Rhoda Ray Jones Dedication
May 23, 2021 was declared by Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, to be RHODA RAY JONES DAY. It
is fitting that 160 years after the Battle of Wilson's Creek that Rhoda was recognized for the part she
played following that battle as well as receiving the headstone that she deserved, 123+ years after her
death. The mayor declared that he wanted to encourage “all citizens to join the members of the Mary
Whitney Phelps Tent #22, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865 and Pitts Chapel
United Methodist Church to reflect on and commemorate the courage, sacrifice, and life of an unsung
hero of the Battle of Wilson's Creek." Click here for Rhoda's bio.
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Ray Dedication - Lindsey Cemetery
In January 2020, as programming and projects were being planned, one of the contacts that President Pat Haas made was with Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Park. During the conversation, the staff expressed the hope that someone would take an interest in the headstones of John and Roxanna Ray, located in nearby Lindsey Cemetery. Several members went to check their 145-year-old headstones and found the marble was deteriorating from age and weathering. The placement of the new marker/headstone was modeled on another "replacement marker" that had been placed between two original headstones close by in the cemetery.
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Mary Whitney Phelps Marker Dedication
Phelps descendants (l to r): Katharine Donnelley, Montgomery Brookfield, Holly Brookfield, Lisa Donnelley, John Shevlin, Malcolm Montgomery, Ellen Rose, and David Zogbaum.
The placing of the Mary Whitney Phelps marker was possible due to the great success of this book, Marking Civil War History in the Ozarks: A Guide to Civil War Markers and Monuments in Twenty-Four Southwest Missouri Counties. To date, we have sold or distributed 800 copies. The project, begun in 2009, involved many members of the Tent, who spent countless hours and drove many miles to locate and photograph markers in their chosen counties. Completed in 2010, the book was published just before the start of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Our members purchased and donated many books to libraries in their counties. The book has been profitable, not only to our Tent, but with other non-profit organizations through consignment sales.
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Sand Springs Marker Dedication
Fort Sand Springs Civil War Historical Marker
DURING THE CIVIL WAR (1861 - 1864). A STOCKADE AND FORTIFICATION WAS ESTABLISHED AT SAND SPRINGS, MISSOURI. A TOWN WHICH WAS NAMED FOR THE CLEAR WATER BUBBLING UP THROUGH THE SAND. IT WAS ALSO A CAMPING PLACE FOR WAGON CARAVANS TRAVELING THE WIRE ROAD FROM ST. LOUIS. THE FORT WAS BUILT OF HEAVY OAK BOARDS DRIVEN INTO THE GROUND. IT WAS MANNED BY THE 74TH REGIMENT ENROLLED MISSOURI MILITIA (AND A UNIT FROM ILLINOIS) THROUGHOUT THE WAR. IT WAS AN IMPORTANT FEDERAL "SATELLITE" OUTPOST AND LOCALLY - RECRUITED UNITS USED IT AS A BASE OF OPERATIONS FOR UNION FORAYS INTO THE REGION.
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