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=               Poison Springs Battleground State Park               =
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                             Introduction                             
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Poison Springs Battleground State Park is an Arkansas state park
located southeast of Bluff City. It commemorates the Battle of Poison
Spring in the American Civil War, which was part of the 1864 Camden
Expedition, an element of a Union Army initiative to gain control of
Shreveport, Louisiana, and get a foothold in Texas.

In the battle, which was fought on April 18, 1864, Confederates and
Choctaw Indians attacked and overcame a supply wagon of Union
soldiers. The term "poison spring" arises from the apocryphal story
that Confederate soldiers poisoned nearby springwater. The battle
hastened the failure of the Camden expedition, and garnered notoriety
for the slaughter of black Union soldiers from Kansas by the
Confederate forces, which took no prisoners.

The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in
1969 as Poison Springs State Park, and, with other sites, is part of
the Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark. It was
declared part of the National Historic Landmark in 1994.


                Description and administrative history                
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The park includes about 85 acre of land. It is located on both sides
of Arkansas Highway 76, about 14 mi northwest of Camden in Ouachita
County. Highway 76 was constructed along the historic road that was
used by the Union supply train when it was roadblocked and attacked by
the Confederate force during the battle. The improved portion of the
park, with a picnic area and interpretive signs, is located on the
north side of the highway.

The battle, however, covered a much larger area, estimated at more
than 9000 acre. The surrounding area is in roughly the same condition
as it was at the time of the battle. The land that was then under
cultivation has since been allowed to revert to forest.

The heavily wooded park features a small interpretive display and a
shady trail. Sightings of deer and woodpeckers are common along the
trail. The park provides an excellent example of the Gulf Coast forest
region, consisting primarily of pine trees, but with some oak and with
dogwood understory trees.


                               See also                               
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* List of Arkansas state parks
* List of National Historic Landmarks in Arkansas
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Ouachita County,
Arkansas


                            External links                            
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*
* [https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=242743 Poison Springs Battlefield] at
the Historical Marker Database
*
*
[https://www.civilwar.org/visit/heritage-sites/poison-spring-state-park
Poison Springs Battleground State Park] at Civil War Trust


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License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_Springs_Battleground_State_Park


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