It is sad but true that most of us in our Round Table know very little about Arkansas units in the War except, of course, for the 3d Arkansas Infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia. Therefore, it will be a real treat to hear our fellow member and old friend George Davis tell us about the 6th Arkansas Infantry, CSA. George is an interesting and dynamic speaker and we can all look forward to an exciting program.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 30 YEARS we got snowed out.  But the situation developed a little early--early enough for there to be no doubt of a cancellation. Our speaker, Drew Hodges, will be re-scheduled later in the year, and we guarantee you, it will be a program worth waiting for.

April 22, 2003--Supt. John Scott, Pea Ridge NMP, Pea Ridge Today.

May 27, 2003--Cal Collier, Towson, Md., The Great Beefsteak Raid.

June 24, 2003--Randy Philhours, Paragould, The Marmaduke-Walker Duel.

July 22, 2003--Rob McGregor, Little Rock, Jefferson Davis, Before & After the Civil War.

August 26, 2003--Dr. Brian Steel Wills, Topic to be announced.

September 23, 2003--Dr. Dan Sutherland, The University of Arkansas, Guerilla Warfare.

October 28, 2003--Landon Smith, Jackson, Miss, Prairie d'Ane.

BECAUSE OF THE SNOW CANCELLATION, many of you didn't get to pay your 2003 dues. Once again, if you owe dues, your envelope (and this newsletter) will have a red check mark. This will be your last newsletter if you have a red check mark and don't pay your dues.

HEALTH REPORTS:
Bill O'Donnell is sinking, slowly but surely.  He would certainly appreciate being remembered with a note or card to 5615 Evergreen, Little Rock AR  72205. 

Jerry Russell is improving, also slowly, from his January knee operation, and expects to be with us at our March 25 meeting.  He and wife will be off to Lexington KY for the 24th Confederate Historical Institute, with Ed Bearss, in early April.

DOWN SOUTH, there are big problems at the Mansfield (LA) battlefield:  Mansfield Civil War battlefield put on endangered list  MANSFIELD, La. (AP)  A sprawling area of woods and pastures here has made a list of the most endangered Civil War battle sites.

The Civil War Preservation Trust put the Battlefield of Mansfield on its endangered list Tuesday because a lignite mining operation is eating up parts of the site where Confederate Gen. Richard Taylor defeated Union Gen. Nathaniel Banks in a pivotal battle on April 8, 1864. 

The mine, run by power company AEP-Southwestern Electric Power and its Dolet Hills Lignite operation, is seeking a permit to mine 58 more acres of the battlefield, the group said. According to the Civil War Preservation Trust, only 12 percent of 177 acres of the 6,000 acre battlefield is protected from the development. "Mansfield is one of the most important, if not the most important Civil War battlefield in Louisiana and it is being dug up every day," said Jim Campi, a spokesman for the preservation group. "We can't save everything, we're certainly not trying to.  But we think there is an opportunity here to save more than has been done," Campi said. 

The company and preservationists have been in talks, but they have not been fruitful, Campi said.
In September, Swepco donated 41 acres, but much more of the battlefield needs to be conserved, said Gary D. Joiner, a LSU-Shreveport history professor and member of the Friends of Mansfield Battlefield. "We're not asking them to stop the mine, but we are asking them to not mine anymore of the battlefield," he said.
"We'll continue talking with all the parties," said Mike Young, spokesman for Swepco.  "But we have to live up to our responsibility to provide low-cost, reliable electricity to our customers." The protected parts of the battlefield includes Honeycutt Hill, the spot Union forces held when they were attacked by Taylor's troops in the late afternoon. The battle was important because it stopped Banks from taking Shreveport in his campaign up the Red River Valley, Joiner said.

Shreveport was the capital of Confederate Louisiana and a center for weapons manufacturing, Joiner said.
An estimated 2,500 Union and 1,200 Confederate soldiers were killed in the battle. Preservationists want to protect areas the Confederates fought on. "The definition of hallowed ground for us is about where Americans fought and died for their beliefs regardless of whether or not they were Confederate soldiers," Joiner said.  "It's not about a Confederate flag issue, or a Confederate monument..." We ask you to write to Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, State Capitol, Baton Rouge LA 70804, and ask that the State of Louisiana do all that is possible to protect this battlefield against the depredations of Swepco's lignite mining operation. Quote the AP story and explain that this is a matter of national concern. Your letter might be the one to make the difference.

The Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies
Department of History and Political Science
Southeastern Louisiana University
Presents  THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL DEEP DELTA CIVIL WAR SYMPOSIUM

"Taking the War to the Yankees: Confederate Offensive Operations in the American Civil War" 

It will be held Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14, 2003, at the War Memorial Student Union Theater, Southeastern Louisiana University, in Hammond, Louisiana. The Deep Delta Civil War Symposium continues its tradition of bringing together nationally recognized historians for a scholarly discourse on the American Civil War.  Our own Jerry Russell was the featured speaker at the first symposium.  This year's symposium will feature nine of the nation's finest Civil War scholars discussing themes, battles and personalities relative to an examination of Taking the War to the Yankees.

Speakers include:  Dr. Gary Joiner (LSU Shreveport); Stacy Allen (Chief Historian, Shiloh National Military Park); Dr. William Shea (UofA Monticello); Dr. William N. Still (University of Hawaii); Dr. Richard Lowe (University of North Texas); Dr. Donald S. Frazier (Grady McWhiney Foundation); Charles Alexander (Chief Historian, Antietam National Battlefield); and Dr. Charles Roland (University of Kentucky).
For additional information concerning the symposium, write Deep Delta Civil War Symposium, SLU 10730, Hammond LA 70402; E-mail <selahistory@selu.edu>; or call 985-549-2151.