Presentation on Major General James G. Blunt by Bart Taylor

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 his career at the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore and later serving as the program manager for Gilcrease on Wheels at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa. Taylor now serves as park interpreter for the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Arkansas.

After the presentation, visitors will have the opportunity to tour the Visitor Center’s new exhibits, buy newly stocked items from the gift shop, learn about the new exhibits opening in the near future, and tour the largest Civil War battlefield in Oklahoma.

For more information regarding the presentation and the Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center, please email honeysprings@okhistory.org or alynn@okhistory.org, or call 918-473-5572. Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center is located east of US Highway 69 between Oktaha and Rentiesville. The Visitor Center is located on a hill in close proximity to the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame in Rentiesville. Take the second left after reaching the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame Museum (driving from the west).