Without any doubt the darkest hours experienced by the residents of Craighead County were the tragic Civil War and its aftermath, more commonly known as the "Reconstruction Period". This armed conflict pitted neighbor against neigh- bor, brother against brother, and sometimes father against son. Families were split to the point that it took several generations to bring them together again in unison. For quite some time prior to the Presidential election of 1860, there was much agitation in the southern states over the question of slavery. Members of the Republican Par- ty in the northern states wanted to check the spread of sla- very or to abolish the practice completely. The mostly Demo- cratic plantation owners in the South did not want to lose the cheap labor needed to operate their large farms, and re- sented the "intrusion" of the "Yankees" in the rights of the states to do as they saw fit. The election in 1860 of Repub- lican Abraham Lincoln of Illinois as President of the Unit- ed States threw the Southern slave holders into a turmoil. They feared that the federal government would abolish sla- very, and the South as they knew it would be destroyed. Several southern states had already threatned to secede from the Union if Lincoln were elected. In his inaugeral address on November 15, 1860, Arkansas Governor Henry M. Rector in effect called for secession, de- claring that the issue had been forced by the North to the point where it must be defined as the Union without slavery or slavery without the Union. In December, South Carolina announced her independence from the Union, to be followed shortly by Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. In Febru- ary 1861 representatives of these states met in Montgomery, Alabama, and formed the Confederate States of America. The question of sucession in Arkansas was referred to a vote of the people, and on February 18, 1861, the people voted 27,472 to 15,826 in favor of a convention to consider the question. When the convention assembled in Little Rock on March 4, 1861, it voted to refer the question back to the people to decide in a special election called for the following Aug- ust. This was to change, however, when on April 12, 1861, a group of Southern soldiers attacked the Federal Garrison at Fort Sumpter in Charleston Harbor and began the tragic Civil War. On May 6 the convention hurriedly reassembled in Lit- tle Rock and on the first ballot voted 65 to 5 for seces- sion. After the call to make the vote unanimous, only one negative vote stood, that of Isaac Murphy of Madison County in northwest Arkansas. Murphy was later to become the first Union Governor of Arkansas. At the outbreak of the war, there was little reason for Craighead County to cast its lot with the Confederacy. The county was only two years old, having been created by an Act of the Arkansas Legislature on February 19, 1859. In the strategy of the war Craighead County was of little signifi- cance to either side. It contained no major population cen- ter, no major road, no railroad, no major river and no fac- tory or mine that would benefit the war effort. The popu- lation was made up largely of small farmers, small business- men, trappers, and hunters. The majority of the population were non-slaveholders and were either pro-Union or neutral in sentiments. The U. S. Census of 1860 showed Craighead County with a total population of 3,006, which included only 87 slaves. The slaves were owned by only twenty-three citi- zens of the county. There were no large plantations such as were found in other Arkansas counties. However, most of the county residents were natives of, or descendants of natives of other Southern states, and their loyalties ran deep for the South. It has been erroneously reported by amateur historians in the past that Phillip K. Lester represented Craighead County in the secession convention, and that he was a large slaveholder. The fact of the matter is that Lester was not a resident of Craighead County at the time. He was living in Greene County in 1860 and moved to Lawrence County in 1861. In 1860 he owned two slaves, both females. H. W. Williams represented Craighead and Poinsett Counties at the conven- tion and cast Craighead's vote for secession. On May 20, 1861, Arkansas was admitted to the Confederate States of America and was now very much involved in the war. Although Craighead County did not feel threatned by the war, its young men quickly "rallied to the colors" and vol- unteered their services to what they considered a just and honorable cause. Most thought that the conflict would be of short duration, and some feared that hostilities would end before they had an opportunity to fight. Few of them real- ized that there were several years of extreme hardship and suffering, and for many even death, in store for them and their families. Four companies of Confederate volunteers were raised primarily in Craighead County by Captains J. M. Pollard, J. D. Hillis, M. A. Adair, and Joel G. Wood. A few individuals joined companies formed outside the county. Usually they re- turned to their native states to join. There were no troops organized in the county for the Federal Army. A few isolated individuals, however, joined companies from the North after removing from this location. A few civilians remained in the county who were sympathetic with the Union cause but did not choose to bear arms against their Southern neighbors. Craighead County could well be proud of its men who ser- ved in the war. Several of its citizens faught in some of the most decisive battles of the conflict. Some were killed in battle, and a large number were wounded or captured. Some went away privates and came back captains, as did I. S. Hughes. There were no major battles faught in Craighead County; however, one small skirmish did occur in 1862 and became known locally as "The Battle of Jonesboro". The only printed reference to this encounter was the report of Major Henry R. Eggleston, First Wisconsin Calvary, in his report dated August 9, 1862. Union forces operating out of Helena along the Ridge Road occupied Wittsburg (Cross County) on July 16, collecting cotton and slaves. On July 29 a courier arrived from Madison (St. Francis County) with instructions for a detachment to collect the sick soldiers left along the road north to Chalk Bluff (Clay County). Lieutenant Porter of the First Squad left with twenty men enroute north in accordance with the command. At Jonesboro on Friday, August 1, Porter ran into two companies of Confederates commanded by Captain Adair of Craighead County and Captain Allen of Clay County. At first the Federals were successful, taking 24 prisoners, 30 horses, and 13 wagons. The prisoners were locked in the courthouse that night, and pickets were stationed around the town. The Confederates, however, returned in strength at night, slipping in between the pickets and the main force. In the battle which followed, only a few Union pickets man- aged to escape. The main Union force then retreated toward Marianna. Seven Union soldiers were killed in the battle and were buried across Matthews Avenue from the St. Bernard's Hospital. After the war ended, Union soldiers came and exhu- med the bodies and took them away. While the county was not overrun with Federal Troops continuously and did not suffer from devastation of the war, such as fell the lot of many other counties in the state, it still was not without exciting experiences. A portion of Marmaduke's army passed through the county on his retreat from Missouri, and some Federal commands also passed through the county while enroute to other points where battles were to be faught. While Craighead County did escape the ravages of a direct confrontation between the opposing forces, the suffering endured by its residents dur- ing the war was without description. With most of the able- bodied men away, much of the land lay fallow. If goods could be obtained by merchants, the consumer had no money with which to buy them. If salt could be found, it sold for $25.00 per barrel. Gun powder sold for $5.00 per pound, and quinine, the staple medicine of the day, sold for $5.00 per ounce. People dug dirt from their smoke-house floor and boiled it to extract salt. To add to their misery, the Craighead County residents were victimized by roving gangs of outlaws, known as bushwhackers, (some of these were soldiers, both Union and Confederate) who roamed the countryside robbing, pilliaging, and looting. Livestock were stolen, and crops were destroyed in the fields. The thieves entered the defenseless homes and stole meat, flour, and anything of value the homeowners might have in their posses- sion. Several instances of such outrages were documented in various parts of the county. Life was perhaps as difficult on the home front as it was on the battlefield. Finally in 1865, the war ended with victory for the Uni- on. The defeated men of the Confederacy returned home and attempted to resume normal life. However, normal conditions were not to exist for the residents of Craighead County for several years to come. In an attempt to punish the "Rebel" states for their actions during the war, the "radical" members of the Federal Legislature in March 1867 passed sweeping legislation known as the "Reconstruction Act" declaring illegal all state governments in ten southern states, including Arkansas. The South was divided into five military districts, with Arkan- sas and Mississippi comprising the fourth. The generals who headed the districts were given complete control over all civil authorities and directed to set up military tribunals and start the process of reconstruction. Under the new plan, each of the "Rebel" states had to present to Congress a new constitution, giving all former slaves the right to vote and hold political office. Voters were required to take an "Ironclad Oath" stating that they had not born arms against the Union. This disfranchised most ex-Confederates who served in the war. The only people who could vote were former slaves, wartime Unionists, draft dod- gers, Southerners too old or too young for military service, and Northerners who had moved to the state. Would-be politicians, many of them former Union sol- diers, swarmed into the state, bent on captalizing on the defeat of the Confederacy. These people became known as "carpetbaggers" because it was said that they came to the South with everything they owned in a carpetbag or satchel. Chief among these was Powell Clayton, who was a native of Pennsylvania. He was educated in a military school and became a civil engineer. When quite a young man, he moved to Kansas and lived there until the advent of the war. He was a captain of the First Kansas Infantry and was soon colonel. He came to Little Rock with General Steele and was soon placed in command of Union Forces at Pine Bluff. He recog- nized the opportunities for an enterprising young Union man in the state after the war, purchased a plantation near Pine Bluff and stayed to exploit his opportunities. In order to make everything appear to be regular and legal, an election was planned, and delegates were elected to a Constitutional Convention. Very few of the Confederates and their sympathizers were allowed to vote and a large majority of the delegates to the Convention were those whom the carpetbaggers wanted. When the convention met in Little Rock in January 1868, there were only nine native Arkansans among the seventy-five delegates who were to determine the states future. However, a new State Constitution was drafted and submitted to Congress. The document was accepted, and on June 22, 1868, Arkansas was readmitted to the Union. On July 2, 1868, Powell Clayton was inaugurated as the Reconstruction Governor of Arkansas. Under Governor Clayton and the carpet-bag administration, the legislature appropri- ated hundreds of thousands of dollars for court houses and jails which were never built, and millions of dollars for railroads which were never completed. State and local offi- ces multiplied in number as carpetbaggers sought to build a strong political machine. Salaries increased as did taxes, adding additional burdens to local citizens. The situation became intolorable in Craighead County. The freedom-loving pioneers would not endure this unjust oppression without fighting back. Units of the Ku Klux Klan were formed over the county to combat oppression. At first it was nothing more than a secret society for mutual protection of property rights, and none but former soldiers of the Confederacy were permitted to join. Then hostilities started in earnest. On November 4, 1868, (the day following the Federal election) Governor Clayton placed Craighead County and nine other Arkansas counties under martial law. In his official proclamation, he stated that the affected counties "are now in a state of insurrection. Civil authority within them is utterly powerless to preserve order and protect the lives of the citizens. In many of these counties a perfect reign of terror now exists". The sheriff, county judge, and clerk were removed from office in Craighead County and replaced with Republicans who were agreeable to the Reconstruction Government. The state militia was sent to the affected counties by Governor Clayton to "quell the uprising". The militia, poorly disciplined and consisting mostly of former slaves, moved through the state stealing, looting, and occasionally killing white men. Clayton hired secret agents who provided militia officers with lists of men to be arrested. One major confrontation occurred between the militia and the Klan in Craighead County on Buck Snort Hill north of Jonesboro on the Greensboro Road. A small force of Klansmen under the command of Steve Kitchens was enroute to Jonesboro to check on several of their fellow members who had been ar- rested and were being held in the county jail. Near the Buck Snort community they were met by a superior force of militia. Shots were exchanged and the Klansmen began to re- treat toward Greensboro where reinforcements waited. John Tyler, a member of the Klan, fell behind the main body and was captured by the militia. Despite his plea for mercy, Tyler was ruthlessly murdered by the militia. Local legend says that his throat was cut, and he was allowed to bleed to death. Many county residents were arrested and held in jail without being charged and without being permitted to make bond. Finally, in an attempt to ease tension and end the bloody turmoil, an edict was sent out by W. W. Nesbett, the Reconstruction sheriff, offering immunity to all Klansmen who surrendered and turned in their guns. The people were tired of the bloodshed and most of the Klansmen surrendered. A short time later the militia was withdrawn from the coun- ty. After almost a decade of war and privation, turmoil and strife, the residents of Craighead County settled down to a state of peace. In the years that followed, many former Union Soldiers migrated to Craighead County and settled. Their friendly intercourse with the citizens indicated that the battle ax had been buried for all time. In 1874 a new state constitution was written, restoring civil rights to all citizens. The residents of Craighead County and the state of Arkansas were able to compromise, and today the tragic Civil War and the terrible Reconstruc- tion Period are only interesting chapters in the fascinat- ing history of Arkansas and Craighead County. HLE/glm 2/27/91 edited 4/9/91 June Masson