Phillips County Goes to War

Phillips County Goes to War. . , The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 broke the nation apart. In May 1861, Arkansas became the ninth state to join the new Confederate States of America., The Union Army Occupies Helena , By the spring of 1861, most of the men in Helena were gone. Most enlisted in the Confederate army, a few in the Union army. Women left behind ran plantations, farms and businesses, and faced hardships unimaginable in 1860. Just over a year later, the Union army marched into Helena. The Union soldiers never left and the people of Helena and Phillips County lived under an occupation force, their civil liberties curtailed., The Wealthy Flee , Many who could afford to leave did. Wealthy Confederate sympathizers sent family members and slaves to less vulnerable areas. The Hanks family, Quakers who owned Estevan Hall, stayed until 1864 and then sought refuge in Iowa. Others stayed for practical reasons. William F. Allen of the U.S. Sanitary Commission wrote: "Mr. Coolidge [is] now [a] genuine Union man-if for no other reason [than] because [his] interests are now that way.", Helena's Confederate Generals , Seven men from Phillips County became high ranking Confederate officers: Charles Adams, Archibald Dobbins, Daniel C. Govan, Thomas C. Hindman, Lucius Polk and James C. Tappan. General Patrick Cleburne, a shy Irish immigrant, earned the most lasting fame. He was among the Confederacy's best field commanders. Never afraid to take a controversial stance, in 1864 he advocated enlisting slaves into the army in exchange for their freedom., (captions) , Top right: Dr. Benjamin C. Redford was one of the many men who left Helena for Confederate service. , Bottom left: General Patrick Cleburne, C.S. , The 1st Arkansas Infantry, part of Cleburne's Division, fought in most of the battles in Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.