .....-...--

iii

59
63
49
7
Bt
91

93


1781, the fort was finally completed. De Villiers described
the finished work:

It is made of red oak stakes thirteen feet high, with
diameters of 10 to 15 or 16 inches split in two and
reinforced by similar stockades to a height of six feet
and a banquette of two feet. Thus, I have built a
reinforced stockade around aii the necessary places,
including a house 45 feet long and 15 feet wide, and a
storehouse, both serving to lodge my troops, and around
several smaller buildings, all of them built at my own
expense when I arrived here. The openings for the
cannon and swivel guns are covered with sliding panels
which are bullet-proof.?°

De Villiers first used the title "Fort Carlos III," to refer
to this post in a letter of December 24, 1779, to Governor
Jose Galvez.?°

In 1787, four rises of the river had badly eroded the
bank under Fort Carios I1I. By the end of the year, only 18
inches of overhanging esplanade remained, forcing Commandant
Valliere to remove the artillery. In February, 1788,
another rise of the river tore away a bastion and by March
the stockade wall nearest the river slipped down the bank.
By the end of the year, little remained of Fort Carlos III,
and the garrison was forced to quarter beyond the ruined
enclosure. In spite of Valliere's frequent complaints to
the governor, a lack of funds delayed construction for
almost two years. On July 20, 1790, Captain Ignace Delino
de Chalmette assumed command of the garrison. Shortly
afterward, the citizens of the post presented him with a
memorial soliciting a new fort through which they offered to
supply stakos for a stockade. De Chalmette purveyed this
most recent request to the governor and on January 20, 1791,
permission to rebuild the fort was granted.**

POST #7 (1792-1812)

After receiving permission to rebuild the fort,
Commandant De Chalmette selected a new location next to the
habitant's fields within a cannon shot of the village. on
March l, 1792, be Chalmette took possession of the new fort
and named it San Esteban after the governor's given name.*?

In February, 1793, the commander of the Spanish ship,
La Fieche, described Fort San Esteban:

the fort of Arkansas is situated in the middle of a
hill that overlooks the Arkansas River. The fort is
surrounded by round stakes of white oak protected

146


withdrew their support and returned to their villages.?
Thus, for a second time, the Quapaw escaped defeat at the
hands of the Chickasaw.

In 1740, the French government organized yet a third
campaign. Determined to eradicate the Chickasaw, an
unprecedented force of 3,600 French and Indians was
gathered. Learning of the pending attack by this superior
number, the Chickasaw shrewdly petitioned for peace. Eager
to end the expensive campaign, the French government entered
a truce with the Chickasaw and disbanded its army.

French efforts to deal with the Chickasaw were
ultimately unsuccessful. These Indians remained unshaken in
their loyalty to the British and, in a short time, resumed
aggressions against the French. Armed with British weapons,
roving bands of Chickasaw persecuted French trappers and
their Indian allies. The decade of the 1740s witnessed
increased strife throughecut Louisiana, Chickasaw bands
operated in the vicinity of Arkansas Post, placing the
garrison and habitant village in peril.

38




CHAPTER 12
SPAIN RTTEMPTS TO HOLD LOUISIANA

After the American War for Independence, Spain renewed
her attempts to develop Louisiana, Official policy favored
the colonization and agricultural development of the
province. It was reasoned that a substantial population in
Louisiana would act as a barrier to the westward movement of
Americans, thus preventing their penetration of Spain's
southwestern colonies. Simultaneously, Spain confronted
problems in controlling contraband trade and the aggressive
Osage on her western border. Hearing rumors almost daily of
an impending American or French invasion, officials kept the
Spanish military presence in Louisiana strong.

Following the war, an alarming number of American
emigrants moved into the fertile lands west of the
Appalachians. Spain hoped to check this tide of American
expansion by cultivating the loyalty of Indian tribes
between the Spanish and American frontiers, In 1783, Spain
concluded a formal peace with the Chickasaw and Choctaw
Indians. Raids by American frontiersmen against former
British allies, however, displaced many other tribes who
abandoned their homelands to seek refuge in Spanish
territory. Spanish hospitality attracted the Delaware in
1786 and almost the entire Miami-Piankeshaw band to the
Arkansas country in 1789. The presence of additional tribes
under Spanish jurisdiction strengthened the barrier against
American expansion and increased the volume of trade
conducted at Spanish posts. Unfortunately for Spain,
commercial opportunities in Arkansas also attracted large
numbers of American traders.

Americans conducted illegal contraband trade with
Spain's new Indian allies. Early in 1787, 20 Americans from
Louisville were reportedly trading with the Delaware on the
St. Francis River. To guard against the growing contraband
trade, Governor Miro sent a detachment of the 6th Spanish
Regiment, commanded by Captain Pon Joseph Valliere, to the
Arkansas. Valliere reached the post on March 31, 1787, and
succeeded Du Breuil as post commandant.!

At the time of Valliere's arrival, the village of
Arkansas Post contained 119 civilians. Many were hunters
who resided in the Arkansas wilds for most of the year.
Permanent post residents included: Francois Menard and his
father-in-law Anselme Villet; Juan Gonzalez and Ignacio
Contrera, Spanish soldiers discharged from service but who
remained to hunt and trade; Martin Serrano, another
discharged veteran who married a widow from Arkansas Post;

69


ee

Figure 23. Making a bundle of furs with a wedge press.
Improperly packaged, skins soon became infested with worms
rendering them useful only to the give maker. Original

housed at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St.
Louis.

78



THE ARKANSAS POST STORY

@ LARKANSAS POST D-22
NATIONAL MONUMENT "as

by

Roger E. Coleman

e
Arkaneas Post, ca. 1862
Southwest Cultural Resources Center
Professional Papers No. 12
@
B&W Scans
4-26-Zoas

CN MICROFAM =


defensive capabilities, a line of piles was driven along the
south side of the Arkansas River, directing all traffic
within close range of the big guns. As a safeguard against
a land attack, three lines of rifle-pits were excavated.

On December 10, 1862, Confederate Brigadier General
Thomas J. Churchill was placed in command of Arkansas Post.
He had approximately five-thousand soldiers at his disposal.
Colonel Dunnington, with 35 crewmen from the Confederate ram
Ponchartrain, commanded the artillery of the fort. Colonel
Charles L. Dawson's 19th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and
Lieutenant Colonel William A. Crawford's Arkansas Infantry
Battalion manned the earthworks. For defense against a land
assault, Colonel Robert R. Garland and a brigade composed of
the 6th Texas Infantry, the 24th and 25th Texas (dismounted)
Cavalry Regiments, Denson's Company of Louisiana Cavairy,
and Hart's Arkansas Battery were bivouacked nearby.
Sometime later, the 10th Texas Infantry and the 125th, 17th,
and 18th Texas (dismounted) Cavalry Regiments commanded by
Colonel James Deshler augmented the garrison.

While guarding the river approach to Little Rock, the
enterprising Churchill raided Federal river traffic from his
Arkansas stronghold. Confederate detachments lurked at the
mouth of the White and Arkansas rivers, striking Federal
supply boats as they passed between Memphis, Helena, and
Milliken's Bend, General William T. Sherman's base of
operations to support his late December attack on Vicksburg.
The steamer Blue Wing, laden with ordnance stores bound for
Milliken's Bend, was attacked. Unprotected, the vulnerable
vessel surrendered. Confederate soldiers escorted their
prize upriver to Arkansas Fost where Biue Wing's ordnance
became a welcome addition to Churchill's depleted
magazines.*

io4


e 7 Din, pp. 274-75. Arnold, Unequal Laws, pp. 72-73.

8 Arnoid, Unequal Laws, p. 74.

9 Anna Lewis, “Some Spanish Letters Written from Arkansas
Post,” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 2 (March 1943), pp.
51-57.

10 «Ibid.

11 Ibid,, p- Si.

12 Arnold, Unequai Laws, p. 68. Faye, "Spanish
Domination," pp. 639-42.

13 Lopez-Briones, pp. 66-68.

14 Ibid.

CHAPTER 10

1 Faye, “Spanish Domination,” p. 629. Gilbert ¢. Din,

“Arkansas Post in the American Revolution,” Arkansas
e Historical Quarterly, 39 (Spring 1981), pp. 3-30.

2 Arnold, "Relocation of Arkansas Post," p. 317.

3 Lopez-Briones, pp. 69, 176. Stanley Faye, "Indian

Guests at the Spanish Arkansas Post," Arkansas Historical

rterly, 4 (Summer 1945}, p. 95.

4 Arnold, "Relocation of Arkansas Post," pp. 320-21.
5 Corbitt, p. 293.

6 Corbitt, p. 293. Lopez-Briones, pp. 208-09. Din,
"American Revolution," p. ll.

7 William A. Westbury, Archeological Assessment, Arkansas
Post National Memorial (Dallas: Southern Methodist

University ‘Archaeology Research Program, 1976) p. 29.

8 Lopez~Briones, p. 61. Din, “American Revolution,” p.-
13.

9 Westbury, pp. 28-9.

10 Corbitt, pp. 297-99, Din, “American Revolution," pp.
14-16.

127


Malone, Dumas, Dictionary of American Biography, New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948.

Mattison, Ray H., “Report on the Historical Investigations
of Arkansas Post, Arkansas" (Typed manuscript on file
at Arkansas Post National Memorial, 1957).

, "Arkansas Post-its Human Aspects,“ Arkansas
Historical Quarterly, 16 (Summer 1957), p. 132.

Moffatt, Walter, “Transportation in Arkansas, 1819-1940,"
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 15 (Autumn 1956), pp.

194-95.

Plaisance, Aloysius, "The Arkansas Factory, 1805-1810,"
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 11 (Autumn 1952), p.
190,

Rohbough, Malcolm J., The Trans Appalachian Frontier,

People, Societies, and Institutions 1775-1850, New
York: Oxford University Press 1978.

Sherwood, Diana, "The Code Duello in Arkansas,“ Arkansas
Historical Quarterly, 6 (Summer 1947), pp. 186-97.

Shinn, Josiah H., Pioneers and Makers of Arkansas, Little
Rock: Democrat Printing and Lithography Co., 1908.

Smith, Ralph A., "Exploration of the Arkansas River by
Benard De La Harpe, 1721-1722" Arkansas Historical
Quarterly, 10 (Winter 1951), p. 342.

Swanton, John R., The Indian Tribes of North America,
Washington D,C.: Government Printing Office, 1953.

Temple, Wayne C., Indian Villages of the Illinois Country,
Springfield: Illinois State Museum, 1977,

de Tonty, Henry, “Memoir Sent in 1693, on the Discovery of
the Mississippi and the Neighboring Nations by M. De La
Salle from the Year 1678 to the Time of His Death, and
by the Sieur De Tonty to the Year 1691," pp. 64, 82-84,
in Thomas Falconer, On the Discovery of the
Mississippi, and on the South-Western, Oregon, and
North-Western Boundary of the United States, Austin,
Tx.: Shoal Creek Publishers, 1975.

Walker, John W., Excavation of the Arkansas Post Branch of
the State Bank of Arkansas, Washington D.C.: Department
of the Interior, National Park Service 1971.

155




1) Ditch

2) Casemate

3) Guns En Barbette
4) Barracks

5) Gun Platform

6) Magazines

ie} 100 200
L J —_
Feet
Figure 33. Post of Arkansas. Plan of the Confederate

earthwork at Arkansas Post.

105


41/2 Ounces of Red Silk Ribbon

2 Pair Shoes

2 Pair Stockings

91/2 1bs. of Vermillion

48 Steels for striking flints
150 Needles

9 Hats with silver embroidery
1 Decorated Shirt

Life on the Arkansas was difficult for the Frenchman.
Lacking sufficient capital, he conducted business through

the traditional "“hunting-on-credit” system. The merchant
advanced goods on credit to the trapper who then repaid the
loan with the products of the year's catch. Any unpaid

balance became a junior lien and was added to the following
season's debt. Even if the trapper enjoyed a successful
season, delivering his products to the merchant was no easy
task. Roving bands of Chickasaw and Osage Indians preyed
upon the Frenchmen. If trappers were fortunate enough to
survive an encounter with these Indians, they often limped
back to the post deprived of the products of the hunt, their
firearms, ammunition, and clothing. Unable ta pay the
merchant, such men labored for years under permanent
indebtedness.°

The trapper spent only part of the year in the Arkansas
wilds. Following the winter hunt, he returned to the safety
of the civilian community where old men, women, and children
resided the entire year. According to Perrin du Lac, a
traveler in the Arkansas country, trappers at home occupied
themselves with a number of diversions including "dancing,
drinking or doing nothing: similar in this respect to the
savage with whom they live the greater part of the year and
whose taste and manner they contract."® Some attention was
devoted to agriculture--corn, tobacco, cotton, and whaat
were grown in communai fields near the village--but only
enough "for the support of their homes and beasts of
burden."? On more than one occasion, a poor growing season
pushed the post residents to the brink of starvation,
forcing them to depend on the very convoys that they were to
have provided.

Much to the consternation of Louisiana officials,

agriculture on the Arkansas remained underdeveloped. Even
though soils were superior and markets accessible by river,

26



Figure 26. Secretery of the territory,
Crittenden set the wheels of government

Robert Crittenden.
in motion during

Governor Miller's absence. From Pictorial History of





the possessor of powerful magic. Sometimes the willful
explorer used it with great effect against rebellious
Indians; for this he was widely known as "Tonti of the Iron
Band.” De Tonti proved to be a fearless and loyal
lieutenant to La Salle. Of De Tonti, La Salle remarked that
“his energy and address make him equal to anything. ">

In 1679, La Salle and his capable lieutenant succeeded
in making alliances with the Illinois tribes and began
construction of trading posts on the upper Illinois River.
Iroquois incursions into the Illinois country, however,
temporarily interrupted their mission. The English
instigated attacks by this eastern confederacy of Indian
tribes in the belief that they could force the Illinois to
trade with England instead of France. The Iroquois totally

demoralized the poorly organized Illinois Indians. In one
raid, the eastern aggressors slaughtered or captured more
than twelve-hundred members of one Illinois tribe. More

than six-hundred were burned at the stake, and their roasted
flesh consumed. Raids continued, and the Illinois sbandoned
their homeland, scattering westward for safety. Finally by
1681, La Salle succeeded in gathering many of these Indians
together as a united front against the Iroquois. In August
of that year, the explorer resumed his mission, leading an
expedition down the Mississippi to discover the mouth of the
great river.®

In March 1682, La Salle and his voyageurs arrived among
the Quapaw Indians. Nearing the village of Kappa, the
Frenchmen detected the faint, ominous beat of drums.
Uncertain of the reception they would receive, the party
crossed to the east side of the Mississippi and made camp.
La Salle dispatched two Frenchmen ta proceed to the village
to act as hostages in declaration of his peaceable
intentions. A few hours later, a delegation of Quapaw
chiefs crossed the river, presenting the calumet or
ceremonial pipe to La Salle. Now assured of the safety of
his men, the cautious leader guided the party to the
apposite shore. According to De Tonti, the Quapaw "regaled
us with the best they had.” The explorers received the same
reception at Tongigua and Tourima. With the relationship
between France and the Quapaw tribe thus reconfirmed, La
Salle erected "the arms of the king” at Kappa and the
voyageurs resumed their mission to discover the mouth of the
Mississippi River.’

One month after leaving the Quapaw, the party reached
the Gulf of Mexico. La Salle ceremoniously erected the
“arms Of the King," and ciaimed the entire Mississippi
valley for France, calling it Louisiana in honor of the
French monarch Louis XIV.




settle her brother’s estate, Her transportation, the
steamboat Comet, became the first such vessel to reach
Arkansas Post and, consequently, opened the Arkansas River |
for steam navigation.

92


Andre Lopez, a trader from Galicia; Joseph Tessie, post
interpreter; Thomas Serrano and Matco Serra, hunting
partners; Jean Baptiste Imbaut, Pierre Nittard, Pierre
Picard, Jean Baptiste Cucharin, Michael Woolf, Joseph Baugy,
Pierre Ragaut, Pierre Lefebre, Henry Randall, Robert Gibson,
Bayonne, Duchasin, Michel Bonne, William Nolan, and Baptiste
Macon, post residents.?

On March 31, Valliere and the former commandant, Jacobo
Du Breuil, made an inspection of the fort. The transfer of
soldiers of the 6th Regiment had increased troop strength to
32 men, Among the artillery of the fort were two 4-pound
cannon in fair condition and two 1/2-pound and five 4-ounce
swivel guns in good condition. The stockade of the fort,
however, was sadly in need of repair.

Valliere inherited the problem of improving the
dilapidated fort. Although the location at Ecores Rouges
placed the post above the level of destructive flood waters,
the swift current of the Arkansas now undermined the very
bank upon which the fort stood. In 1787, four rises of the
river badly eroded the bank below Fort Carlos III. By the
end of the year, only l1§8-inches of overhanging esplanade
remained, forcing Commandant Valliere to remove the
artillery. For reasons of safety, the captain sent his wife
and child to New Orleans to live. In February, 1788,
another rise of the river tore away a bastion and a month
later, the stockade wall nearest the river tumbled down the
bank, Little remained of Fort Carlos III, and the garrison

took quarters beyond the ruined enclosure. In 1789, A
spring running through the fort undermined what was left of
the stockade. In spite of frequent complaints to the

governor, a lack of funds delayed construction throughout
the commandant's tenure at the post.?

Notwithstanding the poor state of Arkansas defenses,
Commandant Valliere pursued his duties with conviction. On
March 12, 1788, four soldiers deserted the garrison at
Arkansas Post to join the Americans trading illegally with
the Delaware on the St. Francis River. The great profits
that could be reaped in the fur trade enticed many soldiers
who earned only $6-$9 per month. Commandant Valliere
resolved to capture the deserters and expel the troublesome
smugglers. Valliere mounted an expedition. A file of
soldiers approached the American camp by land while a naval
force of Indians under the leadership of Interpreter Joseph
Tessie approached on the river. Perhaps warned of
Valliere's plans, the Americans had abandoned their camp.
The expedition led to no beneficiat canclusions for the
Spanish and incurred expenses that the governor considered
exorbitant. Citizens in the militia earned soldiers pay for

71




Figure 14, The location of Arkansas Post from 1751-1756.

As a result of the 1749 Chickasaw raid,

moved further upriver.

44

Arkansas Post was



*sPpauexIy
FO 4S0q 9YyR FO ST43eq OY4 Sutznp suoTyTsod door, “ge oan&Ty

"CIBL GL KUDL

LSOd SVSNVNEY
40 F1Llivg



through Arkansas Post to New Orleans and eventually European
markets.

When Spain assumed control of Louisiana, Spanish
officials adopted the French system of administration in
favor of their traditional mission system. This turn of
events reflected highly on the success of French policy.
Yet, the Spanish takeover was not free of problems. French
and Indians, distrustful of Spaniards, were wary of the new
government. If Spain succeeded in winning the confidence of
her new subjects, she would not so easily subdue the British
on her eastern border. With France removed from the
Mississippi valley, Spain faced a new and more aggressive
neighbor.

ag


SPANISH

Ens. Le Gros de Grandcour
(1766-Feb. 1768)

Capt. Alexandre de Clovet
(Feb. 1768-Dec. 13 1769)

Capt. Francois de Maselliere
(Dec. 13 1769-Dec 10 1770)

Lt. Josef Orieta
(Dec. 10 1770-April 29 1771)

Capt. Fernando de Leyba
(April 29 1771-April 18 1774)

Capt. Josef Orieta
{April 18 1774-June 16 1776)

Sgt. Lucas Garcia
(June 16 1776-Sept. 7 1776)

Capt. Balthazar de Villiers
(Sept. 7 1776-June 19 1782}

Lt. Luis de Villars
(June 19 1782-Jan, 7 1783)

Capt. Jacobo Dubreuil Saint-Cyr
(dan. 7 1783-March 1787)

Capt. Josaf Valliere
(March 1787-July 1790)

Capt. Juan Ignace Delino de Chalmette
(July 1790-July 11 1794)

Capt. Carlos de Villemont
(July 11 1794~-Summer 1802)

Capt. Francisco Caso y Luengo
(Summer 1802-March 23 1804)

134



soldiers could more easily protect French supply lines.
Unfortunately for Arkansas Post, this convenience was not
without a price. During the years that the post remained in
this location the French fought their own war, a losing
struggle against the destructive Arkansas.?

Scarcely one year following the relocation of the post,
Captain De Gamon de la Rochette replaced Pe Reggio. La
Rochette possessed a good military record but was "greedy of
money, rude and forceful of manner.” He soon earned the
contempt of his command and Father Carette, the resident
missionary .® On his arrival, La Rochette found a polygonal
stockade surrounded by parapets, as much a measure of flood
control as defense. Inside the fort were a barracks,
officers' quarters, powder magazine, and commissary.’ At
his disposal, La Rochette had about forty soldiers,
including a Polish drummer and two officers--First Ensign
Dussau, and Second Ensign Bachemin.

The civilians had located their houses, eight in

number, in a line on the river bank. The fort separated
them into two groups. At one end lived Etienne Maraffret
Layssard, the garde magasin or storehouse keeper. Below

Layssard lived Holtlindre, a habitant. On the other side of
the fort lived Father Carrette, Joseph Laundrouy (post
courier), Francois Sarrazin (interpreter), and a habitant
named La Fleur.

Layssard was perhaps the most affluent post resident of
the day. In addition to his appointment as garde magasin or
storehouse keeper, Layssard kept a village wine shop in his
home and farmed several fields that he protected from floods
with 12-18-inch-high levees. Among Layssard's possessions
were 5 slaves, 20 pigs, a milk cow, a flock of chickens, a
dog, and a cat.

A particularly wot January in 1758 turned the
Mississippi into a raging torrent. The murky brown waters
backed-up the Arkansas for many miles, imperiling Arkansas
Post. High water topped most of the levees, flooding the
lowlands. Onty Layssard's garden levee and the parapet of
the fort held fast, both scarcely four inches above water
Layssard'’s house stood on posts above the rising water.
Into one room of the tiny dwelling, Layssard crowded his
twenty pigs. The second room sheltered Layssard, his wife
and four children, five slaves, a dog and cat, and all the
squawking chickens he could gather. The cow, for want of
space, remained outside knee-deep in water. Other
inhabitants, however, were less fortunate.

The flood destroyed Father Carrette's rectory, forcing
the priest to say mass in the post dining hall and canteen.

45


longer than any other officer. In 1800, he married a local
woman and raised six children at Arkansas Post. Following
his retirement in 1802, the former commandant spent the
remainder of his years on the Arkansas.?

The threat of an American invasion continued to alarm
Louisiana officials. On July 22, 1795, Spain responded by
ceding its claims to the east bank of the Mississippi
between the mouth of the Yazoo and the 31st parallel to the
United States. The loss of several strongholds east of the
Mississippi compromised Spanish defenses and did nothing to
appease American desire for land. Forced to reassess their
Louisiana policy, Spanish officials decided that the hest
way to diffuse an American invasion was to populate the
province with settlers. Ironically, because Spanish
subjects preferred to settle elsewhere, Louisiana officials
had to rely on Americans--the very people she sought to
exclude--to settle in Louisiana, The governor instructed
Commandant De Villemont to invite Americans from Vincennes
and Detroit to settle in Arkansas.)°

The Spanish government was careful to select
industrious pioneers to settle in Louisiana. Two such men
were the brothers Elisha and Gabriel Winter. Sometime
between 1790 and 1798, the Winters traveled to New Orleans
and established a business making cotton rope. As
recompence for introducing a manufacture into the province,
the men received a tract of one million arpents (1 arpent=-11
square feet) on the Arkansas River. The Winters invited
Joseph Stillwell, a revolutionary war veteran homesteading
in Kentucky, to emigrate to Arkansas with them. In 1798,
Elisha and Gabriel Winters, a third brother named William,
and Joseph Stillwell settled on their grant in Arkansas.
Other American settlers homesteading in the same year
included William Hubble, William Russell, Walter Carr and
three brothers named Samuel, Richard and John Price.
Pierre Massieres, whose contraband goods Jacobo Du Breuil
once confiscated, settled at the post and became a
respectable merchant.+?

The success of Spanish policy in Louisiana was never
tested. Ultimately, the province proved to be too great an
economic burden for Spain. In 1800, the treaty of San
Ildefonso was concluded by which Spain retroceded Louisiana
ta France in exchange for the Duchy of Parma in Italy.
France, however, never took formal possession of the

province. In 1803, the United States purchased Louisiana
from Napolean Bonaparte, emperor of France, for the sum of
fifteen-million dollars. On December 20, Louisiana was

formally transferred to the United States. One month later,
the Spanish commandant transferred the fort on the Arkansas
to United States representative, Lieutenant James B. Many.

74



Figure 25. James Miller, Arkansas’ first territorial
governor. From Pictorial History of Arkansas by Faye
Hempstead.

84



CHAPTER 7
THE CHICKASAW ATTACK ARKANSAS POST

On May 7, 1743, Chickasaw Indians ambushed a trading
party from Arkansas Post. The trader Guillaume, his wife,
and seven of their engages or employees were ascending the
Mississippi River. A short distance below the mouth of the
Arkansas, a Chickasaw band fell upon the group, Guillaume
and his wife escaped their assailants by diving into the
river and swimming to the west bank, One Frenchman was
killed and the remaining five captured by their assailants.
The threat of an attack on Arkansas Post seemed imminent.

In May, 1749, Arkansas Post became the target of a
Chickasaw war party. At the time of the attack, First
Ensign Louis Xavier Martin Delino de Chalmette had commanded
the post for less than a year. The young soldier, wrote
Governor Bienville, “is exact in all his duties, is suitable
for any kind of assignment , . . and possesses all the
sentiments proper to an officer."! At his disposal, the new
commandant had only 12 soldiers, the remnant of a 20-man
garrison recently reduced by desertian.

Situated about one and one half miles west-north-west
of the fort was the French hamlet, residence of the thirty
oc more French civilians who trapped and traded with the
Indians, Most prominent among them was one named Linctot,
an old resident with an extensive household including two
women, five children, seven slaves, a horse, an ox, four
cows, and ten pigs. Guillaume and his wife owned two
slaves, four oxen, six cows, and three pigs. De Chalmette
lived at the post with his wife and owned thres slaves, a
yoke of oxen, and four cows. Other inhabitants included
Flamant, the post interpreter; La Jeuness, Bourg, Novin, and
Paul Mallet, all married men. Several men were absent from
the post hunting on the upper Arkansas River. Among them
were Carignan, Brindamour, Pertuy, Michel Lalemant, Bourge,
Gagnete, Joffrellon, Boye, Des Catteaux, Bontemps, and Paul
Mallet's older brother Pierre, known to the post residents
as Mallet l’aine.

Normally, the Quapaw Indians proved to be an excellent
deterrent to Indian raids. A village at the mouth of the
Arkansas River blocked entrance to all who were unfriendly
to France, Unfortunately for the post residents, extensive
flooding in the Spring of 1748 destroyed the Quapaw fields,
forcing the Indians to relocate some fifteen miles above the
post. The highway to Arkansas Fost lay unprotected.

39



12 Hodge, pp. 35-36.

CHAPTER 3

1 M. Carmen Gonzalez Lopez-Briones, Spain in the
Mississippi Valley: Spanish Arkansas, 1762-1804
(Dissertation, Purdue University, 1983) p. 168.

Zz Smith, p. 363. Stanley Faye, “The Arkansas Post of
Louisiana: Spanish Domination," Louisiana Historical
Quarterly, 27 (July 1944), p. 635.

3 Lopez-Briones, p. 170.

4 Mattison, p. 39.

5 Faye, "Spanish Domination," p. 636.

6 Anna Lewis, "Oklahoma as a Part of the Spanish Dominion,
1763-1803," Chronicles of Okiahoma, 3 (April 1925) p. 46.

7 Ibid.

CHAPTER 4
1 Faye, "French Domination," pp. 683, 687-707.

2 Bolton and Marshall, p. 285. John, p. 247.

CHAPTER 5
L Mattison, p. 22.
2 Lopez-Briones, pp. 146-47.

3 Faye, “Spanish Domination,” p. 634. Baird, p. 36. Ray
H. Mattison, "Arkansas Post-its Human Aspects,“ Arkansas

Histo ly, 16 (Summer 1957), p. 12132.

4 Mattison, "Historical Investigations," p. 21.

CHAPTER 6

1 Smith, p. 363. Hodge, pp. 260-62. Lopez-Briones, p.
121.

2 Faye, "French Domination," p. 677.

125


Figure 36. Rear Admiral David 0. Porter. Porter provided
amphibious support for the Federal assault on Post of
Arkansas. The Century Magazine, April 1885.

109




ENDNOTES
CHAPTER i

1 Ray Allen Billington, Westward Expansion, a History of
the American Frontier third edition (New York; The Macmillan

Co., 1967), pp. 107-09,

2 John R. Swanton, The Indian Tribes of North America
(Washington D.C.: Government “Printing Office, i953), pp.

213-15. Frederick Webb Hodge, Handbook of American Indians
(Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1910) pp.
333-36. W. David Beard, The Quapaw Indians, a History of
the Downstream People (Norman: University of Okiahoma Press,
198G).

3 Billington, pp. 107-09.

4 DumaS Maione, Dictionary of American Biography {New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948) pp. 10-12. Clarence L.
Barnhart and William 0. Halsey, The New Encyclopedia of
Names (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1954) p.

5 Malone, pp. 587-88.

6 Wayne C,. Temple, Indian Villages of the I

(Springfield: Illinois State Museum, 19977) Pp

linois Country
24-25.

7 Henry de Tonty, "Memoir Sent in 1693, on the Discovery
of the Mississippi and the Neighboring Nations by M. De La
Salle from the Year 1678 ta the Time of His Death, and by
the Sieur De Tonty to the Year 1691," pp. 64, 82-84, In
Thomas Falconer, On the Discovery of the Mississippi, and on
Oregon, and North-Western Boundary of the
United States (Austin, Tx.: Shoal Creek Publishers, 1975}.

fe} Ibid. 90.

B
g Ihid., p. 91,
p

10 Ibid., 92,

11 Ibid., p. 78.

12 Stanley Faye, "Arkansas Fost of Louisiana: French
Domination,” Louisiena Histori arterly, 26 (July 1943),
p. 635.

13° Norman W. Caldwell, "Tonty and the Beginning of Arkansas
Post," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, & (Autumn 1949), pp.
190, 196. Ray H. Mattison, “Report on the Historical

123


against carbine shots. It has a bastion on the east
and another on the west in which are mounted a cannon

of four and two swivel guns. In the fort there is a
house, barracks, and a ware house covered with
shingles. Above the fort there are about thirty

houses, with galleries around covered with shingles,
which form two streets. Below the fort there are about
a dozen quite pretty plots of four by four arpents
(44x44 feet], where there are very beautiful fields.**

In 1796 French General Victor Collot, far less
impressed than the commander of La _Fleche had been,
described the fort as:

two ill-constructed huts, situated on the left, at a
distance of seventy-five miles from the river of
Arkansas, surrounded with great palisades, without a
ditch or parapet, and containing four eix-pounders,
bear the name of fort.?4

On July 22, 1802, Commandant Carlos de Villemont
transferred possession of the post to Captain Francisco Caso
y Luengo. The inventory made at the time of this transfer
listed the buildings and artillery of the fort in good
condition. In 1803, the United States purchased Louisiana
from Napolean Bonaparte, emperor of France. In January,
1802, Marques de Casa Calvo, in charge of the Spanish
evacuation, ordered Caso y Luengo to transfer the post toa
United States representative James B. Many. As with any
change of command, both men prepared an inventory of the
fort, @ated March 23, 1804, that listed the following
structures and their condition:

-One barrack 50 feet long by 10 feet wide, covered with
shingles, flanked on top with a double clay chimney and
at the end a division which is used as a prison.

-A kitchen for the commandant 20 feet long by 12 feet
broad covered with shingies with a division for the war
supplies. It is in a poor condition throughout,

-An earthen oven near the fort in normal condition.
-Three sentry boxes in poor condition.

-One flag staff in good condition. The locks, keys,
hinges, latches, respectively, for each building in
normal order.>°

American captain George B. Armistead regarrisoned the
post with 16 American troops.*® Fort San Esteban,
thereafter known as Fort Madison, maintained a garrison
until the outbreak of the War of 1812.37 Apparently,
remnants of Fort Madison were visible in 1819 when William
Woodruff visited the site and found that "no fort was
standing, but there were some palisades." A somewhat

147


36 Edwin C. Bearss and Lenard E, Brown, Arkansas Post
National Memorial: Structural History, Post of Arkansas,
1804-1862, and “Civil War Troop Movement Maps, January 1963
{washington “‘D.C., Department of the interior, National Park
Service 1971) p. 18-

37 Baird, pp. 51-53.
38 Bearss and Brown, p. 18.
39 Westbury, p. 51.

40 Edwin C. Bearss, Chief Historian, National Park Service.
Personal communication.

isi


THE ARKANSAS POST STORY

ARKANSAS POST
NATIONAL MONUMENT

by

Roger E. Coleman

Southwest Cultura! Resources Center

Professional Papers No. 12

Santa Fe, New Mexico
1967



POST #1 (16846-1698)

In 1686, Henri de Tonti left six men on the Arkansas
River to build a trading house and open commerce with the
Quapaw Indians. The first recorded description of this post
comes from Henri Joutel who arrived on the Arkansas in July,
1687, with the survivors of La Salle's last expedition.

Being come to a river {Arkansas] that was between us
and the village, and looking over to the further side
we discovered a great cross, and at a small distance
from it a house built after the French fashion,*

It is seated on a small eminency, half a musket~-shot
from the village [Assotaue}, [with] plains lying on one
side of it.?

Joutel reveals that the post was on the north bank of the
Arkansas River adjacent to the Quapaw village of Assotoue.?
Further locational information is provided by De Tonti who
visited the post for the first time in January, 1690. The
location of my “commercial house,” commented De Tonti, was
at the village of Assotoue who “lived on a branch of the
river [Arkansas} coming from the west," nine miles from the
mouth of the river.®

The first post on the Arkansas was probably abandoned
in 1698 following De Tonti’s presence on the river to
enforce the royal edict forbidding the trapping of furs
south of Canada. By 1700, De Tonti's former factor led a
party of English to the mouth of the Arkansas to trade with
the Quapaw.?

Historian Stanley Faye has stated that the location of
De Tonti's post was on the bank of Lake Dumond, a former
channel of the Arkansas River. Partial support for this
lecation is the presence of a nearby Quapaw village site,
that archeologists concede may be the location of Assotoue.*®

POST #2 (1721-1726)

On March 1, 1722, French explorer Benard de La Harpe
arrived on the Arkansas River and found Lieutenant La
Boulaye and Second Lieutenant De Francome living at the
Quapaw village of "Zautoouys." Initially, La Boulaye had
occupied a site at the village of “Ouyapes" on the
Mississippi River, but because of flooding, the garrison
moved one month later. A single soldier, Saint Dominique,
remained at Ouyapes to await the arrival of trade goods for
the warehouse the French maintained there.? The remainder
of the garrison, at the time of La Harpe's inspection, had

141




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—

Figure 30. A typical Mississippi River boat. These steam
powered ships soon replaced the slower flatboats and
keelboats. The first steamboat to land at Arkansas Post
arrived on March 31, 1820. From The Great South by Edward
King.

97


Law Colony

Garrison \

Figure 8. The location of the John Law Colony and Arkansas
Post from 1721-1726. In 1721, wealthy financier John Law
established a colony in the vicinity of De Tonti's former
trading house.

22





state. Nowhere was the impact of cotton production felt
more than at Arkansas Post. The town became a major river
port and center of cotton production. The decade of the
1860s, however, wrought drastic changes in Arkansas and at
Arkansas Post.

101




STOUTTTIT

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‘AIVAQTT TPOTIOISTH O2P95

youety e ut Buruasa zauuns

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shelling. The Confeéera unnecs gave a yood account of
themselves, but were no 5 for the guaboats. When
Confederate fire slackened, Porter took advantage of the
situation, sending Rattler upriver ta enfilade the fort from
the opposite side. The unfortunate tinclad became lodged
against the piles scarcely 100-yards from tne Confederate
guns. Before she could disentangle herself, Rattler was
raked by Confederate fire. Twilight soon ended the assault.
Knowing that an infantry attack would not occur at this late
hour, Porter ordered the gunbeats to return to their
moorings.

By the morning of January 11, the infantry was poised
and finally ready to advance. The troops faced the main
line of Confederate defense. Unicn field artillery had been

moved into strategic positions. Two 2C0-pounder Parrott
rifles manned by Sheldon's brigade were empiaced only 800
yards from the Post of Arkansas. Lindsey's brigade had

shifted two 20-pounder Parrots and two 3 ch rifled guns
from Smith's plantation and wheeled them into position on
Stillwell's Point opposite the fort. McClernand notified
Admiral Porter that ali was ready.

At lo p.m., the navy resumed the bombardment, At the
sound of the signal shot, the infantry moved forward.
Ironclads Louisvi le Kalb, and Cincinnati joined
by tinclads Lex ti and Giide steamed up the
river and opened Confederate stronghold,
Shelling by the Federal fleet continued relentlessly
throughout the afternoon.

The First Wisconsin Battery of Sheldon's brigade opened
fire immediately after the signal discharge. The two
Z2O0-pounder Parrotts enfiladed the northeast bestion of the
fort. The big J-inch columbiad emplaced there had hampered
Porter's efforts the day before. Sheldoan‘s fire was most
destructive. After six shots from ome of the pieces, the
big columbiad fell silent.

By 3 p-m., Sheldon moved his men forward in support of
the Chicago Mercantile Battery. Captain Charles G. Cooley
of the Mercantile Battery had placed his guns in position
behind a rise within 200 yards of the fort, Subjected to a
storm of shot and shell, Confederate defenders were quickly
driven from the parapet of the fort. Seizing the
opportunity to end the battle, Osterhaus ordered the 120th
Ghio to storm the fort, With a yell of determination the
Buckcyes surged forward only tc be pinned down by
Confederate fire within pistol shot of the east face of the
fort. They remained in this precarious position for the
next hour.

111





Figure 18. An Osage war patty. Osage Indians robbed and
murdered many trappers on the Arkansas River. From Letters
and Netes on the Manners, Customs and Condition of the _Nerth
an Indians by George Catlin. 7

a
ro



Figure 35. Northern General John 4. McClernand. A brash
glorg-hunting ex-congressman from Illinois, McClernand
considered Post of Arkansas a "boot of the right size.“ The
Century Magazine Dec, 1834.

108



time served, Hereinafter, the overzealous Valliere was
cautioned, let the Indians control American trespassers.

The post merchants were angered that the Americans had

effectively stolen the Delaware commerce, In retaliation a
prominent post trader, Francois Menard, instigated
ill-feelings between the Quapaw and Delaware. Menard

suggested to the Quapaw that the contraband goods the
Delaware received from the Americans were superior to
Spanish goods. Before trouble could develop, Valliere had
the man put in the public stocks, sending him with the next
available convoy to New Orleans for trial.?

Even more serious than the troublesome American
traders, Spain constantly feared an American military
invasion. In February, 1788, Governor Miro suspected an
invasion from the Tennessee area, He reinforced the Arkansas
garrison with a sergeant and 12 additional soldicrs. One
half of the detachment established an outpost on an island
in the Mississippi to watch for the invading army. The
other half quartered at Arkansas Post and relieved the
outpost every 15 days. The expected invasion never
materialized, however, and the outpost proved to be nothing
more than an unnecessary expense.

In 1790, a transfer of command placed Captain Juan
Ignace Deiino de Chalmette in charge of the Arkansas
garrison. At his arrival on July 20, the new commandant
must have been dismayed to find no trace of Fort Carlos IIL.
The Fort had long since surrendered to the Arkansas River.
The 30 man garrison De Chalmette commanded was quartered in
temporary barracks without a stockade,

Soon after De Chaimette assumed command, the citizens
of the post presented him with a memorial requesting “a
little fort" to protect us from “various Indian tribes who
incessantly molest us."> The inhabitants generously offered
to supply stakes for the new stockade. De Chalmette
purveyed this most recent request to the Governor send on
January 20, 1791, permission to construct a new fort was
granted, provided the cost of the new work did not exceed

$1,500.

Commandant De Chalmette selected a location for the new
fort next to the habitant'’s fields and within a "cannon
shot" of the village. By March 12, 1792, the captain took
possession of the fort, naming it San Esteban after the
governor's given name. The new works included a house,
barracks for 50 men, and a warehouse. For protection
against the Indians, a stockade was constructed of white oak
stakes arranged in a squarc with two opposing bastions at
opposite corners. Four 6-pound cannon and 2 swivel guns

72







Taken ps namer tee

BAKK HOUSES.

vasting the ald standumls aside. t bevan ten fires were uften seen in perspective

Figure 2. Bark houses. The Quapaw lived in dwellings like
these. The Century Magazine, Dec, 1995,



were mounted in the bastions. The nearby habitant village
contained about 30 houses of the French style with full
galleries and shingle-covered exteriors. The houses were
set along two streets. Below the fort were the habitant's
fields, 44x44 feet in size, where "beautiful fields of
wheat” were maintained.®

The civilians of Arkansas Post were relieved that a
fort protected their community once again. A year after the
treaty of 1777, the Osage resumed aggressions against the

Spanish. In 1787, hunters found two men and a woman
murdered by Osage on the Arkansas River. Several hunters’
camps along the river were burned. One demoralized post

habitant commented that “we are robbed by the Osages not
only of the products of the hunt but even of our shirts."
Angered by continued Osage harassment, Governor Baron de
Carondelet declared war on that tribe in May, 1793.
Following official orders, De Chalmette mounted a force of
50 to 60 white hunters and 150 Quapaw to march against the
Osage. The inhabitants were determined “to punish the
Osages for their cruelty towards [them]." Before the
expedition could be launched, however, another threat of an
American invasion compelled the governor to abandon the
punitive expedition and seek more peaceful means of reaching
a truce. The Osage continued to be troublesome to the
Spanish throughout the remainder of their Louisiana
occupation.”

In 1793, war between Spain and the new French republic
began. Officials feared that the revolution would spread to
Louisiana or that a French invasion would occur. Later in
the year, Spanish officials learned that Edmond Genet,
citizen of the French republic, and American General George
Rogers Clark planned to invade Louisiana. In response to
this threat, De Chalmette called out the Arkansas militia.
Govarnor Carondelet believed that the Arkansas fort was
little more than “a circle of stakes" and hardly worth
defending. He denounced De Chalmette’s action as wasteful
and informed the commandant that in the face of a superior
invasion force he should abandon the post and retire to Los
Nogales, present-day Vicksburg. Perhaps because of his
excessive response to the invasion rumor, De Chalmette was
relieved of command.®

On July 11, 1794, Captain Carios de Villemont replaced
De Chalmette as commandant of Arkansas Post. De Villemont
was 27 when he assumed command. The young officer impressed
Spanish officials and soon earned the respect and admiration
of the post residents. It has been said of De Villemont
that "he united an almost princely sauvity [sic] of manners
with a character that was without blemish." De Villemont
served as commandant of Arkansas Post for eight years,

73


exertion to oppose us--a meeting has been held for the
purpose of devising means the most efficaceous to prevent
our success. "}

The House of Bright and Morgan, a local trading firm,
proved to be Treat's most serious competitor, This company
managed to secure a trade monopoly with the Osage from the
Secretary of War. The increased volume of trade for the
House of Bright and Morgan allowed them to slash prices at
Arkansas Post and underseéll all other competitors. Treat
complained bitterly. From a total of 975 packs of deer
skins shipped from Arkansas Past in 1806, 267 belonged to
Bright and Morgan while only 61 were owned by the government
factory. Between 1806-1808, the Quapaw traded only 10 packs
of skins at the factory. Treat’s returns reflected a steady
decline. In 1810, no longer able to justify expenses, the
factory at Arkansas Post closed its doors for good.‘

79


Arkansas Post National Memorial commemorates nearly
three-hundred years of European occupation in the Arkansas
and lower Mississippi valleys. The trading house, fort, and
civilian hamlet--known collectively as Arkansas Post~-has
been a strategic military and commercial center as well as
the focal point of numerous encounters between Indians and
Europeans.

Occupied by France, Spain, the United States, and the
Confederacy during the Civil War, Arkansas Post has figured
prominently in the politics of four nations and contributed
significantly to the history of North America. As the first
European settlement in the lower Mississippi valley,
Arkansas Post helped establish the claim of France to the
most important waterway on the continent. Under French
ownership, Arkansas Post served as a center of Indian
policy: as a port for Mississippi River convoys; and as a
point of embarkation to trade and hunt on the upper Arkansas

River. Adventuresome French explorers eventually reached
Santa Fe and established the Arkansas River as one
transportation link to the Spanish southwest. Under the

jurisdiction of Spain, Arkansas Fost bolstered the Spanish
barrier and helped prevent English penetration to Spanish
colonies in the southwest. During the American Revolution,
Spain aided the patriots and Arkansas Post served as an
intelligence center and stopping point for American supply
boats. Controlled by the United States, Arkansas Post
became a bustling frontier town: a center of catton
production; a thriving river port; and the first capital for
the Territory of Arkansas. Arkansas Post enjoyed a new
prosperity interrupted only by the Civil War. For the first
few months of the conflict, a Confederate earthwork at
Arkansas Post guarded the approach to the upriver capital of
Little Rock. In January, 1863, Arkansas Post fell to
Federal troops following a three-day engagement.

The story of Arkansas Post is the story of the river
that flowed past it. Over 1,450 miles long, the Arkansas
River was a major transportation artery. Originating deep
within the heart of Spanish territory, the Arkansas pulsed
through the dominions of numerous native American cultures,
and eventually emptied into the great Mississippi River.
Lecated at the confluence of both rivers, Arkansas Post
served as a point of entry for trappers and traders bound

for the upper Arkansas. On the return journey, this
riparian highway carried the rich harvest of pelts to New
Orleans and markets abroad. Following the purchase of


CHAPTER 19
THE BATTLE OF ARKANSAS POST

Alarmed by Confederate activities on the Mississippi,
General John A. McCiernand expressed his concern to
President Abraham Lincoln. Although an influential
politician from Illinois, McClernand was abrasive, disliked
West-Pointers, and to the consternation of his peers, was
overly ambitious. McClernand was, however, a fearless man.
His vigor and bravery in battle won him the support of
President Lincoln. In October, 1862, Lincoln authorized the
politician-general to raise a large force for a down-river
expedition.?

McClernand soon arrived at Milliken's Bend brandishing
orders giving him command of 32,000 troops stationed there.
the threat that Confederate troops posed to Federal
communication lines. McClernand decided to divert the
troops idle at Milliken's Bend, following their repulse at
Chickasaw Bayou near Vicksburg, and capture the Post of
Arkansas. To the ambitious McClernand, Arkansas Post was a
"boot of the right size,"?

MecClernand reorganized the entire force, calling it the
“Army of the Mississippi.” The glory~hunting generai
Givided his army into two divisions--the XIII Corps to be
commanded by Brigadier General George W. Morgan, and the xv
Corps by William T. Sherman, Each corps had two divisions.
Brigadier Generals Peter J. Osterhaus and Andrew J. Smith
comnanded XIII Corps divisions while Brigadier Generals
Frederick Steele and David Stuart led the XV Corps
divisions. McCliernand knew that he would need the help of
the navy if his bold undertaking was to be successful. For
this he enlisted the aid of Rear Admiral David D. Porter,

On January S$, 1863, 32,000 Union troops on board 60
steamers departed Milliken's Bend with three of Porter's
mighty ironclads and a number of lighter tinclad boats.
Three days later the fleet steamed past the mouth of the
Arkansas River as a deceptive measure and entered the White
River. Twenty miles upriver the fleet crassed over to the
Arkansas through the old cut-off channel, and approached
Arkansas Post.

The Confederates at Post of Arkansas expected an
eventual assault against them but never by a force of this
magnitude. Late in the afternoon of January 9, a "round
eyed" courier reported to General Churchill that “half the
yankees in the west" were coming.? The surprised general

107


CHAPTER 13
I

POSSESSION

At first, little tangible change occurred with the
American occupation of Louisiana. Arkansas began its
economic life with the fur trade and passed only gradually
through this phase. The United States assumed the role of
trading with Indians west of the Mississippi, and for this
purpose, a government trading house or factory was
established at Arkansas Post.

In 1805, John 8. Treat, newly appointed government
factor, traveled to Arkansas Post. Treat found a small
community of about 120 habitants of French and Spanish
extraction. The village included approximately 20 houses
neatly arranged along 2 streets. Fort Madison, situated on
a nearby hill, contained a small garrison commanded by
Lieutenant Many. A few American farmers had settled their
families in the vicinity of the past and cultivated the rich
Arkansas bottomlands. The older habitants followed their
traditional pursuits~-hunting and trading with the Indians.!

Treat hoped to have the factory operating within the
year. As @ temporary measure, the merchandise Treat brought
with him was stored in the garrison, After searching for a
suitable factory building, Treat eventually purchased a
two-story log house in the vicinity of the fort. The lower
floor of the building was dark and cool, ideal conditions
for a "skin room." In the spring of 1806, the factor began
construction of additional buildings including a house to
accommodate visiting Indians, In the fall of the year, the
factory doors opened for business.

Almost from the beginning, the government factory was
doomed. At first, Treat's inexperience as a trader hampered
factory operations. He had no formal business training or
knowledge of handling skins. Many of Treat's bundles of
furs were poorly packed and arrived in New Orleans rotten
and infested with worms, Black market trading remained a
problem and captured much of the factors’ business. In
1806, Treat complained that "we have been deprived of
considerable quantity of furs, carried from the White River
by illicit traders,"?

Treat faced even stiffer competition from licensed
traders at Arkansas Post. These original French and Spanish
merchants had conducted business with the Indians for years
and strongly resented any competition from the United States
government. Treat commented that “every Inhabitant, who
could be considered a Trader has and still continued every

77



CRAPTER 18
SAS POST, CONFEDERATE STRONGHOLD

Civil War came abruptly with the Confederate attack on
Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. In Arkansas, state troops
seized Fort Smith and the federal arsenai at Little Rock,
thus securing the state for the Confederacy. In May, 186),
Arkansas formally joined the Confederate States of America.

In early July, 1862, Federal troops advanced by way of
Bartlesville and occupied Helena in eastern Arkansas.
Northern gunboats patrolled the Mississippi soauth of
Memphis, and menaced the eastern border of the state. on
June 17, Union forces attacked and captured a Canfederate
battery at St. Charles on the White River.’ Major General
Theophilus H. Holmes, then commander of the
trans-Mississippi West, feared additional incursions up
Arkansas' rivers, perhaps to the capital at Little Rock. Ta
guard against such an invasion Holmes placed Colonel John W.
Dunnington of the Confederate States Navy in charge of river
defense. Punnington conceived a plan to construct defensive
earthworks at strategic points along the interior rivers.
He planned one earthwork Arkansas Post.

Punnington, himself, was charged with the task of
building a fort on the Arkansas River. He selected Arkansas
Fost for the same reasons as had French and Spanish
engineers before him. The site was on a prominent bank on
the north side of the river commanding a view of its course
for a full mile in either direction. Since Arkansas Post
was Located above the cut-off where the White River joined
the Arkansas, Federsl gunboats could not advance to Little
Rock unchallenged. To assist in the construction of the
fort, Dunnington was given the aid of two engineers:
Captains Robert H. Fitzhugh and A.M. Williams. Clarkson's
company of sappers and miners and gangs of impressed slaves
provided the labor. Before the end of the year, a fort ance
again protected the Arkansas.

"Post of Arkansas," as the Confederates called their
fort, formed a hollow square, 190 feet to a side with a
bastion at each corner. A ditch, 20 feet wide and & feet

deep surrounded it. On the interior slope of the parapet, a
firing step was constructed for use by the infantry.
Casemates, solidly built of oak timbers reinforced with
railroad iron, were situated in the two bastions fronting
the river. Four 10-pounder Parrott rifles, four 6-pounder
smoothbores, and three 93-inch columbiads comprised the
armaments of the fort. To further add to the Confederate’s

103


¥
a fer fee

ARKANSAS

Figure 28. Arkansas Post as the territorial capital.

88



[from her trading post] she would have only one step to
make. I would laugh at such talk.?

Unfortunately for the Spanish, Magdelon's work among the
Quapaw met with some success. In a short time, the
commandant bitterly complained that the British “have won
ground in the hearts of these wretches [Quapaw Indians].”TM
The rift soon widened to dangerous proportions.?°

In 1770, Joseph Orieta replaced Francois de Mazellieres
as commandant at Arkansas Post. Orieta was the first
officer of Spanish nationality to command the garrison. The
supplanted De Mazeliieres resented Orieta and complained to
the governor, writing that "the inhabitants and savages, who
dislike him {Orieta}, speak only of abandoning the post.”
The Quapaw preferred a French commandant and never accepted
Orieta. Relations between these Indians and Spain worsened.
The great chief Angaska actually accepted a British medal of
friendship. The sub-chief Caiguaioataniga followed suit and
allowed 5,000 deerskins to pass into British hands in
exchange for a cask of whiskey. Orieta was replaced within
a year by Fernando de Leyba, another Spaniard.*?

Fernando de Leyba arrived at Arkansas Post in 1772 with
his wife, Maria Concepcion Cesar. The post had a population
of 78 persons: 22 white males, 30 females and 16 slaves. De
Leyba etood no more chance with the Quapaw than nad Orieta.
Soon after he assumed command, Chief Angaska complained to
the governor. Angaska thought that De Leyba disliked the
Quapaw, and he wanted him replaced. Matters soon worsened.

Qn June 13, 1772, De Leyba arrested Nicolas Labauxiere,
the post interpreter. The commandant learned that
Labauxiere operated among the Quapaw as a British agent.
The interpreter had great influence among the Quapaw,
however, and waS even regarded as a member of the tribe.
Apparently, De Leyba understood the delicacy of the
situation since he attempted to capture Labauxiere secretly.
Unfortunately for De Leyba, the attempt at secrecy was

unsuccessful. On the way to the post the prisoner met a
Quapaw. Labauxiere spoke to him in passing: "tell my father
your chief, in what trouble you see me." The Quapaw Indians

responded that very night by surrounding the fort. A chief
and five warriors entered the grounds demanding the release
of Labauxiere. Should their demand be denied, the Indians
threatened to "cut every throat on the post." Unwilling to
free the renegade interpreter, De Leyba ended the stand-off
by the timely distribution of presents. Even after the
Quapaw departed, one malcontent returned demanding “a barrel
of whiskey or my head" wrote De Leyba.

56


These renegade Frenchmen pledged allegiance to no
government and openly defied the new administration by
conducting contraband trade with the Indians and entering
into intrigues with tribes unfriendly to Spain. The outlavs
befriended the Osage Indians, Long-time rivals of France and
Spain. In 1770, they persuaded the Osage to raid the Caddo
Indians, Spanish allies on Red River. As a result of this
foray, numerous Caddo women were brought to the outlaw camp
and enslaved.*

Under normal circumstances, the Spanish government
would never accept such a blatant disregard of authority.
Unofficially, however, the Spanish tolerated Brindamur and
his cutthroats. More serious problems threatened Louisiana
and the safety of Arkansas Post.

Seven years of neglect under 2a lame-duck French
administration left the post in a ruinous condition. Almost
useless for defense, the fort offered little protection from
marauding bands of Osage Indians who, encouraged by French
inactivity, increased their depredations against Arkansas
trappers.

The Osage Indians were a numerous tribe comprising
nearly one-thousand men. The tribe occupied the Missouri
Country, and frequently ventured into the Arkansas region to
hunt.* To the Spanish, the Osage were particularly
aggressive. An official document described the tribe as
"daring and insolent, . . . one of the most evil-intentioned
of all the nations.” Spanish inability to control the Osage
may have been the result of the “war-mourning" ceremony.
The Osage believed that a deceased warrior required company
for his afterlife journey. Such company was provided by the
subsequent murder of the first person intercepted by a war
party. The scalp of the victim was then buried with the
deceased, thus providing the required companionship.?

in 1771, Osage aggressions were particularly numerous.
In January, Antoine Lepine limped back to the post "in very
bad shape," having been robbed by the Osage. Others were
less fortunate. Only 180 miles above Arkansas Fost, Osage
Indians murdered the trapper Doget, his wife, and children.
So frequent were their depredations that the commandant
expected the Osage to attack Arkansas Post at any moment.
The inhabitants feared for their lives throughout the course
of the year. The stockade of the fort was practically
useless, "baving more entrances than those who defend it
have fingers.” Only 293 of the pickcts were fastened down
by nails. The cannon, lacking carriages, were useless.
Moreover, swollen rivers prevented the Spanish from
retreating. In spite of these problems, Commandant DeLeyba

52



Atha, 7
Ps as, De Tontis Post

Figure 6, The location of Arkansas Fost from 1686-1698.
Henri de Tonti established a trading house on the Arkansas
River to trade with the Quapaw Indians.

14


CHAPTER 9
ARKANSAS POST IN THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

Relations with the British had steadily eroded, and in
anticipation of a major conflict, the French began to
strengthen their military posts. The visit of 1751 to
Arkansas Post by Jean Bernard Bossu, a captain of the French
marines, confirmed that the fort was not in a defensible
condition. Later in the year, Lieutenant Paul Augustin le
Pelletier de la Houssaye arrived on the Arkansas with a
50-man detachment and orders to put the post in a state of
veadiness.! De la Houssaye was an accomplished officer whom
Governor Vaudreuil described as “exact in his duty."
Vaudreuil granted the new commandant a monopoly on the
Indian trade. In return, De la Houssaye would pay for the
cost of a new post from the proceeds,.?

The vulnerability of Arkansas Post, painfully evident
after the Chickasaw raid of 1749, prompted the French to
relocate in the vicinity of their Quapaw allies. The Quapaw
Indians hed moved upriver in 1748 because of flooding on the
lower Arkansas. The new site, called Ecores Rouges or Red
Bluffs by the French, was the first high ground encountered
within 40-river miles of the mouth of the Arkansas.>

Construction of the new post began in October, and it
may not have been entirely finished until 1755. on
completion, the fort was enclosed by an 11-foot-high wall of
double pickets, 720 feet in length, Platforms for cannon
batteries were set in the angles formed by three bastions.
Inside the fort, a number of buildings were constructed
including officers’ quarters, barracks, a chapel, oven,
magazine, and latrines. An additional building contained
the hospitel and storeroom, and aiso housed the storekeeper
ang interpreter. A prison occupied the space beneath a
cannon platform in one of the bastions. The civilian
community, now containing 31 Frenchmen and 14 slaves,
veélocated near the fort.‘

War soon erupted between the French and British.
Although a pitched struggle over control of the Mississippi
River and Louisiana ensued, Arkansas Post was not directly
involved in the conflict. Other problems consumed the
energy of the tiny garrison,

Safeguarding the commerce of the Mississippi River
became a primary concern to the French. Captain de Reggio
succeeded De la Houssaye as post commandant in 1753 and
three years later, relocated the post near the mouth of the
Arkansas. Scarcely nine miles from the Mississippi,

43


Figure 15. The location of Arkansas Post from 1756-1779.
Arkansas Post was moved downriver in 1756 to safeguard
Mississippi River convoys.

47


As with any change of comnand, both men prepared an
inventory of the fort that listed a barracks, kitchen store
house, carthen oven, three sentry boxes, and one {lag-staff.
The fort was regarrisoned with 16 American troops and
thereafter called Fort Madison.}?

Under Spanish jurisdiction, Arkansas Post served as one
link in the Spanish frontier barrier designed to prevent

Anglo-American penetration into rich Mexico. Wer
isolationist policy enticed Spain to enter the American War
for Independence on behalf of the Patriots. Spanish

officials reasoned that, with American autonomy, British
pressure on the eastern border of New Spain would end. The
Patriots won their freedom but, unfortunately for Spain, the
new United States praved to be more aggressive than Great
Britain. The tiny garrison on the Arkansas, like other
isolated Spanish posts, was ill-equipped and understaffed

Arkansas Post could not keep Americans from trespassing on
Spanish lands. To rectify this problem and strengthen the
frontier barrier, Spanish officials proposed to settle
Louisiana with agricultural families. If Louisiana were
already settled, thought the Spaniards, there would be
little reason for Americans to move west. Because Spanish
subjects preferred to settle elsewhere, hawever, Spain
eventually invited Americans--the very people she sought to
exclude--toe populate the province. This same policy, some
thirty years later, would lose Texas for Mexico. In
reality, Spanish policy in Louisiana was never tested. For
reasons of economy, Spain entered a transaction with France
that eventually placed Louisiana in the hands of the United
States. With the extension of American control over the
interior of the continent, peace came to the new frontier
and westward immigration continued.

76



Figure 41. The three locations of Arkansas Post. After
Morris S. Arnold, “The relocation of Arkansas Post to Ecores
Rouges in 1779,“ In Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 42
(Winter 1983), 323. Seven different French and Spanish
forts have existed along the lower Arkansas River, in three
basic geographic locations.

Location: Date of Occupation:
1 1686-1696 Post 1
1721-1726 Post 2
1732-1751 Post 3
2 21751-1756 Post 4
1779-1792 Post 6
1792-1812 Post 7
3 1756-1779 Post 5

138


2 Edwin C. Bearss, "The Battle of the Post of Arkansas,“
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 18 (Autumn 1959), pp. 237-45.

Robert S. Huffstot, The Battle of Arkansas Post (Historical
Times Inc, 1969) pp. 1-9.

CHAPTER 19

1 Maione, pp. 587-8.

2 Huffstot, p- 4.

3  Ibid., p. 5.

4 Bearss, “The Battle of the Post of Arkansas," p. 258.
5 Ibid., p. 273.

6 Ibid., pp. 278-79.

CHAPTER 20

1 Bearss, "Montgomery's Tavern," pp. 48, 50.

131


Figure 4.

fa Salle exploring the Mississippi River.



APPENDIX 1

COMMANDANTS OF ARKANSAS POST

FRENCH

Lt. La Boulaye
(Sept. 20 1721-March 1725)

lst Ens. De Coulange
{1731-1734}

lst Ens. Jean Ste. Therese de Langloiserie
(1734-1739)

Lt. Jean Francois Tisserant de Montcharvaux
(1739-1748)

lst Ens, Louis Xavier Martin Delino de Chalmette
(1748-1751)

Lt. Paul Augustin le Pelletier de la Houssaye
(1751-1753)

Capt. De Reggio
(1753-1757)

Capt. De Gamon de la Rochette
(1757-1763)

ist Ens. be Brichet
(1763)

Capt. Pierre Marie Cabaret de Trepi
(Sept. 27 1763-Spring 1764)

Ens. Le Gros de Grandcour
(Spring 1764-1766)

133


CHAPTER 9
LOUISIANA AS A SPANISH PROVINCE

In 1766, Spanish Governor Don Antonio de Ulloa took
possession of Louisiana in the name of King Carlos III.
Problems confronting the naw government were grave. The
allegiance of Indian tribes, distrustful of Spaniards, had
to be cultivated. To make matters worse, aggressive British
traders, now ensconced on the east bank of the Mississippi,
vied for the loyalties of Indians living under Spanish
jurisdiction. To accomplish her objectives, Spain adopted
the French system of administration: control through the
distribution of presents and the fur trade. As vehicles of
this policy, French traders already residing among the
Indians were retained. To insure loyalty to Spain, all
Major officials were replaced. The population remained
predominantly French,

News of the transfer soon reached Arkansas Post.
French and Quapaw alike were greatly concerned about the
Spanish takeover. in the spring of 1764, Commandant Pierre
Marie Cabaret de Trepi proceeded to New Grleans with the
Quapaw chiefs who pleaded with the governor, asking him not
to deliver them to the Spaniards. Their request was of no
avail. In 1768, Alexander De Clovet, a French officer under
service to the Spanish ruler assumed command of Arkansas
Post. AS his first official act, De Clouet conducted a
census that revealed 138 people at the post, including 85
white civilians; 35 black, mulatto, and Indian slaves; and
18 military personnel. All were required to swear
allegiance to Spain,

So insurmountable were the preblems De Clouet
encountered, that he soon wrote in exasperation: “I sweat
blood and water. “+ Fearful of the Spanish takeover,
Geserters from Arkansas Post joined an outlaw band far up
the Arkansas River. The outlaws were ruled by "Brindamur, a
French Canadian, who by his gigantic strength, made himself
a petty king over the rest."? A traveler in the new Spanish
province described the Arkansas River as:

the asylum of the most wicked persons without a doubt
in all the Endes [sic]. They [the outlaws] pass their
scandalous lives in public concubinage with captive
Indian women who, for this purpose, they purchase among
the heathen, loaning those of whom they tire to others

of less power, . . . [for] quieting their lascivious
passion; in short they have no other rule than their
own caprice and . . . [conduct] themselves like
brutes.?+

51


Chapter 18, Arkansas Fost, Confederate Stronghold -- 103
Chapter 19. The Battle of Arkansas Post eee ee cceeeee 107
Chapter 20. Demise of ArkansaS PoSt oo .e ee ese eee ec eeeee 119

Chapter 21. Establishment of ArkanSas Post

National Memorial ae. 121
ENDNOTES Paar aca area aera er een een eta ne eaetan tenes 123
APPENDIX 1: Commandants of Arkansas Post severe eeeee 133
APPENDIX 2: Descriptions and Locations of

Arkansas Post wee eee ee ee eee eee eee eee 137
ENDNOTES FOR APPENDIX 2 ......-.---- pearverceseerevree 149
BIBLIOGRAPHY ee ee ee a bee -+. 153

iv





evacuation of the post recommending that a garrison of eight
men remain to maintain an alliance with the Quapaw. Because
of spiraling costs and a depressed fur trade, the French
government relied once again on missionaries to preserve the
goodwill of Indians. In 1726, the year the garrison
abandoned the post, the French government contracted with
the Jesuits to send a priest to the Arkansas to minister to
the Quapaw and 14 remaining Frenchmen.

In 1727, Father Paul du Poisson, a Jesuit, took up
residence at the failed concession. Selecting the house of
the former commander as his rectory, Du Poisson began his
ministry. Among the remaining colonists were three married
men (Pierre Douay, Baptiste Thomas, and one called St.
Francois) and eight bachelors (Poiterin, Montpierre, Jean
Mignon, Jean Hours, Jean le Long, Bartelemias, and Du
Fresne). For ministering to his tiny flock, Du Poisson
received a stipend of 800 livres, a sum barely adequate for
the support of a mission in the wilds of Arkansas. Later in
the year, Brother Crucy joined Du Foisson to assist in the

ministry. Brother Crucy, however, died of sunstroke two
years later, forcing Du Foisson to leave the Arkansas in
search of additional support. The unfortunate priest was

caught at Fort Rosalie during the Natchez Indian massacre of
1729. Reportedly, Du Poisson was beheaded while kneeling at
the chapel alter. For a second time, the Arkansas mission
failed,}+

Angered with French occupation of their lands, the
Natchez Indians had set out to exterminate the French.
These Indians lived in several towns near the present-day
city of Natchez, Mississippi. The tribe numbered about
six-thousand, and was able to put between one-thousand to
twelve-hundred warriors in the field. The Natchez offensive
culminated in the debacle at Fort Rosalie where 250
Frenchmen were murdered and countless numbers of women and

children were carried off into captivity. It was this
massacre that claimed the life of Father Paul du Poisson and
ended the Arkansas mission. In retaliation, the French

government waged 2 two-year campaign against the Natchez.
In 1731, with the aid of the Choctaw Indians, the French
nearly exterminated this formerly powerful nation. The
surviving Natchez fled to the Chickasaw nation, enlisted the
aid of their hosts, and continued to harass the French.}?2

Companie des Indies, having borne the expense of the
Natchez conflict, decided that Louisiana would never be a
paying investment, The Companie was, therefore, released
from its charter, and Louisiana became a royal province once
again. Ironically, the resident French population on Law's
former concession, attracted by the abundance of the
Avkansas region, had more than doubled.

23


At the sound of the first shots, the soldiers of the
garrison rushed to the aid of De Villars. Two soldiers were
killed in the ensuing skirmish, one losing his scalp. The
Spanish, bested by Colbert's superior force, took refuge in
the fort. Sergeant Pastor barely escaped his pursuers by
running like a rabbit and diving into the fort through an
open embrasure,.*

After pillaging the residences, Colbert next turned his
attack on the garrison, The Spanish defenses withstood
Colbert's seige. Throughout the night, small arms fire was
exchanged, and the Spanish fired more than 300 cannon
rounds. The projectiles passed harmlessly over the
attackers who were firmly entrenched in a ravine near the
fort. At 9:00 a.m., the lieutenant's wife and a member of
Colbert's band approached the fort under a flag of truce.
The emissary “was shaking with fright“ as he handed
Colbert's demands to Captain Du Breuil. The note read: "M.
Le Capitaine Colbert is sent by his superiors to take the
post of the Arkansas and by this power sir, he demands that
you capitulate.” Du Breuil responéed that he would never
Surrender to the "Captain of the Highwaymen" as he called
Colbert.

Angered by Colbert's audacity, Commandant Du Breuil
conceived a bold counterattack. Du Breuil selected a
detachment of 10 soldiers and 4 Quapaw Indians to be led by
Sergeant Pastor. He instructed them to yell like Indians as
they rushed out to meet the firmly entrenched partisans.
This unexpected sally routed the surprised attackers who,
upon hearing the war-cries, believed that the entire Quapaw
nation had arrived. As they retreated, Colbert’s men were
heard shouting: “Let's go! Let's ga! The Indians ere upon
us."5 The partisans fled to their boats with the Spanish in
hot pursuit. Shots from Spanish muskets killed one member
of the band and wounded another. In retaliation, one of
Colbert's sons pointed a musket at Lieutenant De Villars’
head and pulled the trigger. Fortunately for De Villars,
the weapon misfired. When one of Sergeant Pastor’s Indians
inched near enough to throw a tomahawk inta their midst, the
attackers quickly departed.

At 12:00, Chief Angaska finally arrived at the fort.
Du Breuil reprimanded the Quapaw for allowing the British to
enter the river unchallenged. To redeem himself, Angaska
left in pursuit of Colbert with 100 warriors and soldiers.
The Quapaw chief overtook the raiders south of the mouth of
the Arkansas. Positioning his men around the enemy camp,
the bold Angaska walked directly into the midst of the
enemy, demanding that Colbert release all prisoners. By
telling Colbert that he was surrounded by a superior number
of Quapaw warriors, Angaska gained the release of all

66



been sent to cultivate fields at the Law colony where they
had permission to become inhabitants.+°

Apparently, “Zautoouys" is merely a different spelling
of “Assoutoue.” Information indicates, however, that the
Quapaw village had been relocated south of the Arkansas
River since Joutel's 1687 description. A map prepared by
Lt. Jean Benjamin Francois Dumont, scientist for La Harpe's
expedition, clearly indicates that Zautoouys was south of
the Arkansas River, the post immediately north of the viver,
and the Law colony a greater distance northeast of the
garrison./+ Dumont further atteets to the continuity of La
Boulaye'’s post and De Tonti's original 1686 tocation.1? of
the post, Dumont remarked:

There is no fort in the place, only four or five
palisaded houses, a guardhouse and a cabin which serves
as a storehouse.?

La Harpe indicated that the Law colony was situated
approximately three miles west by northwest of the post and
that the expedition crossed a small stream to get there.
The site of the concession was a "beautiful plain surrounded
by fertile valleys and a little etream of fine clear
wholesome water."14 La Harpe found:

about forty-seven persons including Mr, Menard,
Commander, and Labro [his son the magazine guard], a
surgeon, and an apothecary.

Their works still consist of only a score of cebins
poorly arranged and three acres of cleared ground.!5

Sometime between La Harpe's departure from and return
to the concession on April 28, the majority of colonists had
abandoned the post. Deron de Artaquette, a company
official, visited the concession one year later and observed
the faltering colony:

there were only three miserable huts, fourteen
Frenchmen and six negroes whom Sr. Dufresne, who is the
director there for the company employs in clearing the
land.1°

Visiting the garrison later in the day, De Artaquette
observed that the post contained only a hut for Commandant
La Soulaye and a barn, that served as lodging for the
soldiers stationed there.

Following dissolution of the concession, a garrison
remained on the Arkansas until 1726. In that year, the
Jesuits assumed responsibility for preserving the French

142


CHAPTER 10
ARKANSAS POST IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

In 1775, the American Revolution began. Spain,
recognizing an opportunity to be rid of the troublesome
British, offered aid to the Patriots. It was reasoned that
with American independence, Spain need not fear British
aggressions. Arkansas Post had a role in the conflict.
Upstream expeditions stopping at the fort received briefings
for evading British patrols, and thus kept Spanish-American
supply lines open.

Sometime during the summer of 1776, Commandant Orieta
died at the post. As his replacement, Governor Louis de
Unzaga appointed Captain Balthazar de Villiers. A seasoned
officer, De Villiers was a veteran of three campaigns in
Flanders. He came to Louisiana in 1749 and served admirably
under both the French and Spanish administrations. Unzaga
thought De Villiers ideally suited for the difficult command
at Arkansas Post.!

The new commandant and his wife, Francoise Voisin
Bonaventure, reached Arkansas Post in September, 1776. De
Villiers found a pitifully small French and Spanish
community. Among their number were 50 whites and 11 slaves
all domiciled in 11 rotting dwellings in the vicinity of the
fort. Oniy 16 soidiers formed the garrison. The fort
itself was dilapidated by the annual floods that had plagued
the settlement since its relocation in 1756. To Captain De
Villiers, Arkansas Post was "the most disagreeable hole in
the universe,"?

De Villiers confronted the problem of contraband trade,
The small garrison on the Arkansas was ill-equipped toa deal
with large numbers of interlopers and relie@ on their Indian
allies ta pillage hunting camps and drive out the British.
In October, 1776, Spanish Indians raided a British camp and
captured 300 deerskins and many beaver pelts. In the spring
of 1777, the Kaskaskia tribe, recently located in Arkansas
to escape Iroquois incursions in the Illinois Country, aided
De Villiers by compelling British hunters to abandon the
White River region. It was not until Spain entered the
American War of Independence as allies of France and the
Patriots, however, that the majority of British departed.
De Villiers then turned his attention to improving Arkansas
Post.

De Villiers had found the location of Arkansas Post

unsuitable. In 1777, he wrote: "all the land [around the
post] has been covered with water for three weeks and the

59


forest, eventually taking refuge among the Yazoo Indians
with whom they shared their booty.

Father Antoine Davion discovered the scene of the
massacre while traveling to the Arkansas to visit Focault,
Shocked by the gruesome spectacle, Davion buried the bodies
and hastened to Mobile to recount the tragedy to Governor
Jean Baptiste Lemoyne Bienville. Outraged by the heinous
act of violence, Bienville urged the ever-faithfuvl Quapaw to
punish the Coroa. As a result of the Quapaw reprisals, the
Coroa were nearly exterminated.'?

The Arkansas mission failed. Many years would pass
before a "black robe” walked among the Quapaw again. As far
as French settiement is concerned, there is little record of
activity on the Arkansas from 1702-1721, indicating that the
area may have been abandoned.?°

16



CHAPTER 5
A_PERMANENT GARRISON ON THE ARKANSAS

The French government, eager to protect the growing
river commerce and trade with the Indians, established a
permanent military garrison on the Arkansas. Late in 1731,
First Ensign De Covlange and a 12-man detachment arrived on
the Arkansas River. De Coulange located the fort in the
vicinity of the tiny habitant village that had emerged from
the ruin of Law's colony, on the same site formerly occupied
by La Boulaye and De Tonti. Construction of fortifications
began immediately. By 1734, two substantial barracks, a
Powder magazine, and a prison were completed. Since the
fort had no storehouse, trade goods were packed in the
spaces between gables in the barracks, Presumably, the
buildings were enclosed by a tog stockade. This
establishment and the nearby civilian community were Known
collectively by the French as Poste de Arkansea or Arkansas
Post.

Shortly after De Coulange came to the Arkansas, he was
joined by Father Avond, a missionary sent to minister the
French and Quapaw. The 600 livres Avond received for his
service was barely adequate for survival. The priest
domiciled in a "makeshift hut" of mud ard logs. "I nave
lived elsewhere in such dwellings," commented a visiting
missionary, “but nowhere did I have so much fresh air. The
house is full of cracks from top to bottom."!

The few soldiers stationed at Arkansas Post could not
possibly police the surrounding country with any degree of
effectiveness. To dissuade the British from encroaching on
Arkansas soil, the French cultivated the goodwill of the
neighboring Quapaw. Medals of friendship were awarded to
key tribal members, and presents were distributed to the
tribe on an annual basis. In return for this declaration of
friendship, the Quapaw provided a police force for the post
environs, expelled British hunters operating in the area,
and tracked down deserters and runaway slaves.?

In most cases, the duty of the soldier was local. Time
was relegated between drill, guard duty, and work in the

post garden. For this the soldier received a trifling $s?
per month. For occasional duty on stockade repair, he
received an additional stipend. The daily ration consisted
of bread, beans, rice, and salt pork, Occasionally, a
liberal allowance of eau de vie or liquor was dispensed to
“revive” the troops. Low wages and monotony resulted in a
high rate of desertion. Sometimes, however, a threat of

Indian attack shattered the boredom of garrison life.?

33



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arnold, Morris S., “The Relocation of Arkansas Post to
Ecores Rouges in 1779," Arkansas Historical Quarterly,
42 (Winter 1983), pp. 320-321.

, Unequal Laws Unto a Savage Race: European Legal
Traditions in Arkansas, 1686-1836, Fayetteville:

University of Arkansas Press, 1985.

Barnhart, Clarence L. and William 0. Halsey, The New
Encyclopedia of Names, New York: Appieton-

Century-Crofts, Inc., 1954.

Beard, W. David, The Quapaw Indians, @ History of _ the

Downstream People, Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 1980.

Bearss, Edwin €,, "The Battle of the Post of Arkansas,
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 18 (Autumn 1959), pp-
237-45.

, Montgomery's Tavern and Johnston and _Armstrong's

Store, Washington D.C.: Department of the Interior,
National Park Service 1971.

Bearss, Edwin C. and Lenard E. Brown, Arkansas Post National

Memorial: Structural History, Post of Arkansas,
2, and Civil “War _Troop Movement _ Maps, January
1863, Washington D.C., Department of The interior,
National Park Service 1971.

Billington, Ray Allen, Westward Expansion, a History of the

American Frontier third edition, New York: The

Macmillan Co., 1967.

Bolton, Herbert Eugene and Thomas Maitland Marshali, The
Colonization of North America, New York: The MacMillan
Company, 1920.

Caldwell, Norman W., "Tonty and the Beginning of Arkansas
Post," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 8 (Autumn 1949)
pp. 109-196.

Din, Gilbert c., "Arkansas Post in the American Revolution,"
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 39 {Spring 1981), pp. 3-

30.

Din, Gilbert C., “Spanish Fort on the Arkansas, 1763-1803,
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 42 {Autumn 1983), p.
272.

153


Figure 17. An Osage warrior. From Letters and Notes on the

Manners, Customs and Condition of the North American Indians
by George Catlin.

§3


CHAPTER 2
THE LAW COLONY

The Province of Louisiana had not prospered under
government organization. French officials realized that to
cope with British competition and to benefit from her
discoveries, that calonies must be established. In 1712,
Antoine Crozat accepted a 15-year charter, essentially a
trade monopoly, under the condition that he colonize

Louisiana. Crozat's plans never materialized. French
commercial laws, low fur prices, and the trade monopoly
crippled the province. In 1717, the responsibility to

colonize Louisiana passed from Crozat to John Law, wealthy
financier and director general of the Royal Bank of France.!

John Law was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1671.
Little is known of Law's early life, but at the age of 23,
the young Scot was in London where he killed a man in a
duel. Condemned to death for his actions, Law escaped to
the continent and lived the roving life of a gambler.
During his nefarious career, Law developed his financial
genius and pioneered the concept of issuing paper currency.
In 1716, Law founded the private Bank General in France.
Because of his financiahk success, the French gavernment
appointed Law director general of the Royal Bank of France
and offered him a 25-year charter for the Louisiane fur
trade. Law received commercial and political control of
Louisiana and, in return, promised to colonize the province.
To administer Louisiana, Law formed Companie d'‘Occident,
which became known as Companie des Indies after Law's
acquisition of the Indies trade in 1719.7

John Law's scheme to colonize Louisiana was ambitious.
Extensive tracts of Land, known as concessions, were granted
to individuals who agreed to bear the cost of colonization.
With settlers in high demand, many emigrants were secured
from overcrowded European jails and hospitals. Great
numbers of slaves were imported, thus laying the foundation
for an agricultural economy. In 1718, New Orleans was
laid-out, and Fort Chartres established to protect the
growing French population in the Illinois Country. During
the same year, plans were formulated to establish a
concession between Illinois and lower Louisiana to
facilitate trade and communication between both growing
population centers. In turn, Mississippi River convoys
would create a ready market for products of such a
concession. The potential of an intermediate station was so
great that shrewd entrepreneur John Law reserved this
concession for himself. Law needed a suitable location
roughly equidistant between both population centers. The
site of De Tonti's former treding post proved ideal.’

19




organization, British naturalist Thomas Nuttal visited
Arkansas Fost and described it as "an insignificant village
{that} scarcely deserved geographic notice.” On January 15,
1820, Nuttal stopped at Arkansas Post for a second time and
found an entirely different community:

Interest, curiosity, and speculation, had drawn the
attention of men of education and wealth toward this
country. Since its separation into a territory: we now
see an additional numbor of lawyers, doctors, and
mechanics. The retinue and friends of the Governor
together with the officers of justice, added also
essential importance to the territory, as well as the
growing town.

Following creation of the territory, Arkansas Post
assumed the appearance of an established community. Early
businesses included three general stores, William
Montgomery’s tavern, two tailor shops, a post office, Samuel
wilson's blacksmith shop, Francis Vaugine's billiard parlor,
a mill, and two cotton factors.” A hoard of lawyers
descended on the fledgling capital and opened offices. On
October 30, 1819, pioneer journalist William Woodruff set-up
a printing press at Arkansas Post.

Woodruff was 23 years old when he came to Arkansas. In
appearance, he was a "short man, clean-shaven, with a fine
forehead, thin, dark-auburn hair, piercing dark eyes and a
reserved manner." To all who knew him, Woodruff was an
educated man “of the highest kind of honesty an downright
and thorough sincerity."'® The young publisher learned the
printing trade in Brooklyn, New York, and moved around for
several years looking for a suitable place to practice his
profession. When he heard that Arkansas Territory had been
established, the enterprising Woodruff purchased a Ramage
printing press, some type, and other supplies and headed for

Arkansas Post. The printing press was transported upriver
in a bateaux a small raft made by lashing two pirogues or
wooden dugout canoes together. Woo@ruff built a two-room

log cabin at Arkansas Post, and on November 20, 1819,
published the first issue of the Arkansas Gazette. In his
first editorial, Woodruff wrote:

It has long been the wish of many citizens of this
territory that a press shovld be established here;
their wish is now accomplished; we have established
one--which we intend shall be permanent and increase
with the growth of the territory.??

Civilization had at last come to Arkansas. So
overjoyed were the innabitants that the community celebrated

86



On the eve of the attack, a superior force of 150
Chickasaw Indians led by the seasoned warrior Payamataha,
ascended the Arkansas River. Finding the Quapaw absent fram
their village, the war party proceeded silently to Arkansas
Post. In the darkness of night, Payamataha laid plans for
his attack,

At the first light of morning, the screaming warriors

fell upon the sleeping French village. In the ensuing
skirmish, six men were killed and eight women and children
taken captive. During the resulting canfusion, the

surviving habitants fled to the safety of the fort and
alerted thes garrison. While the Chickasaw looted and burned
the village, De Chalmette placed hiS men in a state of

readiness, Musket barrels bristled from the rickety
stockade as the tiny detachment waited in grim-faced
silence. Women and children huddled in the safety of the
soldiers’ barracks. What seemed like an eternity took only
moments. In an explosion of activity, 150 painted Indians

burst from the forest, and attempted to storm the fort.
With nerves of steel, De Chalmette waited until the
attackers were within yards of the stockade. At his
command, the soldiers greeted the Indians with a volley. A
deafening roar filled the air. The smoke cleared and twa
warriors lay dead on the field. Payamataha had received a
serious wound, forcing the Chickasaw to beat a hasty
retreat. The raid probably lasted less than one hour.’

Although the garrison withstood the Chickasaw attack,
the vulnerability of the isolated outpost was painfully
evident. With six men murdered and eight women and children
carried off into captivity, French officials could no-langer
ignore English subversion and the Chickasaw threat.
Actually, the raid on Arkansas Past was only one in a series
of incidents that locked France and England in a bitter
7-year struggle to control Louisiana.

40



CHAPTER 14
ARKANSAS POST, TERRITORIAL CAPITAL

Demise of the government factory heraided a new
economic era at Arkansas Post. An agricultural economy
Slowly supplanted the waning fur trade. Since 1804, American
farmers had been trickling into the region. In 1812, war
with Britain sent many displaced Americans west of the
Mississippi. To administer the increased population,
Arkansas County was created on December 31, 1813,
encompassing much of the present state of Arkansas with the
county seat at Arkansas Post. The county was administered
by the Territory of Missouri. In January, 1815, the battle
of New Orleans ended the war with Britain giving yet
additional impuise to westward emigration.}

Because of the influx of farming families, life at
Arkansas Post changed considerably. In 1817, an emigrant
stated that most inhabitants had "given up this mode of life
{hunting] for the cultivation of land."? Instead of dealing
in pelts, post merchants now catered to farmers. Eli J,
Lewis, William Drope, and Frederic Notrebe transacted nearly
all the post business.* The village of Arkansas Post now
boasted a miti and one hotel. Several Americans joined the
French and Spanish to live in the village. The number of
civilian residents now totaled nearly two-hundred, larger
than any other time during the existance of Arkansas Post.

The residents of Arkansas County grew increasingly
dissatisfied with their citizenship in the Missouri
Territory. Public improvements and other benefits resulting
from territorial organization eluded Arkansas County. Ina
number of public meetings held at Arkansas Post, the
residents of Arkansas County drafted petitions to Congress,
urging that their county be separated from Missouri and made

a self-governing body. By an act of Congress on March 2,
1819, Arkansas became a territory with the capital at
Arkansas Post. The territorial government included a

governor, secretary, a general assembly composed of a house
of representatives, and an upper house called a council.
The highest court included a superior court of three
appointed judges. President James Monroe filled the most
important offices. He appointed Brigadier General James
Miller as governor; Robert Crittenden as secretary; and
Andrew Scott, Charles Jouvett, and Robert Fetcher as judges
for the superior court,4

dames Miller was born April 25, 1776, at Petersborough,
New Hampshira. The young Miller was educated for the bar,

81


portion of the Spanish trade in peltries. According to the
post commandant, trespassing hunters obtained 12,000
deerskins and 6,000 pounds of beaver furs on the White and
St. Francis rivers during February and March, 1766.14

58



but in 1868, entere@ the army as a major. During the War of
1812, Miller distinguished himself as a leader and rose
quickly through the ranks. In August, 1812, he was breveted
colonel for meritorious service at Brownstown. Two years
later, Miller was promoted to brigadier general for his
heroic action at Lundy's Lane. In this encounter, Miller
was asked to lead a company of soldiers in an assault on a
battery of British guns that had been dealing destruction to
American lines. Colonel Miller replieg@ "I'll try, sir."
Miller's company advanced and after a short, desperate
contest, captured the battery. Miller became an instant
hero, and the modest phrase he coined was on the lips of
every American. Further feats of daring at Chippewa,
Niagara, and Fort Erie won the general a medal from
Congress. Miller resigned from the Service on June 1, 1819,
when he was offered the governorship of Arkansas Territory.’

On October 17, 1819, the war hero began his journey to
Arkansas Territory. The trip was agonizingly slow, taking a
total of 75 days after departing Pittsburgh. Miller stopped
at nearly every river town to be cheered by admiring crowds
eager to see the hero who coineg the memorable words “I'll
try, sir." Miller's grand arrival at Arkansas Post was
described by a citizen:

He came up the river in a splendidly fitted-up barge
with a large and well finished cabin, having most of

the conveniences of modern steamboats. On the after
part of the cabin, on both sides, her name, "“Arkansaw,”
[sic] was inscribed in large gilt letters. She had a

tall mast, from which floated a national banner with
the wor@g@ “Arkansaw" [sic} in large letters in the
center, and the words “I‘ll try sir:” . ~ oe
interspersed in several places.é

In the absence of the tardy governor, Secretary Robert
Crittenden set the wheels of government in motion. At the
first session of the territorial legislature, July 28-August
3, Acting Governor Crittenden held elections for the general
assembly and filled the most important appointive offices.
Governor Miller, upon his arrival, questioned the iegality
of these elections and called for a special session of the
legislature. The legislature reconvened from February 7-10,
1820. Predictably the members unanimously supported their
election to office. Other issues discussed during the
second session included adoption of a code of laws for the
territory, selling public land, road building, making
treaties with Indians residing in the territory, and passing
a pre-emption law.’

The village on the Arkansas prospered as the
territorial capital. Just prior to territorial

82



‘uOTSSTUUOD AZOISTH seBUeHIY
aq. “sesuexay FO 4S0q wi03s sdoor, [erepeq “OP eznbta



Under the control of Spain, Arkansas Post became one
link in the Spanish barrier to prevent Anglo-Americans from
reaching rich Mexico. The isolationist policy of Spain
prompted this nation to aid the Patriots in their effort to
gain independence from Britain. With American independence,
reasoned Spanish officials, Spain need not fear British
aggression. Arkansas Post played an active part in the
Revolutionary War drama, both as an intelligence center, and
battleground, James Colbert and pro-Sritish partisans
attacked Arkansas Fost in what was probably the final battle
of the conflict. After the Patriots gained independence,
Spain confronted a new republic even more aggressive than
Britain. Spain attempted to stop the westward advance of
the Americans by establishing relationships with Indian
tribes between Spanish and American frontiers, and by
settling Louisiana with agricultural families. Spanish
policy, however, was never tested. Spain entered a
transaction with France that inadvertently placed Louisiana
in American hands.

As an American community, Arkansas Post participated in

the growth and expansion of a nation. The Arkansas River
became one avenue of westward expansion and Arkansas Post
soon grew into a bustling frontier town. Arkansas Post

became the territorial capital of Arkansas from March 2,
1819, to June 1, 1821, By the middle of the nineteenth
century, cotton had become the major cash crop of Arkansas,
and Arkansas Post a major river port and center of cotton
Production, But war loomed on the horizon and the decade of
the 1860s brought drastic changes to Arkansas Post. Under
Confederate occupation, a defensive earthwork was
constructed at Arkansas Post to guard the approach to the
upriver capital of Little Rock. On January 11, 1863,
Arkansas Post fell to Federal troops following a 3-day
engagement. The village of Arkansas Post never recovered
from the devastation.

120



French trappers preferred their semi-nomadic lifestyle to
@ tilling the soil. Consequently, Arkansas Post never
developed as a French agricultural colony.

27




CHAPTER 1
FRENCH COLONIZATION AND ARKANSAS POST

By the mid-seventeenth century, European powers
controlled substantial portions of North America. France
occupied the St. Lawrence valley, Acadia and the Great Lakes
region. England claimed much of the Atlantic Seaboard and
Spain ruled what is now the southwestern and southeastern
United States including the Gulf of Mexico. All three
governments had designs on the vast unsettied interior of
the continent. Although Spain extended a claim to this
region by Hernando de Soto's expedition. she made no attempt
at colonization. English explorers began to venture west of
the Alleghanies and in 1673, two Virginians reached the
Cherokees on the upper Tennessee River. Eager to compete
with Spain and England for control of the great interior,
the French government sponsored an expedition to this region
in 1673.

Two capable men were chosen to undertake the
expedition: Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and
Louis Joliet, a fur trader. On May 17 1673, Marquette,
Joliet, and four other men departed Michilimackinack in two
bark canoes. The tiny flotilla traversed Green Bay and the
Fox River, portaged to the Wisconsin River, and, one month
after initiating their journey, entered the “Great Father of
Waters" described by Indians.

Qn March 15, 1674, Marquette and Joliet landed their
bark canoes at the Quapaw Indian village of Kappa. The
Quapaw were bewildered and perhaps frightened at the sight
of these white-faced, bearded strangers--the first Europeans
to come among them. To indicate his good intentions,
Marquette smoked the calumet, the traditional pipe of peace,
with tribal leaders.'

The Quapaw numbered about 2,500 individuals residing in
four towns. Kappa and Tongigua were situated on the
Mississippi River north of the mouth of the Arkansas River.
Tourima and Qsotouy were farther inland cn the banks of the
Arkansas River. Marquette and later travelers described the
Quapaw as "strong, weli made" and attractive in appearance,
and dubbed them the beaux hommes or handsome men. The

French found the Quapaw quite unlike northern Indians and
characterized them as “civil, liberal, and of a gay humor.?

The Quapaw regaled their guests with two days of
dancing and feasting. The Frenchmen learned from their
hosts that the Mississippi River entered the Gulf of Mexico
scarcely 10-days journey from Kappa. Fearing detection by

3


AMERICAN

Lt. James B. Many
(March 23 1804-March 1805)

Lt. Stephen Worrel
(March 1805-June(?) 1805)

Lt. Robert Weir Osborn
(June(?}) 1805-(7))

Capt. George Armistead
((2)-Nov. 15 1808)

135


alliance with the Quapaw, and Father Paul du Poisson
traveled to the Arkansas. Apparently, the concession had
been vacated since Du Poisson commented:

E was lodged in the house of the Company of
Indies--which is the house of the commander when there
is one here.??

Following the death of Du Poisson in 1728, the Arkansas was
evidently abandoned. *

It is apparent from the previous discussion that three
European landmarks were present on the Arkansas from
1721-1728:

1) A factory or warehouse at the Quapaw village of
Ouyapes on the Mississippi;

2) A French garrison that occupied a site on the north
bank of the Arkansas across from the Quapaw village of
Assotoue/Zautoouys. The location of the garrison was
apparently the same as that occupied by De Tonti'e 1686
post and;

3) The Law colony that was about one league or three
miles from the post. Depending upon which account is
used, the colony was either northeast or west by
northwest of the post.

PosT #3 (1732-1751)

Lieutenant Coulange and 12 men came to the Arkansas in
1732 and selected a site on the north bank about 12 miles
from the mouth of the river. One account suggests that
Coulange occupied the same site as had La Boulaye and De
Tonti before him.'? By 1734, the works constructed were
described as:

a wooden house on sleepers thirty-two feet long by
eighteen feet wide, roofed with bark, consisting of
three rooms on the ground floor, one of which has a
fireplace, the floors and ceilings of cyprus, a powder
magazine buiit of wood on sleepers ten feet long and
eight feet wide, a prison built of posts driven into
the ground, roofed with bark, ten feet long by eight
feet wide, and a building which serves as a barracks
also of posts driven into the ground forty feet long by
sixteen feet wide, roofed with bark.?°

Father Vitry recorded this description in 1738:
The fort is small; a larger one [is] not needed for the

twelve men who are there commanded by an officer. A

143


ENDNOTES FOR APPENDIX 2

1 Burney B. McClurkan, “Fort Desha, the Location of
Arkansas Post, ca. 1735-1750," pp. 32-39, In Stanley South,
The Conference on Historic Sites Archeology Papers, Vol. 6,
Part 2, Sections 1 and 2 “(Columbia: University of South
Carolina, 1971).

2 Morris S$. Arnold, "The Relocation of Arkansas Post to
Ecores Rouges in 1779," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 42
(winter 1983), 320-21. Morris §, Arnold, Unequal La unto
a Savage Race: European Leqal Traditions in Arkansas,
1686-1836 “(Fayetteville: University Of Arkansas Press,
1985).

3 Ray H. Mattison, "Report on the Historical Investigations
of Arkansas Post, Arkansas" (Typed manuscript on file at
Arkansas Post National Memorial, 1957}, p. 74.

4 Ibid., p. 78.
S Ibid.

6 Henri de Tonty, "Memoir Sent in 1693, on the Discovery of
the Mississippi and the Neighboring Nations by M. De La
Salle from the Year 1678 to the Time of his Death, and by
the Sieur De Tonty to the Year 1691, p. 98, In Thomas
Falconer, On the Discovery of the 2 Mississippi _ and on the
South-Western, Oregon, and North- -Western Boundary of “the

United States (Austin, Tx,: Shoal Creek Publishers, 1975).

7 Norman W. Caidwell, “Tonty and the Beginning of Arkansas
Post,” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 6 (Autumn 1949), 195,
201.

8 Stanley Faye, “Arkansas Post of Louisiana: French
Domination," Louisiana Historical Quarterly, 26 (July 1943),
635, Phillip Phillips, James A. Ford and James B. Griffin,
Archeological Survey in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial

Valley, 1940-1947 (Cambridge), pp. 414-15.

9 Ralph A. Smith, “Exploration of the Arkansas River by
Benard De La Harpe, 1721-1722, Arkansas Historical
Quarterly, 10 (Winter 1951), 342.

10 Ibid., p. 349.
11 Arnold, Unequal Laws, Fig. 3.

12 Dr. and Mrs. T.L. Hodges, “Possibilities for the
Archaeologist and Historian in Eastern Arkansas," Arkansas
Historical Quarterly, 2 (June 1943), 149,

149




Louisiana by the United States, the Arkansas River became
one avenue of westward expansion. Immigrants in search of
cheap land populated the Arkansas floodplain, and the river
that once served the Indian trade helped feed the cotton
hungry textile mills of the east. Ironically, the river
that attracted Europeans to its banks often destroyed their
crops, homes, and forts. Almost annually the temperamental
Arkansas became a raging torrent, spilled over its banks and
consumed the land for miles around. No location within
thirty miles of the mouth of the river remained dry. To
escape the omnipresent threat of inundation, the flood weary
inhabitants of Arkansas Post changed location several times.
No less than seven different posts have existed in the lower
Arkansas valley.

Numerous difficulties were encountered in this
undertaking. Chief among these were deficiencies in the
historical record. Documents provided only a brief and
incomplete glimpse into the remote history of Arkansas Post.
Key events were often poorly detailed. At other times, the
historical record identified its participants by a single
name aS is evident in many of the characterizations herein.
Names nearly always reflected a variety of misspellings
making it necessary to hypothesize continuity between people
and places. Lastly, the various locations and movements of
ArkansaS Post have troubled researchers for years.
Fortunately for the present study, recent historical and
archeological analyses have resolved this issue.

Three colleagues in the National Park Service have
contributed significantly to The Arkansas Post Story. For
tirelessly critiquing earlier manuscripts, the writer
gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Edwin C. Bearss,
Chief Historian, Washington D.C.; of Melody Webb, Chief
Historian, Southwest Regional Office, Santa Fe: and of
Gregorio S.A. Carrera, Historian at Arkansas Post National
Memorial, Gillette, Arkansas. & special thanks is extended
To Eastern National Parks and Monument Association for
funding this project.





prisoner. Strategically, McClernand's campaign contributed
little to the goal of capturing Vicksburg. He had at least,
denied the Confederates continued use of Arkansas Post as a
base for their attacks on Union shipping supplying the
Mississippi, Major General Ulyses S. Grant wus outraged
that McClernand had disappeared into the western wilderness
with a “Caesar's half” of the arnmy- He further described
McClernand's campaign as “a wild goose chase.” McClernand
was subsequently relegated to a corps commander and his
"Aray of the Mississippi” dissotved only two weeks after its
constitution. The politician-general accepted the demotion
poorly and compiained to President Lincoln that “my success
»- . . is gaii and wo oog to the clique of West Pointers
who have been persecuting ine for months."

116


he described them as "unmanageable persons over whom I could
exercise no authority." Be Tonti was forced to abandon his
search.!7

While among the Quapaw, De Tonti visited hie
"commercial house” for the first time. To reach the post,
the explorer found it necessary to navigate 18 miles up the
Arkansas around numerous sandbars and through swift
currents. The inconvenience of reaching the post was
evident. During his next visit eight years later, De Tonti
had the season’s beaver catch delivered to him at the mouth
of the Arkansas.?*

The tra@ing establishment on the Arkansas River was
doomed to failure. For many years, there had been
agifficulty in marketing beaver in Europe. Such a large
surplus of pelts had accumulated that the French monarch
Placed a moratorium on beaver trade south of Canada and

ordered all voyageurs to return to Quebec. These
restrictions led to misfortune in De Tonti's trading
ventures. In 1698, De Tonti traveled to the Arkansas under

government service to enforce the royal edict and evict all
French hunters and traders. This action probably led to the
desertion of Coutoure Charpenter, trader at De Tonti's Post.

Charpenter joined the English in the Carolinas where
trade was unrestricted. In 1700, the renegade Frenchman
guided a party of Englishmen to the mouth of the Arkansas to
trade with the Quapaw. The attempt was foiled, largely
because of the timely intervention of Pierre Charles le
Seurer, a French explorer. Le Seurur informed the
interlopers of the claim of France to tha region.

Because of the depressed economy and English overtures
to control the Louisiana fur trade, the French government
relied on missionaries to preserve goodwill and maintain
alliances with the Indians. In 1698, De Tonti guided
several Jesuits downriver to locate sites for missions, Two
years later, a Jesuit, Father Nicholas Focault, decided to
live among the Quapaw.

The first Arkansas mission was short-lived. Father
Focault's contemporaries believed him too infirm to be a
miasionary. Predictably, the priest's efforts among the
Quapaw met with little success, Greatly discouraged,
Focauit abandoned the mission after one year. The priest
bargained with some Coroa Indians to accompany him and two
French soldiers from Illinois to Mobile, the capital of
Louisiana. Perhaps from motives of robbery, the Coroa
Indians fell upon the Frenchmen while in-transit, slaying
all three of them. The perpetrators vanished into the

15


Figure 5. La Salle among the Quapaw at the mouth of the
Arkansas River.

10


Figurs
Figure
Figure

Figure

Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure

Figure

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
1B.
19.
20.
21.

22.

LIST OF FIGURES

Sauvage du nord ouest de la Louisiane oe

Bark houS@S seve s eee eee cece eee eee ees
Henri de Tonti 9. ee eevee eee eee eee

La Salle exploring the
Mississippi River ee eee eee eee eee

La Salle among the Quapaw ss. -..--.-. 2000

The location of De Tonti's post eee neee
Indian taking a scalp es
The location of the John Law colony see
Making a set ........ veer e ee eet renee

Preparing skins for market  .....--.....

Summer evening in a French village sees
A typical French house 3 .,..... ses eevoee
An Indian Raid .......-. wee em weer ernons
The location of Arkansas Post in 1751 .

The location of Arkansas Post in 1756 -

Arkansas Post around 1767-1768 sence eae
An Osage wWarriOr  — sivevee se cacacseeercee
An Osage war party ee eee eee eee eee
The location of Arkansas Post in 1779 .

Arkansas Post and vicinity in 1779 eaae

Captain Josef Valliere  .....- eee eee eee

Fort San Esteban Pe

10
14
17
22
28
29
30
34
4l
44
47

48

54
61
62
70

75


CHAPTER 11

Anna Lewis, "An Attack Upon the Arkansas Post, 1783,”

1
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 2 (September 1943), pp.
i

2 Baird, p. 42.

3 Faye, “Spanish Domination," p. 684.

4 Ibid. Corbitt, p. 300.

5 Lewis, "An Attack," pp. 263-65.

6 Ibid.

7 Corbitt, p- 302. Din, “American Revolution," p. 302.
8 Lewis, "Spanish Letters," p. 56.

9 Lopez-Briones, p. 262.

CHAPTER 12
1 Faye, “Spanish Hospitality,“ pp. 93-94.

2 Faye, “Spanish Domination,” p. 689.

Din, “American Revolution,"

3 p. 5.
4 Faye, "Spanish Hospitality," pp. 93-106.
5 Din, “Spanish Fort," p. 283.

6 Mattison, "Historical Investigations," p. 126. Din,
“Spanish Fort,” pp. 280-84.

6 Lopez-Briones, p. 249. Arnold, Unequal Laws, pp. 76-77.
7 Din, “Spanish Fort," p. 280.

8 Josiah H. Shinn, Pioneers and Makers_of Arkansas (Little
Rock: Democrat Printing and Lithography Ca., 1308) p. 79.

g Lopez-Briones, pp. 259-66.
10 Ibid, Shinn, p. 27.

11 Mattison, "Historical Investigations,” p. 126. Din,

128


Figure 34.

Churchill commander of Post of

History Commission.

106

Arkansas.

Confederate Brigadier General Thomas J.

The Arkansas



CHAPTER 11
COLBERT'S RAID

On June if, De Villiers died in New Orleans following
an operation to remove a tumor from his liver. Lieutenant
Louis de Villars, a young officar temporarily stationed at
Arkansas Post, assumed command until a duly appointed
officer could be dispatched. Governor Esteban Miro selected
Captain Jacobo Du Breuil for the job.

Captain Du Breuil, his wife, Inez, and their two young
children landed at the post in January, 1783. The new
conmandant mustered the troops for inspection. Du Breuil
counted 14 soldiers, the names of most of which have been
recorded: Lieutenant Louis de Villars; Sergeant Alexo
Pastor; Private First Class Josef Plaseras; Privates Second
Class Lucas Perez and Sebastian Molina; and soldiers Marieno
Barrios, Bruna Cuisasola, Antonio Longines, Antonio Lopez,
Mariano Perez, Augustin Garcia, Pedro Clossin, and Antanio
Longevas. The location of the fort, observed Du Breuil, is
inadequate as "one could approach within pistol shot before
being seen. . .“ The village of the inhabitants, scarcely
100 steps away, could shield an enemy in the event of an
attack. Du Breuil was not overly alarmed, however, since
the possibility of being attacked at the time seemed remote.
Preliminary peace treaties had already been signed.!

Scarcely three months after Du Breuil assumed command,
James Colbert launched his long-threatened attack. On April
16, 1783, Colbert and about 100 partisans composed of his
ll-half-blood sons, several Natchez rebels and Chickasaw
Indians slipped up the Arkansas River, The group had little
trouble passing by the Quapaw village near the mouth of the
river. Colbert told the intoxicated Chief Angaska that he
and i2 Americans came to shake the hand of the new
commandant. In his befuddled condition, Angaska allowed the
white-men to pass. Colbert's partisans approached within a
short distance of the Spanish post. Leaving the boats in
the care of seven men, the group made its way overland to
the French village.”

At 2:30 a.m., Colbert and the partisans stormed the
village. The first shot fired broke the lock on the door of
the residence where Lieutenant De Villars and his family
lived. De Villars, his wife, Dona Maria Luisa, and a number
eof other residents were captured without a struggle. The
majority of the inhabitants, alerted by shots, took to the
woods and made their way safely to the fort.?

65


John Law appointed Jacques Levens as manager and
trustee of his concession. In August 1721, Levens and about
fifty French colonists took possession of the tract.
Approximately two-hundred German farmers were expected to
arrive in the following months. Levens established the
colony on a "beautiful plain surrounded by fertile valleys
and a little stream of fine clear wholesome water."
Lieutenant La Boulaye and a garrison of 17 soldiers arrived
on the Arkansas to protect the civilians, the growing river
commerce, and trade with the Quapaw. The garrison occupied
a site at Ovyapes, a Quapaw village near the mouth of the
Arkansas, some eighteen miles down-stream from the Law
Colony. From this vantage point, troops could control
Mississippi River traffic and be within reach of the
colonists should they require protection,‘

Meanwhile, the "Mississippi bubble,“ as Law's scheme to
develop Louisiana was called, burst! The overissue of paper
currency to support the colonization of the province caused
the ruin of Law's financial empire. The former banker left
France in shame and his estates were confiscated. The
colonial enterprise was discredited, and investment capitai
ceased to flow. Companie des Indies, under new management,
was forced to seek different sources of revenue. The only
assets left, however, were the fur trade and the possibility
of opening commerce with the Spanish southwest .*

Rumors of gold and silver mines in Spain's southwestern
provinces circulated widely. If a route could be found that
linked Louisiana to the southwest, Companie officials
reasoned, the Louisiana venture could finally reap a profit.
To explore the possibility of using the Arkansas River as 4
route to the southwest, the Companie commissioned Denard de
la Harpe to undertake an expedition.

Torrential rains and flooding along the Arkansas River
plagued the colonists and soldiers during their first year
on Law's concession. When La Harpe arrived on the Arkansas
on March Ll, 1722, he found Lieutenant La Boulaye and Second
Lieutenant De Francome living at the Quapaw village of
Osotouy. Initially, La Bowlaye had located the garrison on
the Mississippi River, but because of high water, moved it
one month later to a site about eighteen-miles upriver. A
single soldier, Saint Dominique, remained at the former
location to await the arrival of delinquent trade goods. La
Harpe found the new post scarcely deserving of notice.
Lieutenant Jean Benjamin Francois Dumont, scientist for the
expedition, commented that "there is no fort in the place"
at all. Improvements consisted of "only four or five
palisaded houses, a guard house and a cabin which serves as
a storehouse.” Concerning the remainder of the garrison, La

20


139


the Spanish, however, the explorers did not follow the river
tc its mouth. Before departing the Quapaw, Marquette
erected a great cross in their village as a symbol of
friendship. Four months later the explorers brought news of
their discoveries to Canada.

The Marquette-Joliet expedition fostered dreams of an
all-water route between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of
Mexico. One energetic visionary in particular, Robert
Cavalier Sieur de La Salle, developed an ambitious scheme to
establish a chain of trading posts along the Mississippi
from the lake country to the mouth of the river.

La Salle was born in the city of Rouen, France, in
1643, to a wealthy burgher. At the age of 23 the young La
Salle decided to seek his fortunes in the new world. in
1666, he traveled to the island of Montreal and obtained a
seignuery or land grant. La Salle settled down to the life
of a farmer, occasionally trading with the Indians. Stories
ef the great interior region related to La Salle by the
Indians kindled his adventuresome spirit and awakened a
Gesire for exploration. La Salle spent the next several
years trading in the Ohio valley where he gained a thorough
knowledge of the wilderness. When the young trader learned
of Marquette's discovery of the Mississippi, he developed
Plans to establish a trading empire in the great interior
La Salle envisioned a chain of posts stretching from the
lake country to the Gulf of Mexico. Each post would be
operated by a trader. Furs obtained by the trader could be
shipped upriver to Quebec or downriver to a town La Salle
hoped to establish on the gulf coast. Of course, La Salle
planned to reap a sizeahle personal fortune for his
efforts.*

In 1675, La Salle ventured to France to obtain the
favor of the royal court for his plan. The influential
young Norman managed to obtain a monopoly over the entire
fur trade of the interior, the first step toward
implementing his grand scheme. The following four years
were spent in Canada making additional preparations. In
1678, La Sallie was again in France to seek financial backing
for his undertaking. While there he met Henri de Tonti, a
personable young man recently discharged from the French
army.

Henri de Tonti was born in Paris, in 1650. His Italian
father had fled Naples with his family after taking part in

an unsuccessful insurrection. De Tonti entered the French
army at the age of 18, losing his right hand in the
explosion of a grenade. The severed member was replaced

with a metal hand that he disguised with a glove. Among the
Indians, De Tonti's metal hand earned him a reputation as


APPENDIX 2

DESCRIPTIONS AND LOCATIONS OF ARKANSAS POST

During the 118 years that France and Spain maintained a
presence on the Arkansas River, their posts occupied several
locations. To service river traffic on the Mississippi,
proximity to the mouth of the Arkansas was essential. Few
sites within 30 miles of the mouth of the river, however,
were high enough to escape inundation during the devastating
floods that occurred frequently along the lower Arkansas.
Furthermore, defense of the post depended on the presence of
the Quapaw Indians who often relocated their villages. As a
result, the post was moved and rebuilt several times.

The different locations of Arkansas Post have been the
subject of much controversy. Historians have rarely agreed
on the number of posts represented, the dates constructed,
or the locations they have occupied. Fortunately for the
present study, two recent works have clarified this issue.
First, one location of Arkansas Post has been verified in
the field by University of Arkansas archeologist Burney B.
McClurkan,? Second, historian Morris $. Arnold has
diligently researched original documents that support the
existance of seven posts in three @ifferent geographic
locations.? The following discussion blends elements of
both studies with descriptions of the different Arkansas
Posts.

137



CHAPTER 3
TRAPPING ON_ THE ARKANSAS

The Arkansas country abounded in natural resources.
According to one official report, pelts from the fox, bear,
mountain lion, martin, beaver, otter, raccoon, buffalo, and
wolf were abundant in Arkansas.? The area was a
particulariy important source of bear's oil or “manteca," a
substance prized by Europeans because of its preservability.
Quapaw hunters, alone annually produced between 1,250-1,500
gallons of the prized oil that was stored in empty brandy
casks and shipped to New Orleans.?

Of approximately thirty French residing on Law's former
concession, most were hunters who also conducted trade with
the neighboring Quapaw. Attracted by commercial
opportunities, several French merchants visited the French
village. These entrepreneurs were the center of all
commercial activity, and supplied the Indians and French
trappers with material comforts in exchange for the season's
catch of furs. The merchant sold the furs in New Orleans
for a tidy profit, and returned again to the Arkansas with
knives, traps, axes, clothing, rum and brandy, and trinkets
for the Indian market. The most important goods brought to
the Arkansas, however, were powder and shot. AS one
resident commented, these are commodities "more valuable
than silver, as everybody in this land is a hunter."3
Traders brought the following items to Arkansas for the
Quapaw in 1775.4

TRADE GOODS DESTINED FOR THE QUAPAW
1 Dress Coat--Scarlet--with silver braid
1 Pair Trousers
25 Rifles
100 Ounces of Wool Ribbon
45 Butcher Knives
24 Pocket Combs
12 Pair $cissors
50 Wad Pullers

300 Flints






Figure 27. Pioneer journalist William Woodruff. Woodruff

published the first issue of the Arkansas Gazette at

Arkansas Post on Nov. 20, 1819. Arkansas History
Commission.

87


Figure 3. Henri de Tonti, known to the Indians as "Tonti of
@ the Iron Hand." Illinois State Historical Library.



CHAPTER 16
THE TERRITORIAL CAPITAL RELOCATED

On October 2, 1820, the territorial legislature
reconvened, The most prominent issues considered during the
session included issuance of territorial scrip, the problem
of horse theft by Indians, and relocation of the territorial
capital. One official cited the remoteness and
unhealthiness of Arkansas Post as the most serious
objections. The legislature advocated moving the capital
“to some place higher up the river." The favored location
was Little Rock, an undeveloped town site on which William
Russeli, an influential land speculator, held a ciaim.
Russeli astutely offered lots to prominent politicians for a
nominal fee. During the legislative recess, Secretary
Crittenden, William Trimble, Robert C. Oden, and Joseph C.
Hardin (speaker of the hause} all purchased lots in Little
Rock. By an act of the territorial Jegislature on October
18, 1820, the capital was officially relocated at Little
Rock with all sessions of the legislature to be held there
after June 1, 1821.?

The relocation devastated the economy of Arkansas Post.
Government officials and lawyers departed as did William
Woodruff with his printing press. Because of this
population exodus, land values slumped, and many landowners
were unable to pay taxes. The towns of Arkansas and Rome,
platted in a fever of speculation, were never fully
developed. Following relocation of the territorial capital,
the famed naturalist John James Audubon, visited Arkansas
Post. He found "now a poor, Nearly (sic] deserted village
+ «+ « at present, the decripid [sic] Visages [sic] of the
Worn [sic] out Indian Traders [sic] and a few American
families are all that gives it life."?

93


described him as "the great man of the place [Arkansas
Post]."  Notrebe was born in France in 1780. After serving
in Napolean's army he emigrated to the United States in
1809, He was 29 years old at the time, Notrebe traveled to
Arkansas Post and apened a trading house. The enterprise
was successful for in 1811, he purchased a lot in town and
married Mary Felicite Bellette. Notrebe soon opened a
dry-goods store adjacent to his house and catered to the
agricultural community. In 1819, he expanded his business
to include marketing cotton. When others joined the rush to
Little Rock, Notrebe remained, reinvested his profits in
land and became a planter. In 1827, Notrebe built a cotton
gin. By 1836, the industrious planter owned 14 parcels of
lan@ totaling 3,496 acres. In partnership with his
son-in-law, William Cummins, Notrebe owned another 4,633
acres, A total of 71 slaves worked his plantations.+

"Colonel Notrebe” as he was respectfully called,
conducted a large volume of business through his store and
eotton gin. He was keenly aware of the shortage of currency
in the territory and often conducted business by barter.
When Arkansas acquired statehood in 1836, Notrebe labored to
establish a branch of the new state bank at Arkansas Post.
His efforts were successful, In 1839, a branch of the state
bank was established at Arkansas Post on a lot that Notrebe
donated. In 1840-1841, a permanent brick building was
erected to house the bank at a cost of $15,761.29.7

The economic prosperity that Arkansas Post enjoyed
during the 1830s soon came to an end. The Arkansas Post
branch of the state bank, with outstanding loans worth

$91,900, suspended specie payment. An inability to sell
state bonds for required capital caused the financial
difficulties. In 1843, the Arkansas state legislature

passed an act liquidating the entire state bank system. In
later years, the costly bank building at Arkansas Post was
used to stable horses.”

In 1855, a new site at DeWitt, 20 miles north of
Arkansas Post, was chosen for the seat of Arkansas County.
Arkansas Post languished. In 1856, cone traveler commented
that "The town at the Post of Arkansas has gone to decay but
a few remaining, the County Seat having been removed."’

The first half af the nineteenth century brought many
changes to Arkansas Post. The sleepy French village
awakened aS a lively frontier town. Within a few years,
economic emphasis shifted from the Indian trade to
agriculture. With the availability of large tracts of prime
agricultural Jand, steamhoat transportation, and cheap slave
labor, cotton gained a foothold in Arkansas. By 1830,
cotton was king and Arkansas was a thoroughly southern

98



“YUOTSSTUWOD ATOISTH SesueyZyY SUL ‘E98T
‘tT, Azenuee uo sesueyzy JO 4s0q FO JUeUpxequog “6f eAnbta



Figure 19. The location of Arkansas Post from 1779-1812.
To escape devastating floods,

upriver in 1779.

61

Arkansas Post was again moved


prisoners except four soldiers, the son of a post resident,
and three slaves belonging to De Villars. These, Colbert
kept to insure his safe passage back to Chickasaw country.’

Colbert's raid on Arkansas Post was probably the final
revolutionary war engagement. Spanish casualties numbered
two dead and one wounded. A total of eight persons were
captured and taken to the Chickasaw country. Among the
Partisans, one man was killed and another wounded. Life at
Arkansas Post soon returned to normal. Except for Du
Breuil's request for “one cask of brandy to revive the
troops,"® there was little in the official records to
indicate that anything had happened.

On September 3, 1783, a treaty ending the war was

concluded in Paris. The United States emerged from the
negotiations as an independent nation with much of its
western border at the Mississippi River. Spain, largely

dissatisfied by the proceedings in Paris, wished to confine
the new United States of America to the eastern seaboard and
the Appalachians. Now faced with a republic even more
aggressive than Great Britain, Spain began a reassessment of
her Louisiana policy.?

67



sound of shots, a signai that La Salle approached. Langtot
and his mutinous cutthroats scattered ta the woods and

encircled the camp. The unsuspecting La Salle walked
directly into their midst. Spying only a servant, La Salle
asked the man of the whereabouts of the others. A tense

silence greeted the request. Suddenly, the forest exploded
with the sharp report of pistols. La Salle “received three
balls in his head" and slumped to the ground,? Thus ended
the life and ambitions of Robert Cavalier Sieur de La Salle.
Months later when De Tonti learned of the murder, he
characterized his former captain as "& man of wonderful
ability and capable of undertaking any discovery.")° The
Matagorda Bay colony dissolved. One group abandoned the
fort and undertook the long trek to Canada. Those who
remained met death at the hands of the Indians or became
captives of the Spaniards.

During the time that La Salle attempted to establish a
colony at the mouth of the Mississippi, De Tonti remained in
the Illinois country to look after affairs there, In 1686,
De Tonti learned that La Salle was somewhere on the gulf
coast and set out to find his leader. A search party led by
De Tonti reached the mouth of the Mississippi in April.
Following an extensive but fruitless search, De Tonti
abandoned his effort to find La Salle. Retracing their
steps, the searchers stopped at the seignuery or land grant
on the Arkansas River given to De Tonti by La Salle four
years earlier, Ten of the voyageurs accompanying De Tonti
requested permission to remain on the seignuery and open a
trading post among the Quapaw. Fortunes in peltries could
be amassed here by an enterprising trader. De Tonti granted
the request to six of his men, placing them under the
leadership of Coutoure Charpenter. The remainder returned
with De Tonti to [Illinois to procure supplies and trade
goods for the venture.!+

Charpenter and the five remaining Frenchmen set about
constructing the trading post. As a suitable location, a
small prominency scarcely “half a musket shot" from the
Quapaw village of Osotouy was selected. This promised to be
a suitable site for the post because of its proximity to
prime beaver country about eighteen miles above the mouth of
the Arkansas River, Charpenter's men erected a house after

the "French fashion." The structure was a small cabin of
horizontal “cedar” logs joined at the corners by
“swallow-tail" notches. The roof was covered with bark.}!?

De Tonti pianned to develop this post and turn it into
a@ permanent French settlement. Realizing the importance of
a mission to the growth of his seignuery, De Tonti deeded to
Father Dablon, superior of the Canadian missions, two tracts
of land for missions to serve the French and Indians. The

12



Westbury, William A., Archeological Assessment, Arkansas
Post National Memorial, Dallas: Southern Methodist
University Archaeology Rescarch Program, 1976.

White, Lonnie J., "James Miller: Arkansas' First Territorial
Governor," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 19 (Spring
1960), p. 14.

Worley, Ted R., “The Arkansas State Bank: Ante-Bellun
Period,” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 23 (Spring
1964}, p. 69,

156

US GOVERNMENT PRINTING QFFICL.196/-270-117 1 BSS20



CHAPTER 17
ARKANSAS POST, COTTON CENTER

Following relocation of the territorial capital,
Arkansas Post emerged as a center of the Arkansas cotton
trade. Several important events contributed to this
economic resurgence including the advent of steamboat
transportation, the ready availability of prime agricultural
land, and slave labor.

Commanding superior speed and capable of transporting a
greater pay-load, tne steamboat soon replaced the flatboat
and keelhboat. On March 32, 1820, Comet became the first
steamboat to reach Arkansas Post, and opened the Arkansas
River for steam navigation. Upriver establishments like
Dwight Mission and the army garrisons at Fort Smith and Fort
Gibson created a ready market for supplies, and ensured the
continued presence of steamboats on the river. In January,
1821, Comet made a second trip to Arkansas Post followed by
Eagle, another steamhoat, three months later. A new era of
transportation emerged for Arkansas.+

With enhanced access to Kew Orieans markets, prices of
merchandise at Arkansas Post dropped overnight. The demand
for farm produce shipped to New Orleans increased markedly,
and commercial agriculture soon replaced subsistence
farming. On November 15, 1824, the Quapaw ceded their
remaining tribal lands, some of the richest agricultural
land in the territory. The Quapaw had ceded the majority of
their tribal holdings in 1818.?

Cotton, the staple crop of the south, gained prominence
in Arkansas as did slave labor. The term, “planter,”
emerged in the local vocabulary. By 183D, cotton dominated
the agricultural news of the territory to the near exclusion
of other crops. Arkansas Post, abandoned as the territorial
capital, emerged aS a center of the cotton trade. one

resident commented that: "Our little town is ail in a
bustle. Cotton, the great staple of our country, is
crowding in from every quarter. Boats arrive every day at

our landing, with the rich production of the climate."“E At
least some indication of this increased prosperity was
evident in 1832 when a traveler commented that in addition
to the older French houses, a few modern buiidings adorned
the bank of the river, “among them two brickhouses, one of
which was the store and warehouse of the opulent Frederic
Notrebe. "4

Frederic Notrebe was a wealthy planter and the mest
prominent resident of Arkansas Post. G.W. Featherstonhaugh

95


Figure 7. Indian taking a scaip. From Letters and Notes on
the Manners, Customs and Condition of the North American
Indians by George Catlin,

17


Carrette reaped little satisfaction for his efforts among
the "snake worshiping" Quapaw and the "immoral" French. The
added insult of conducting mass in a canteen was too much to

bear. The room, complained Father Carrette, is totally
unsuitable as "everything . . . entered there even the
fowls." During Father Carrette's final mass, “a chicken
flying over the altar overturned the chalice... One of
those who ought to have been most concerned . . . exclaimed,
‘Oh! behold the shop of the good God thrown down!’” So

discouraged was Father Carette that he auctioned off his
household items and left the Arkansas for good.®

Arkansas Post slowly recavered from the devastation

wrought by the Arkansas. Improvements at the new fort
continued. The bakehouse was enlarged and fortified, and
the powder magazine rebuilt. To house Indian allies of

France, a lodge built of poles and covered with planks was
constructed beyond the fort walls. By the end of the year,
the cost of constructing the post escalated to $18,237.
Floods continued to be an annual problem. Scarcely five
years, later, a new commandant would report the fort in
ruin,

Meanwhile, the war with Britain was going badly for
France. By 1760, the British had won several decisive
victories. Anticipating defeat of France in the new world
struggle, Louis XV offered western Louisiana to Carios III,
ruler of Spain. Carlos III viewed the province as an
economic burden, but because of its proximity to the Spanish
southwest, begrudgingly accepted the offer. On November 3,
1762, France ceded Louisiana to Spain by the treaty of
Fontainbleau. On February 10, 1763, a treaty was signed
ending the war, Great Britain emerged victorious,
possessing all of Louisiana east of the Mississippi while
Spain now controlled the former French province west of the
Mississippi including New Orleans, the provincial capital.
France was eliminated as a colonial power an the North
American continent.}?

From its establishment to the Seven-Years War, Arkansas
Post played an important role in the development of

Louisiana. As the first European settlement in the lower
Mississippi valley, Arkansas Post helped establish the claim
of France to the Mississippi River. As a river port,

Arkansas Post provided a midway stopping point for convoys
traveling between St. Louis and New Orleans and, in this
capacity, assisted in the development of both cities. The
tiny community on the Arkansas River acted as a local center
of Indian policy. French traders operating from Arkansas
Post estabiished loyalties with upriver tribes, Quantities
of pelts, a product of these loyalties, passed annually

46



CHAPTER 15
ALLEN/ODEN DUEL

William QO. Allen was a lawyer at Arkansas Post.
Experienced in military affairs and an old acquaintance of
Governor Miller, Allen was appointed brigadier general of
the Arkansas militia. He commanded a position of respect
within the community. Robert C. Oden, also a lawyer at the
post, was a devoted friend of Allen's, that is until early
March, 1820, when both men became embroiled in a bitter
argument. Although the exact reason for the altercation is
unknown, it was probably a political matter. Allen had only
recently delivered a particularly stirring speech to the
territorial legislature. Consequently, Allen challenged
Oden to a duel.

At sunrise on March 10, 1820, the combatants met on an
island in the Arkansas River. Allen brought George W. Scott

and Elijah Morton as seconds. A crowd of onlookers watched
with interest. Following the established code of dueliing,
both men stood back-to-back, pistols in hand. The crowd
became silent. A duly appointed official began

counting-down--10 definite, measured steps separated the
men--they turned to face each other. Allen claimed the
first shot. With deadly aim, he directed the pistol at
Qden's heart. In a split-second, the hammer on Allen's
weapon snapped forward sending a shower of sparks into the
primed pan--the powder ignited in a puff of smoke--a
deafening roar shattered the silence. The ball from Allen's
pistol struck a button on Gden‘s coat. As he fell, almost
convulsively, Oden squeezed the trigger. A wild shot from
his weapon somehow found its mark, striking Allen in the
forehead. Allen slumped to the ground, dead in an instant.
Miraculously, Oden survived.

News of the duel spread like wild-fire through the
village of Arkansas Post. Everyone mourned the loss of
Allen and prayed for Oden's recovery. Woodruff denounced
the affair and in the next issue of the Arkansas Gazette
described duelling as "a practice . . . which has been
universally condemned by every philanthropic mind."?

As a result of the Allen-Oden affair, the territorial
legislature outlawed the practice of duelling. Duelling in
Arkansas, however, only increased and became a recurring
theme in territorial politics. To escape legal
repercussions, combatants merely met on a neutral island or
river bank beyond the pale of justice. To Arkansas Post,
the Allen-Oden duel led to one beneficial conclusion. on
March 31, 1820, Allen's sister traveled to Arkansas Post to

92


Figure 10. Preparing skins for market. Original housed at
the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis.

29


Spanish Fort," pp. 291-92, Baird, pp. 51-53. Edwin C.
Bearss and Lenard E. Brown, Arkansas Post National Memorial:
Structural History, Post Arkansas, 1804-1862, and Civil
Wac Troop Movement Maps anuary 1863 (Washington D.C.,
Department of The Interior, National Park Service 1971) p.
18.

CHAPTER 13
1 Bearss and Brown, pp. 23-24.

2 Aloysius Plaisance, “The Arkansas Factory, 1i805-1810,"
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 11 (Autumn 1952), p. 190.

3  Ibid., pp. 186-87.

4 Ibid., pp. 187, 198. Baird, p. 52.

CHAPTER 14

1 Grant Foreman, Indians and Pioneers, the Story of the

American Southwest Before 1830 (Norman: University of

Oklahoma Press, 1975) p. 137.

2 Arnoid, Unequal Laws, p. 187.

3 Bearss and Brown, p. 19.

4 Lonnie J. White, “James Miller: Arkansas' First
Territorial Governor," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 19
(Spring 1960), p. 14.

5 Ibid., pp. 12-13. Shinn, pp. 34-39.

6 Faye Hempstead, History of Arkansas (Chicago: Lewis
Publishing Co. 1908} p. 86.

7 White, pp. 14-15.

8 Bearss and Brown, pp. 8, 11.

9 Shinn, p. 13.

10 Ibid,

ll Ernestine Gravely, "William Edward Woodruff, Pioneer
Arkansas Journalist," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 14

(Summer 1955), pp. 128-33.

12 Bearss and Brown, pp. 111, 113.

129


resident missionary would be expected to share his time
ministering among the French and Quapaw. De Tonti somewhat
presumptuously styled himself "Seignor [sic.] of the City of
Tonti and of the river of Arkansas." The clergy never took
advantage of his generous offer, and the “City of Tonti" was
never more than a tiny trading post in a trackless
wilderness.}?

In July 1687, several survivors of La Salle‘s ill-fated
Matagorda Bay colony stumbled upon De Tonti's post. This
group, led by Henri Joutel, had separated from La Salle's
assassins and begun the grueling journey to Canada. After
nearly six months of wandering through the wilderness,
Joutel and the other survivors stood on the bank of the
Arkansas River. To their joy, 4 great wooden cross and a
French house were on the opposite side. The tattered
travelers “knelt down, lifting up . . . hands and eyes to
heaven" and gave thanks to God for their salvation.}?

The traders at De Tonti's post were no less overjoyed
to find other Frenchmen in these remote quarters. Spying
Joutel's party, already being escorted across the river by
some Quapaw Indians, two Frenchmen rushed out of the post
and in their excitement fired a salute with their muskets.
Joutel wrote that they "had almost as much need of our help
as we of theirs since they had neither powder nor shot nor
anything else."!>5 Trade items for the Quapaw had been slow
in coming, and four of the six men whom De Tonti had left on
the Arkansas, had returned to the Illinois country. The
remaining men, Coutoure Charpenter and one known only as De
Launey, lacked trade items to pacify the Indians and were in
a vulnerable position,

Following the excitement of their arrival, Joutel's
Party recuperated at the post for several days. To
alleviate the problems of their hosts, the refugees provided
Charpenter and De Launey with their remaining trade goods
including 16 pounds of powder, 800 balls, 300 flints, 26
knives, 10 axes, and 2 to 3 pounds of beads, Exchanging
their horses to the Indians for canoes, Joutel and his men
resumed their journey. As an additional service, Joutel
transported a smali bundle of beaver pelts that the traders
had managed to purchase from the Quapaw. A Parisian
referred to as Bartholomew, heing "none the ablest of body,”
was left at the post to recover.!®

Joutel's party reached the Illinois country and
informed De Tonti of La Salle’s murder. Having learned of
the mutiny, De Tonti organized a second expedition to search
for remaining survivors of the Matagorda Bay colony. Only
seven dayS march from the Spaniards, however, De Tonti’s
voyageurs would search no further. Disgusted with the lot,

13



The Quapaw did not soon forget Labauxiere's plight.
Several daysS later, some Quapaw visited De Leyba and
presented him with a dead horse, demanding whiskey in
exchange for it. This was the ultimate Quapaw insult! The
warriors threatened to kill everyone in the post if their
demands were not honored. The commandant’s poor wife
fainted and the rest of the women, fearful of their safety,
were crying. Apparently, the commandant gave the Indians
liquor since Spanish blood was not shed, At the first
opportunity, De Leyba sent the prisoner "down the river"
for trial. The name of Nicolas Labauxiere disappeared from
official records and relations with the Quapaw normalized,
somewhat. !?

The Quapaw continued friendly relations with the
British, On November 26, 1773, De Leyba reported that the
Quapaw chief, Gran Megre, had adopted an Engiishman as his
son. The latter built a cabin next to his adopted father's
and sotd goods to the Indians. In 1774, three Englishmen
who married Quapaw women were living among the Indians,
They spread propaganda among the tribe, telling them that
the dilapidated condition of the fort was proof that the
British would soon seize the province and expel the Spanish.
The post commandant grasped the opportunity to impress the

Indians. He hastily repaired the stockade and called a
council with the Quapaw chiefs. Extolling the virtues of
the Spaniards, the commandant asked that the British be
expelled from the Quapaw villages. To end the council and

impress upon the Indians the strength and commitment of
Spain, the commandant ordered a discharge of three cannon.
According to De Leyba:

The Indians were marveled when, from the resulting
commotion some glasses and some hats that were hanging
up from nails in the wall fell down and the room
started trembling . . . And when the Indians saw the
effect of the cannon discharges and the repairment of
the stockade . . . they said that the Englishmen had
been lying toa them. Then we had a toast at your
Lordship's sake, meanwhile we had another discharge;
and the Indians departed happy and rejoiced.'?

The Englishmen were promptly banished from the Quapaw
villages. British competition for the Arkansas fur trade,
however, only increased.

In 1775, the Arkansas Post commandant reported that
five British traders established a settlement of 18 cabins
called Concordia on the east bank of the Mississippi
opposite the Quapaw villages. From this base of operations,
traders and hunters poured into the Arkansas country,
frightening game away and appropriating a significant

57


CHAPTER 7
1 Ibid., p. 679.
2 Ibid., pp. 679, 682-84. ;

CHAPTER B

1 Baird, p. 30.

2 Faye, "French Domination," pp. 709-12. Arnold, p. 23.

3 Morris 5. Arnold, "The Relocation of Arkansas Post to
Ecores Rouges in 1779,“ Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 42
(Winter 1983), pp. 320-22.

4 Giitbert C. Din, “Spanish Fort on the Arkansas,
1763~1803," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 42 (Autumn 1983),
p. 272.

5 Arnold, "Relocation of Arkansas Post,“ p. 322.

6 Faye, "French Domination,” p. 715. e
7 Mattison, "Historical Investigations," p. 33.

8 Faye, "French Domination,” pp. 716-19.
9 Mattison, "Historical Investigations," p. 27.

16 Bolton and Marshall, p- 285.

CHAPTER 9
1 Lopez-Briones, p. 28. Lewis, "French Interests," p.
266.

2 Anna Lewis, "Oklahoma as a Part of the Spanish Dominion,
1763-1803," Chronicles of Oklahoma, 3 (April 1925), p. 46.

3 Ibid.
4 Faye, “Spanish Domination," pp. 636-39.
5 Hodge, p. 156.

5 Lopez-Briones, p. 28. e

126


readied his forces to defend the post and fired-off a
dispatch to General Holmes for last minute instructions.
The reply Churchill received was: "hotd out till help
arrives or until all dead." Churchill planned to carry out
his instructions "in spirit and letter."? As the amphibious
force drew near, the greyclad soldiers occupied the

rifle-pits. Five companies of infantry were advanced as
skirmishers, taking position several hundred yards in front
of the main line of defense. Churchill posted Captain

William Hart and his six gun Arkansas Battery at the edge of
the rifle-pits closest to Post Bayou.

On January 9 at 5:00 p.m., transports carrying
Sherman's corps pulled into Frederic Notrebe's landing three
miles below the Post of Arkansas. The vessels transporting
Morgan's corps tied-up nine miles below at Fletcher's
Landing.

On the morning of January 10, the Federal infantry
moved up to invest the Confederate position. Sherman's
corps landed first. Colonel Lionel A. Sheldon's brigade of
Osterhaus' Division moved straight up the river road,
followed by Smith's and Stuart's divisions. Colonel David
W. Lindsey's brigade of Morgan's corps departed Fletcher's
Landing and proceeded to Smith's plantation about two miles
above the Post of Arkansas. Here the bluecoats whecled a
section of 10-pounder Parrott rifles into position to
prevent southern reinforcements from approaching. Colonel
J.F. Dé Courcy's brigade of Morgan's corps was left just
above the Landing as a reserve unit. Steele's division had
orders to head inland from Notrebe's landing, flank the fort
and approach from the opposite direction. After floundering
in an impenetrable swamp, however, the column retraced its
steps. Steele's Division met Morgan's corps at Notrebe's
landing and joined the advance.

The vanguard encountered Confederate skirmishers at the

first line of rifle-pits. Theirs was only a delaying
action, and the Federai infantry soon occupied the
entrenchments. With Sheld@on's brigade as pivot, each

following brigade fanned-out to the right, creating a
scythe-like formation that when completed would confront the
Confederate rifle-pits protecting the flank of the fort and
extending west to Post Bayou.

Meanwhile, McClernand received an erroneous report that
all troops were in position. At 5:30 p.m., he conveyed this
information to Porter who initiated bombardment of the
Confederate fort. Closing within 400 yards of Post of
Arkansas, the ironclads Baron de Kalb, Louisville, and
Cincinnati opened fire. Porter on brought up
Lexington and Black Hawk to augment the destructive

116



Figure 37. The gunboat Baron de Kalb. This

participated in the battle of the Post of Arkansas.
Century Magazine, Jan. 1885.

112

eratt
The



Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure

Figure

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.
30.
31.
32,
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.

Ai.

Making a bundle of furs
with a wedge press peer ennens ween ences

A typical American farmer sec eee eters

James Miller, Arkansas' first
territorial governor eee ee eeee Sve e ener

Secretery of the territory,
Robert Crittenden a eeeeeneene beeen eeseae

Pioneer journalist, William Woodruff wae

Arkansas Post as
the territorial capital wee eee

Transportation on the Arkansas River toe

A typical Mississippi River boat eee

Working on the plantation veer eseerne eee
A steamboat transporting cotton ...-- aoe
Post of ArkansaS = «-----+-- eee eee eee

Brigadier General Thomas J. Churchill .

Northern General John A. McClernand vee
Rear Admiral David D. Porter teen nance
The gunboat Baron de Kalb pe eee erent tees

Battle of Arkansas Post oe

Bombardment of Post of Arkansas wee
Federal troops storm Post of Arkansas oe

The three tocations of Arkansas Post see

vi

78

83

84

85
87

88
96
97
99
100
105
106
108
109
112
113
114
117

139



the first publication of the Arkansas Gazette with a barrel
of whiskey donated by @ merchant.

With the presence of public officials and lawyers in
the community, all of whom rented space for living quarters
and offices, land values soared. Many part-time lawyers
engaged in land speculation. In 1818, the Town of Rome,
adjoining Arkansas Post, was platted by William Russell, a
lawyer, Russell divided the town into 44-consecutively
numbered lots, 2 of which were set aside as sites for public
buildings. He hoped Rome would become the new county seat.
In anticipation, many residents bought lots as an
investment. In 1819, William ©. Allen, also a lawyer,
platted the Town of Arkansas adjoining Rome. Post residents
were so certain of the future of Arkansas, that a board of
trustees was elected for the newly platted town.!*

Arkansag Post had become an American community. Yet
among most of the original French inhabitants ran a strong
current of resentment. Few liked Americans and still fewer
Liked the American form of government. Washington Irving
visited Arkansas Post and observed that the French detest
Americans because they "trouble themselves with cares beyond
their horizon and impart sorrow thro the newspapers from
every point of the compass." Around 1820, many of the
French departed Arkansas Post, moving upriver to Jefferson
County. Some created the town of New Gascony. A few French
habitants were assimilated into American society, however,
as evidenced by a sprinkling of French surnames among the
village tax rolls. In 1832, Father Saulnier visited
Arkansas Post to conduct a Christmas Eve mass. He could
muster only 50 people to attend the services. These, he
described as "very indifferent and ignorant; they had
forgotten nearly everything. “??

With the establishment o£ the territorial capital at
Arkansas Post, the tiny community turned into a bustling
American frontier town almost avernight. An influx of
lawyers, merchants, and mechanics all but swamped existing
facilities. To the conservative French, these newcomers
seemed brash and fiercly independent. Such qualities,
imparted to American politics, created an atmosphere that
could anly tbe described as tempestuous. In early
territorial politics, factionalism and prejudice ruled the
day. Sometimes, disputes were gettied on the field of
honor. In 1820, a duel between William 0. Allen and Robert
Cc. Oden--the first of its kind in Arkansas--was fought at
Arkansas Post.

89


Figure 12. A typical French house.
Edward King.

34

From The 01d South by


Faye, Stanley, “Arkansas Post of Louisiana: French
Domination,“ Louisiana Historical Quarterly, 26 (July
1943), p. 635.

,"The Arkansas Post of Louisiana: Spanish Domination,”
Louisiana Historical Quarterly, 27 (July 1944), p. 635.

, “Indian Guests at the Spanish Arkansas Past,"
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 4 (Summer 1945), p. 95.

Foreman, Grant, Indians and Pioneers, the Story of the
American Southwest Before 1830, Norman: University of
Oxlahoma Press, 1975.

The Goodspeed Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern
Arkansas, Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Company 1890.

Gravely, Ernestine, “William Edward Woodruff, Pioneer
Arkansas Journalist," Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 14
{Summer 1955), pp. 128-33.

Hempstead, Faye, History of Arkansas, Chicago: Lewis
Publishing Co. 1908.

Hedge, Frederick Webb, Handbook of American Indians,
Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1910,

Robert S. Huffstot, The Battle of Arkansas Post, Historical
Times Inc, 1969.

John, Elizabeth A. H., Storms Brewed in Other Men's Worlds:
The Confrontation of Indians, Spanish and French in the
Southwest, 1540-1795, Lincoln: University of Nebraska

Press, 1975.

Lewis, Anna, “French Interests and Activities in Oklahoma,
“Chronicles of Oklahoma, 2 (September 1924).

, "QOQkiahoma as a Part of the Spanish Dominion,
1763-1803," Chronicles of Oklahoma, 3 (April 1925).

“An Attack Upon the Arkansas Post, 1783," Arkansas
Historical Quarterly, 2 (September 1943), pp. 261-67.

, “Some Spanish Letters Written from Arkansas Post,”
Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 2 (March 1943}, pp. 51i-
57.

Lopez-Briones, M. Carmen Gonzalez, Spain in the Mississippi
Valley: Spanish Arkansas, 1762-1804 (Dissertation,
Purdue University, 1983).

15¢



CHAPTER 21
ESTABLISHMENT OF ARKANSAS POST NATIONAL MEMORIAL

Although Arkansas Post had largely disappeared, its
role in the history of Arkansas was not forgotten. In 1926,
Fletcher Chenault, Arkansas Gazette columnist, visited
Arkansas Post. Impressed by the significance of the area,
Chenault published an article and proposed that the site be
developed as a state park. This recommendation was acted
on. On February 27, 1929, a bill establishing Arkansas Post
as a unit of the State Park System was signed into law.

The park began with 20 acres donated by Fred Quandt.
In the following years, additional acreage was acquired and
numerous improvements made with the Support of Works
Progress Administration labor. On March 26, 1959, Arkansas
Congressman William F. Norrell introduced a bill to
establish Arkansas Fost as a unit of the National Park
System. On July 6, 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
signed into law, lagislation authorizing creation of
Arkansas Post National Memorial.

Arkansas Post National Memorial is administered by the
National Park Service, United States Department of the
Interior. The park contains 304.6 acres of land
encompassing the sites of three colonial forts, Confederate
Post of Arkansas, and the Franco-Spanish-American village
that became the territorial capital of Arkansas. A modern
visitor center and museum interpret the Arkansas Post story.

121


Sem We.
en aren

Figure 29. Transportation on the Arkansas River. Supplies
were shipped to Arkansas Post by the flatboat and kcelboat.

96



CHAPTER 7
WAR WITH THE CHICKASAW

The Chickasaw numbered between three-thousand to
four-thousand and occupied a sizeable territory centered
around the headwaters of the Tombigbee, Yazoo, and
Tallahatchie Rivers in present-day northern Mississippi.
Noted for their warlike disposition, the Chickasaw fought
constantly with neighboring tribes including the Quapaw.
James Adair--Scottish merchant, linguist, and author-~spent
nearly a generation among these Indians, cementing them
firmly to the British. It was with little effort then that
the British focused the warlike tendencies of the Chickasaw
against the French.}

The French urged the Quapaw to strike against their
eastern enemy, and agreed to pay them for any Chickasaw
scalps brought to the post. in June 1732, a Quapaw band
attacked the Chickasaw, Killed two and took one captive,
whom they intended to burn to death, Quapaw chiefs visited
the governor in New Orleans and, aS a measure of their good
faith, presented him with seven Chickasaw scalps. The
governor exhorted his guests. As a consequence, the number
of scalps taken by the Quapaw the following year, increased
to twenty-five or more.

Quapaw reprisals against the Chickasaw alone were
unsuccessful. In 1736, the French government organized an
expedition against these Indians. First Ensign Jean St.
Therese de Langloiserie, commandant of Arkansas Post for the
past two years, persuaded a number of Quapaw to participate
in the campaign. The warriors from the Arkansas villages
joined the expedition too late, however, ta be of much
assistance. The French failed in this attempt to crush the
Chickasaw. Moreover, the former commandant of Arkansas
Post, First Ensign De Coulange, lost his life in the
attempt.

The French organized a second expedition against the

Chickasaw. In 1738, several French officers visited
Arkansas Post to enlist Quapaw warriors in a mission against
their joint enemy. Following a two-week council, the

majority of Quapaw warriors agreed to join the expedition.
A total of 21 Quapaw Indians left immediately for the
rendezvous point at Chickasaw Bluffs to hunt for the growing
army. On December 22, 70 more Quapaw Indians led by a new
post commandant, Jean Francois Tisserant de Montechervaux,

joined the force. Among the French army were a number of
Huron warriors. Suspicious of these sastern Indians who
"speak with the crafty tongues of serpents,” the Quapaw

37