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 Thomas C. Hindman - Maple Hill Cemetery - Helena, AR
N 34° 32.578 W 090° 35.460
15S E 721064 N 3824998
Buried in Maple Hill Cemetery, Thomas C. Hindman was one of seven Confederate generals with ties to Helena, AR.
Waymark Code: WMKMBE
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 05/01/2014
Views: 10
Description:
An informative sign stands in the front of the family plot, providing some background:
Thomas C. Hindman
1828-1868
A Southern Upbringing
A native Tennessean, Thomas Carmichael Hindman grew up in Mississippi. After serving in a Mississippi regiment in the Mexican War, he returned home to begin his career in law and politics. In 1856, Hindman moved to Helena, where he married Mary Watkins Biscoe. He also met fellow lawyer Patrick Cleburne and became one of his closest friends.
An Advocate of Secession
A staunch advocate of Southern rights, Hindman believed that secession might be the only hope of protecting slave property. After Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency in 1860, he actively campaigned for secession and was instrumental in taking Arkansas out of the Union.
In Confederate Service
Hindman earned the rank of brigadier general soon after enlisting in the Confederate army. He led his brigade at Corinth, Mississippi, and at the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee. Sent back to Arkansas, Hindman set out to stop the advance of General Samuel Curtis's Union army. His orders to burn food and fodder, poison wells, destroy bridges, and block roads and fords with felled trees infuriated his fellow Arkansans.
After his forces failed to drive the Union army from the state at Prairie Grove in December 1862, Hindman received a transfer back to the Army of Tennessee. He maintained a field command until November 1863, when he was injured during the retreat from Kennesaw Mountain.
A Tragic Death
After the war, Hindman fled with his family to Mexico. They returned to Helena in 1867 and Hindman resumed his political career. He urged Conservatives to take the oath of allegiance in order to vote against Republican candidates. Hindman advocated suffrage for African Americans, hoping to bring Freedmen into the Conservative cause.
In 1868, Hindman was murdered, leaving his thirty-year-old wife, Mollie, with four young children and little money with which to support them.
[There are insets featuring photos of Hindman and his family, of his wife, Mollie, and of an epaulet he wore.]
Support for Civil War Helena generously provided by Southern Bancorp, Department of Arkansas Heritage Delta Cultural Center, and Helena-West Helena Advertising and Promotion Commission.
Date of birth: 01/28/1828
Date of death: 09/27/1868
Area of notoriety: Military
Marker Type: Headstone
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daylight hours, gates close at 5 PM
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
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