Ft Smith pt 2

On our recent short visit to Ft Smith, Arkansas, we stopped at the historic National Cemetery. 

You may not be interested in this post or the photos because of the subject matter. But you have to appreciate the history represented here.

The U.S. Army founded Fort Smith in 1817 as a military post on the Arkansas River.   Zachary Taylor, later the 12th President of the United States, commanded the 2nd Department, Western Division, here from 1841 to 1845. There's not a lot left of the original garrison except some foundations where rooms used to be and a restored visitor center.

I won't go into a long history lesson here, but Ft Smith was very much a part of the Civil War.
473 Confederate soldiers are buried in the Natl Cemetery. 

The saddest thing to me was the row upon row of unmarked graves - in fact, there are more than 1,400, many of them of Union and Confederate soldiers. I thought about their families, who never knew what happened to their loved one, were never able to spend time at their final resting place, and probably never really had closure.

There are some famous people buried here. Above is the headstone of Gen. William Darby. He led a group of elite soldiers in WWII who became the basis for our US Army Rangers.

Another famous person who you've probably heard of is "Hanging Judge Parker." Isaac Parker was assigned to the bench of the US District Court, which included the Indian Territory, to clean up the lawlessness and corruption running rampant as the country moved west. 

According to Wikipedia, he served 21 years on the federal bench, trying 13,490 cases. But of those, only 79 were actually executed (although 160 were sentenced to death). Our visit at the US Marshals Museum the day before taught us a lot about just how wild the territory was!

The gallows.

Under the gallows.

Not all heroes are famous.  

There are 164 national cemeteries in the US & its territories. There are roughly 17,000 veterans buried just at Ft Smith. Imagine how many veterans when you factor in all 164.  It's a sobering thought - how many thousands of men and women have served this country since its beginning.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4