Smithville in Lawrence County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)

Skirmish Near Smithville
⎯⎯⎯
Capt. Wiley C. Jones

Skirmish Near Smithville Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 3, 2021

1. Skirmish Near Smithville Marker

Inscription.
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

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and Baber are all buried here, in Smithville Cemetery.

Erected 2015 by Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, Smithville Cemetery Board, Arkansas Humanities Council, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. (Marker Number 142.)

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. It 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.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum

Capt. Wiley C. Jones Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 3, 2021

2. Capt. Wiley C. Jones Marker

South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Civil War in Lawrence County / Skirmishes in Lawrence County (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Men of the 7th AR Volunteer Infantry Regiment CSA (about 500 feet away); Changes made to the Jail (approx. 10.4 miles away); Powhatan Jail (approx. 10.4 miles away); The Conviction of Samuel Helms (approx. 10.4 miles away); Uses of the Jail House (approx. 10.4 miles away); Powhatan Courthouse State Park (approx. 10.4 miles away); Log Cabin Kitchen (approx. 10½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Smithville.

Also see . . . Encyclopedia of Arkansas on the Skirmish at Smithville (June 17, 1862). (Submitted on April 8, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Marker at Smithville Cemetery. image. Click for full size.

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 936 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 8, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

Skirmish Near Smithville⎯⎯⎯Capt. Wiley C. Jones

Skirmish Near Smithville
⎯⎯⎯
Capt. Wiley C. Jones