Battle of Smithville Arkansas

Storm in the Ozarks

160th Civil War Anniversary of the Fight on McKinney Farm, approximately 4 miles west of Smithville Arkansas on 17 June 1862, where 3 companies of the 5th Illinois Cavalry deliberately attacked the 100 men force, (the Arkansas Battalion) of W.O Coleman’s Missouri Cavalry, in a torrential rainstorm.

The brief report in the official records reads like a movie script. A classic cavalry charge against enemy in fortified positions, in the evening hours in the middle of a torrential rain storm.

Event Summary: Three day Civil War Living History event with Military and Civilian Re-enactments. Dates: June 17 through June 19 2022 Location: Jackson Farm, 8 miles South of Black Rock, Arkansas, (5 miles east of Smithville) on Arkansas Highway 117 next door to the Historic New Hope Church. Schedule: June 17 2022 4 pm Reenactment of the Occupation of Smithville by the 5th Illinois Cavalry Welcome and history Symposium June 18 Living History and Skirmish Reenactment.