Merry Christmas Fort Smith! December 24th and December 25th are two of the most distinctive days in the history of Fort Smith. Laid out by founding father, John Rogers, on December 24, 1842, the city of Fort Smith issues its articles of incorporation. The original Motto: "All For One, One For All"! Happy 182nd birthday to the City of Fort Smith, Arkansas! It was only 25 years earlier, on December 25, 1817, that Major William Bradford and a company of the U. S. Rifle Regiment arrived to establish a military fort at Belle Point. Happy 207th Birthday to the founding of the first Fort Smith at Belle Point!
From the Fort Smith National Historic Site:
December 25th, 1817: Founding of the First Fort Smith
On Christmas Day, 1817, members of the United States Rifle Regiment disembarked from their keelboats onto the rocky shores of Belle Point, and into a tense and volatile Arkansas frontier. By 1817, large numbers of Cherokees had relocated to western Arkansas from the southeastern United States as part of the government’s policy of voluntary removal. They found themselves in almost constant conflict with the Osage, the region’s original inhabitants.
But why here? On July 30, 1817, the Acting Secretary of War ordered a post erected “at, or near to, as circumstances will admit, the point where the Osage boundary crosses the Arkansas River.” Major William Bradford was specifically ordered to “take all proper measures for the restoration of peace and the preservation of harmony between the Osage and the Cherokee Tribes.” The location of the fort was chosen for its strategic importance. On a high bluff above the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers, the post could have a commanding view of river traffic and the surrounding countryside. In an unknown land with unknown dangers, location played a key factor in the safety and well-being of the soldiers.
Why “Fort Smith?” The commander over all four Regiments of Riflemen was General Thomas Adams Smith, a professional soldier from Georgia who had joined the army in 1803. William Arnold said Smith was “one of the greatest military characters now in our armies.” Transferring into the Rifle Regiment as a captain in 1808, Smith was quickly promoted to command.
The Rifle Regiment itself might be considered one of the greatest military characters in the army. The precursor to the modern special forces, soldiers in the Rifle Regiment were trained in the arts of scouting, patrolling, and marksmanship. This allowed them to work in small groups to carry out missions far from support. They were also proficient in skills required for survival on the frontier.
Their equipment was vastly different from their regular infantry counterparts. Instead of smoothbore muskets, riflemen were issued the 1803 Harper’s Ferry rifle which had far greater accuracy than the standard infantry arm. Their uniforms were distinctive; they wore a green linen hunting frock, as opposed to the standard wool uniforms of the regular army. The green frock, like modern camouflage, allowed them to blend into their environment.
Want to learn more about the First Fort Smith?
In 2017, Fort Smith celebrated the 200th establishment of the first Fort Smith with a re-enactment of the arrival of the U. S. Rifle Regiment on December 25, 1817 at Belle Point. Re-enactors, dressed in the uniforms of the 1st Rifle Regiment, made their way down the Arkansas River on a keel boat. Reggie Moore's booming voice serenaded the volunteer regiment with "Amazing Grace" as they docked on the banks of the Arkansas at Belle Point. The original "Fort Smith Arkansaw" a watercolor painted by Samuel Seymour in 1820 was on display at the Fort Smith Museum of History, on loan then, courtesy of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Also on display then and still on view to the public now, was a reproduction six oared skiff (to scale) constructed by Floyd Robison and representative of the one used by Major Stephen Long to select the site of Fort Smith.
#DidYouKnow Celebrating Christmas in Arkansas is a tradition older than the state itself. (Keep scrolling for more info.!)
Although not officially recognized as a national holiday until 1870, Arkansas had declared it a holiday in 1838, just two years after statehood. In 1870, Congress designated Christmas as one of the first four federal holidays, but it was originally only granted to federal employees in the District of Columbia. In 1885, it was extended to all federal employees. It wasn't until 1890 that all states made December 25 a holiday. The first Christmas celebration in Arkansas may have been a ceremony in 1698 at Arkansas Post by Jesuit priests traveling down the Mississippi River, according to “Celebrating Christmas in Arkansas,” a richly detailed article by historian Martha Rimmer in several state journals. (Internet sourced)
Links for the curious:
Images: City of Fort Smith flag; FSMH Collection; Samuel Seymour watercolor of the first Fort Smith, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Coll. 820; 2017 re-enactment photos courtesy of Caroline Speir.
