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Archaeologists Uncover Site of Civil War-Era Home at Prairie Grove Battlefield

COURTESY PHOTO Arkansas Archeological Society volunteer Jim Cherry works in 2011 to excavate the site of the William Rogers house at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park. Jared Pebworth and Aden Jenkins, background, uncover foundation stones of the southwest corner of the house.
COURTESY PHOTO Arkansas Archeological Society volunteer Jim Cherry works in 2011 to excavate the site of the William Rogers house at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park. Jared Pebworth and Aden Jenkins, background, uncover foundation stones of the southwest corner of the house.

"Confederate soldiers had warned them early that morning of the probability of a large battle on or near their farmland," reads a history of the Battle of Prairie Grove provided by Jerry Hilliard of the Arkansas Archeological Survey. "Large numbers of soldiers amassed that day convinced William and Martha (Rogers) of the severity of the situation."

On Dec. 7, 1862, the Rogerses, their three young daughters and about 20 neighbors rode out the battle in the basement of the William Morton house, about a half mile from their own.

Ark-Homa Chapter Meeting

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The First Indian Home Guard troops and the 20th Iowa Infantry regiment -- the right flank of Union Gen. Francis Herron's Army -- received orders to advance from the river valley, charging Confederate troops above. Heavy losses occurred as Confederate troops fired from the Rogers house.

"The Rogers homestead provided the Rebels with plenty of cover," reads the work of historian William Shea, whom Hilliard credits with the fullest research about the battle. "From the shelter of houses, outbuildings, woodpiles and fences, they opened a 'steady galling fire' on the 20th Iowa, 400 yards to the north," writes Shea.

"The Confederates were actually in the house for part of the battle," Hilliard said, "with snipers shooting from the second-floor windows."

"As the battle progressed during the course of the day, William and Martha Rogers' house was enveloped in the fighting," reads Hilliard's history. "Their home and farm buildings were used repeatedly by both sides and shelled by Union artillery. At the end of the day, a number of both Union and Confederate soldiers lay dead at their farm."

The home nearly was destroyed by the day's fighting, and it burned the next day -- most likely torched by the Union forces driving the Confederates on their retreat to Van Buren, said Jessee Cox, superintendent of today's Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.

"When (the federal troops) occupied the area, they burned all the structures they did not need," Cox said.

Then the home became part of "historical memory," Hilliard explained. In 10 years, some people might be able to remember the site of the house, but in 60 years, anyone who could remember would be gone.

The house has been found, thanks to a National Parks Service grant targeted to preserve American battlefields and 2011 field work by the Arkansas Archeological Survey. Hilliard, a station assistant with the survey, speaks about the work before the combined Ark-Homa chapter of the survey and the Oklahoma Anthropological Survey at 7 p.m. Oct. 16 at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

The find confirms the history recorded in battlefield reports, which mentioned the house, and battlefield maps, which weren't always accurate, Hilliard said.

"There was no question it burned," Hilliard said -- and the historical record said it had. Nails, glass and other artifacts showed the signs. Remnants of pottery dated to the 19th century, he said.

"And impacted bullets found in the home's foundation and cellar show the battle raged right there," Hilliard continued. "It took us two weeks to determine, without a doubt, that this was the right house and the right time period."

Through the grant, the state parks administration listed things they wanted the archaeologists to find. Prairie Grove park leaders listed 11, including the William Rogers house, the home of his father Hugh Rogers, a post office and the Old Fayetteville Road as it ran through the park -- all of which were found, Hilliard said.

Cox said park officials had a general idea of where the Rogers house had stood, but they were unsure of the exact location in the 850 acres of park. "And darned if they didn't find it," he said.

Remote sensing and pieces found with metal detectors told the archaeologists where to dig. "It was like a needle in a haystack," Hilliard said.

The foundation of the Rogers house is located on undeveloped park land east of the Visitors Center and Hindman Hall Museum. The foundation is protected on park land, although in old homesteads, building materials were often salvaged for other building projects, Hilliard said. Luckily, it wasn't totally destroyed in favor of a farm building or chicken house, he said.

What remained of the foundation was native stone, Hilliard said, including the southwest corner of the house. "We found all of the corners pretty good," Hilliard said. The archaeologists also located a cellar on the northwest side of the house -- exciting because of the "period" trash remaining.

"We rarely excavate everything," Hilliard said. "The site is protected, and we want to reserve some things for future archaeology."

The home was fairly large for the period -- about 48 feet by 20 feet, with two stories, Hilliard said. The I-plan house likely was a log structure, expanded and covered with weather board by the Rogers family, as was the fashion of the day. Rogers' father was a doctor, and the family probably was pretty prominent, Hilliard surmised.

The Rogers' story is a sad one, Hilliard shared. William and Martha Elizabeth married and moved into the house in 1856. William's father, Hugh, lived about a half a mile away.

The couple were told by the Confederates in the area the battle would be contained near the river -- and their home -- but not around Morton's house, a half mile to the west. So the Rogerses joined their neighbors holed up in the cellar of the Morton home.

They spent that December day in that "cold, dank, dark cellar," Hilliard said. Within two days of the battle, they lost two children to illness -- probably due to conditions in the cellar, he said. The Rogerses and their one remaining daughter moved to Texas after the battle. They did return to the area after the war, although they built their new home closer to the town that would become Prairie Grove.

The discovery of the Rogers house foundation was important to park historians, Cox said.

"You can put yourself in that place," he said. "We know where the front door was and can figure out why they put it where they did. You can look out and view the ridge, where they had their crops. They had some pens for animals, and they had an orchard.

"It's not just for our knowledge, but for people when they come here to visit," he said. "We can imagine what's going on here and how they felt."

"The Battle of Prairie Grove was the last major campaign in Northwest Arkansas, although there would be plenty of guerrilla warfare in the region for the remaining years of the Civil War," reads a park brochure about the battle. The victory also retained control of Missouri and its valuable rivers for the Union.

NAN Life on 10/01/2014

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