A half block west across the street is the big spring that gave the town its name. Tents of the 16th Arkansas Infantry covered the campus of the academy to the east near the head of Brush Creek during the winter of 1861-62. Dr. M.D. Steele's . . . — — Map (db m167821) HM
Newly recruited Confederate troops gathered at Elm Springs in 1861 for training. After driving Confederate troops from their winter quarters at Cross Hollows, U.S. pickets occupied the area. Confederates camped here on a bitter cold March 5, 1862, . . . — — Map (db m167935) HM
