Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Students In Aegis Civil War

Civil War in the Ozarks is a fourteen-day AEGIS (Academic for Gifted In Summer) program sponsored by the Ozarks Unlimited Resources Education Service Cooperative and the Arkansas Department of Education, in cooperation with the reenactment troops of the First Arkansas Cavalry, U.S. Thirty- two students in rising grades eight and nine from schools throughout the state are attending during July 7-20.

These students are living in a re-created Civil War encampment, located on Long Creek in northwest Boone County near Harrison, and participating in the daily life activities of Civil War recruits. They are involved in hands-on living history activities; field trips to museums and major battlefields; and record keeping, map making, and the proper use of Civil War military tactics. Saturday, July 13, was highlight of the two-week program with a student commanded skirmish including the students, the First Arkansas Cavalry, U.S., the 26th Missouri Infantry, U.S., the 37th Illinois, U.S., the 9th Arkansas Infantry, C.S., and Wiggins' Battery, C.S.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the Arkansas Department of Education, authorized by Act 3, 1st Extraordinary Session, 1983.

The following students attended the Civil War program:

Whitney Hogue, of Gurdon, who is in the ninth grade. Her parents are Jimmy and Linda Hogue.

Andrew Wilson, of Gurdon, who is in the ninth grade. His parents are Roy and Elizabeth Wilson.