Poison Spring State Park

Infobox_nrhp | name =Poison Spring State Park
nrhp_type = nhl


caption =
nearest_city= Chidester, Arkansas
locmapin = Arkansas
lat_degrees = 33 | lat_minutes = 38 | lat_seconds = 18 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 93 | long_minutes = 0 | long_seconds = 29 | long_direction = W
area =
built =1864
architect=
architecture=
designated= April 19, 1994cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=896&ResourceType=District
title=Camden Expedition Sites|date=2007-09-26|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = December 03, 1969cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = State
refnum=69000036

Poison Spring 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.

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, but also gained notoriety for the alleged slaughter of African-American Union soldiers from Kansas by the Confederate forces, which took no African-American prisoners.

The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, 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.,cite web|url=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/94001182.pdf "Camden Expedition Sites", November 29, 1993, by Edward C. Bearss and James H. Charleton] |3.70 MiB |title=National Historic Landmark Nomination|date=1993-11-29|publisher=National Park Service] ,cite web|url=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/94001182.pdf Camden Expedition Sites--Accompanying 62 photos, from 1992-1993: Old U.S. Arsenal (6 photos), Confederate State Capitol (5 photos), Prairie de Ann Battlefield (7 photos), Jenkins' Ferry Battlefield (4 photos), Marks' Mills Battlefield (10 photos), Fort Southerland (5 photos), Poison Spring Battlefield (7 photos), Fort Lookout (9 photos), Elkin's Ferry Battlefield (9 photos).] |8.49 MiB |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination|date=1993-11-29|publisher=National Park Service]

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, comprised primarily of pine trees, but with some oak and with dogwood understory trees. Poison Spring State Park features outdoor interpretive exhibits and picnic sites. The historic site is located 10 miles west of Camden on Arkansas Route 76.

References

ee also

List of Arkansas state parks

External links

* [http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/poisonspring/ Arkansas State Park webpage for Poison Spring State Park]