Important Arkansas historical events and significant anniversaries for February 15, 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.
1861 (pre-secession munitions contract; later seizure case): An 1861 contract for munitions between Arkansas and the New York firm W. J. Syms & Brother was signed February 15, 1861. Shipments tied to that contract were later seized in Cincinnati early in the Civil War and became the subject of a federal forfeiture dispute.
1863 (Ouachita Mountains / conscription resistance context): The Encyclopedia of Arkansas notes that men avoiding Confederate conscription in the Ouachita Mountains fought with Confederate forces in the Skirmish at McGraw’s Mill (February 15, 1863)…