Press Release
April 1, 2019
Contact: Adam Lynn
Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 918-473-5572
alynn@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org/honeysprings
Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center to Host General Blunt Presentation
CHECOTAH, Okla. — Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center is excited to announce a special presentation to be held at the battlefield’s Visitor Center on Saturday, April 20, at 1 p.m. Bart Taylor, park interpreter for the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Arkansas, will present on the historical significance of Union Major General James G. Blunt to the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi West theater “from Prairie Grove to Honey Springs and everything in between.” Taylor will be dressed in period Civil War attire for the presentation. After the presentation, he will answer questions and show a few artifacts related to General Blunt from the Prairie Grove collections. The presentation is free to the public, but donations are greatly appreciated.
“James G. Blunt had several careers and titles during his lifetime, including doctor, ship’s captain, and eventually major general,” said Taylor. “When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Blunt enlisted as a private in the Third Kansas Regiment. In April 1862, he was commissioned a brigadier general and placed under command of the Department of Kansas. Blunt distinguished himself for bravery and military skill in the battles of Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, Boston Mountains, Fort Van Buren, Honey Springs and Newtonia.”
Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma City and a master’s degree in American studies from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. He has worked in the museum field for the past seven years, starting reaching the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame Museum (driving from the west).
Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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