Important Arkansas historical events and significant anniversaries for July 24, with notable births and deaths of people with Arkansas connections for this date. Information is drawn from state archives, historical societies, contemporary newspapers and other media archives, and legal records. Much of this information comes from the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, an online publication. ChatGPH has collected this data.
On July 24, 1687, Henri Joutel and Jean Cavelier, the brother of explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, reached Arkansas Post after traveling across what is now Texas. La Salle had been killed during a mutiny earlier that year. At Arkansas Post, the travelers found French traders Jean Couture and François Cardinal living among the Quapaw. The episode is an important early record of French-Quapaw relations in Arkansas. The Quapaw provided the Frenchmen with safety and assistance, although French efforts to develop a profitable beaver trade in the region had produced limited results.
Union troops belonging to Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace’s division arrived at Helena on July 24, 1862. A soldier identified only as Charles wrote home the following day, describing his reunion with members of his brigade and reporting news from the Arkansas theater of the Civil War. Wallace became better known after the war as the author of “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” (1880)…