Camp Jackson ravaged by measles

MAYSVILLE - The establishment of Camp Jackson in Arkansas was originally attempted by General Benjamin McCulloch during the hot, scorching days of summer in northwest Arkansas. The General named Camp Jackson for Governor Claiborne Jackson of Missouri, a staunch supporter of the Confederacy who actively pushed for Missouri’s secession from the Union.

General McCulloch abandoned his fi rst attempt to establish the camp after arriving around July 9, 1861. After suffering for two to three days, he decided that there was notenough water in the area to sustain the growing number of men and animals who were arriving daily, volunteering for service in the Confederacy. General McCulloch then issued orders for everyone to march to Bentonville, believing they would have a better source of both water and general supplies for his growing army.

After the Battle of Oak Hills (Wilson’s Creek) in Missouri, fresh new recruits arrived from southwest Arkansas, having marched north a distance of between 300 and 500 miles, arriving at Miller’s Springs in Lawrence Co., Mo., on Aug. 16. On Aug. 17, 1861, the organization of the Southwestern Arkansas Regiment, later known as the 4th Arkansas Regiment, was completed and eight companies, totaling 660 men, were sworn into the Confederate service by Lt. Col. Dandridge McRea. On Aug. 18, they marched to Mt.Vernon, Mo., and formally completed the election of fi eld offi cers.

Just after the Oak Hills Battle, differences arose between Brigadier General McCulloch and General Sterling Price concerning operational strategy during the battle. This resulted in Gen. McCulloch deciding to establish Camp Jackson for a second time. The companies departed Mt. Vernon on the 31st of August, arriving at Camp Jackson on Sept. 5, 1861. Camp was set up in the timber of the hillsides skirting the east side of the Harmonial Vegetarian Society lands, which separated Camp Jackson from the larger training camp of Camp Walker. Both camps used the wide open plowed fields of the Harmonial Vegetarian Society for drilling and artillery practice.

Within a week of their arrival in Arkansas, the measles outbreak that had begun at Mt. Vernon, Mo., returned with a vengeance.Many of the new recruits were young men who had just left their farms a few weeks earlier, having little resistance to fevers and diseases.

Brigade Surgeon W.L. Gammage states in his published journal, “The Camp, the Bivouac and the Battlefield,” published in Selma, Ala., in 1864: “Here we remained for a considerable time and, during our stay at this time, we had more sickness amongst our men than I have ever known in one command in so short a time. In the space of thirty-six days, we had about thirty deaths, most of them from diseases following upon an attack of measles.”

On Oct. 12, 1861, the camp moved from Camp Jackson 1 1/2 miles south to Alexander’s Springs on the Spavinaw Creek. Here they camped for two days and then took up the march to Carthage, Mo., arriving there on the 19th of October.