Need Info on Washington, AR Hospital, 1861

DaveBrt

1st Lieutenant
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
Location
Charlotte, NC
An ancestor, Pvt. Mark Roberts, Co. D, 6th Texas Cav. Regt. died in the cantonment in Washington December 22, 1861. I have seen the photo of the monument there, but am looking for more information -- location of the camp, cemetery, etc.
 
I've not read up on the place in a few years, or been there in a decade or so. (Hopefully that'll change this fall.) If I remember right the cemetery in NW of town by about half a mile on the left.

As for camps, that'd be a challenge because the place saw constant movement of troops through it and multiple camp sites, the one your ancestor camped at would take some digging.

Was your ancestor wounded somewhere and taken to Washington? Or did he get ill? Several churches in town were used as hospitals and are still standing I think.
 
I've not read up on the place in a few years, or been there in a decade or so. (Hopefully that'll change this fall.) If I remember right the cemetery in NW of town by about half a mile on the left.

As for camps, that'd be a challenge because the place saw constant movement of troops through it and multiple camp sites, the one your ancestor camped at would take some digging.

Was your ancestor wounded somewhere and taken to Washington? Or did he get ill? Several churches in town were used as hospitals and are still standing I think.
I believe he was ill. He appears to have stayed behind when the regiment left for Ft. Smith in early Dec.
 
I think the Presbyterian church served as a hospital at one point, but that may have been in 1864 after a nearby skirmish. Old Washington is actually pretty preserved in its 1800's appearance and is a State Park now, but not all CW era buildings survive.

After the fall of Little Rock it served as the Arkansas State Capitol, (the courthouse used still stands), but by that time most sick and wounded were sent to Marshall, TX along with most Arkansas and Missouri troops being stationed and supplied from there.

Your ancestor passing away in 1861, however was before all of that. If I were to make an educated guess, I'd say there was no hospital there and the troops were just passing through. He may have been left at a private residence. Washington didn't have an military infrastructure yet.
 
Quick question that just occurred to me, was your ancestor left at the town of Washington in SW Arkansas, or Washington County around Fayetteville?
 
Quick question that just occurred to me, was your ancestor left at the town of Washington in SW Arkansas, or Washington County around Fayetteville?
SW Arkansas, as far as I can tell. The regiment was formed in Dallas and went up the great road that was the route that so many had taken into Texas. Washington was the first town in AR and it appears they remained there a few weeks before leaving for Ft. Smith.
 
SW Arkansas, as far as I can tell. The regiment was formed in Dallas and went up the great road that was the route that so many had taken into Texas. Washington was the first town in AR and it appears they remained there a few weeks before leaving for Ft. Smith.

Okay original theory it is.
 
Greetings Dave! Hope y'all are doing well during this scourge. I briefly looked into your quest for additional information about the Washington County activities. I found the following possible source that might be of assistance:
“Confederate Dead in Washington County Hospitals.” Flashback 4 (March 1954): 14.
Flashback is a publication of the Washington County Historical Society and they offer copies of their publication. The site below will direct you to their organization and hopefully will be of help to you.
Regards
David
 
Okay original theory it is.
Your question made me look deeper. The service record card says "died at cantonment Washington Ark." Since everyone in north and central Texas who had arrived in Texas since the early 1830's had come by way of what became known as Washington (town), that was what we have always assumed was intended by the entry. However, his company's November December 1861 muster was at Fort Gibson, some 75 miles west of Fayetteville (in Washington County). The entry also does not say why he died, so we are making an assumption that is perhaps false -- perhaps an accident?

So thank you for making me re-look at the information.
 
Your question made me look deeper. The service record card says "died at cantonment Washington Ark." Since everyone in north and central Texas who had arrived in Texas since the early 1830's had come by way of what became known as Washington (town), that was what we have always assumed was intended by the entry. However, his company's November December 1861 muster was at Fort Gibson, some 75 miles west of Fayetteville (in Washington County). The entry also does not say why he died, so we are making an assumption that is perhaps false -- perhaps an accident?

So thank you for making me re-look at the information.

The word "cantonment" raised a question mark that Washington County could be the place.

If your looking for hospitals, Fayetteville had them, but I wouldn't count on anything still standing. By 1863 that town had traded hands a dozen or more times and the whole town made into a large hospitals after several battles and a lot of skirmishes. The whole place was a burnt out husk after the Battle of Prairie Grove, which and had a small battle fought there in 1863.
 
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