Smithville in Lawrence County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)
Skirmish Near Smithville / Capt. Wiley C. Jones
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 3, 2021
1. Skirmish Near Smithville Marker
Inscription.
Skirmish Near Smithville, also, Capt. Wiley C. Jones. .
Skirmish near Smithville. After the March 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge, Union troops moved into northern Arkansas. The 5th Illinois Cavalry under Maj. A.H. Seley occupied Smithville. On June 17, a local woman warned a patrol of the 5th that Confederate partisans led by Capt. Wiley C. Jones, a local businessman, were pursuing them. Seley ordered his men out, and they fought Jones at James McKinney’s farm on Osborn Creek. Amid “torrents of rain,” the Federals attacked, surrounding Jones and his men. Jones lost 1 dead and he and 14 others surrendered. Seley lost 2 dead and 5 wounded.
Capt. Wiley C. Jones. After the fight at McKinney’s farm, Capt. Wiley C. Jones was sent to the Union prisoner of war camp at Alton, Ill. He later escaped and made his way back to Arkansas. In 1864 Jones and other local men, including Capt. W.C. Sloan, enlisted in the 45th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) under Col. Milton Baber. The 45th Arkansas marched into Missouri in September to serve in Gen. Sterling Price’s disastrous expedition. After the war, Jones returned to run his milling business on the Strawberry River. Jones, Sloan and Baber are all buried here, in Smithville Cemetery.
Skirmish near Smithville
After the March 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge, Union troops moved into northern Arkansas. The 5th Illinois Cavalry under Maj. A.H. Seley occupied Smithville. On June 17, a local woman warned a patrol of the 5th that Confederate partisans led by Capt. Wiley C. Jones, a local businessman, were pursuing them. Seley ordered his men out, and they fought Jones at James McKinney’s farm on Osborn Creek. Amid “torrents of rain,” the Federals attacked, surrounding Jones and his men. Jones lost 1 dead and he and 14 others surrendered. Seley lost 2 dead and 5 wounded.
Capt. Wiley C. Jones
After the fight at McKinney’s farm, Capt. Wiley C. Jones was sent to the Union prisoner of war camp at Alton, Ill. He later escaped and made his way back to Arkansas. In 1864 Jones and other local men, including Capt. W.C. Sloan, enlisted in the 45th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) under Col. Milton Baber. The 45th Arkansas marched into Missouri in September to serve in Gen. Sterling Price’s disastrous expedition. After the war, Jones returned to run his milling business on the Strawberry River. Jones, Sloan and Baber are all buried here, in Smithville Cemetery.
Erected 2015 by Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission,
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission series list. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1862.
Location. 36° 4.712′ N, 91° 18.309′ W. Marker is in Smithville, Arkansas, in Lawrence County. Marker is on Smithville Cemetery Road south of State Route 115, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Smithville AR 72466, United States of America. Touch for directions.
(Submitted on April 8, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 3, 2021
3. Marker at Smithville Cemetery.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 8, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 8, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 467 times since then and 84 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 8, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
