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Happy New Year everyone! I am excited to see where this year will take us and the adventures that are in store.

We ended the year visiting my in-laws in Missouri. On our way home we decided to take a longer route so we could visit some historic sites along the way. These sites gave a small glimpse at some powerful moments in history that took the country from slavery to the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement.

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George Washington Carver National Monument {Missouri}

Our first stop was to the George Washington Carver National Monument. George Washington Carver is considered one of the country’s most profound and influential inventors and educators. But before going on to greatness, his story began here on a small farm in Missouri.

George was born sometime in the mid 1860s where his family were slaves to the Carver family. His father had died before he was born leaving his mother to raise him and his brother and sister. When George was a new born slave raiders came and kidnapped him, his mother, and sister. The Carvers sent out a man to find them but only George was recovered. Later George believed that this incident was indictive that he was destined for bigger things.

When the Civil War ended, the Carvers adopted George and his brother and raised them as their own children. They taught them how to read and write and encouraged the boys to get an education. George spent every morning outside by the creek where he would commune with God. It was on these walks that his passion for plants and the environment began.

Education opportunities were limited for George because he was black. As a child he walked 10 miles to get to the public school for black children. He would later go to Kansas where he graduated high school. He would be denied college entrance because of his race but he kept working and applying. During this time he was working at a homestead where he maintained the conservatory and worked the land. Then in 1891 he was accepted to what is now known as Iowa State University to study agriculture. He was the first black student at the school.

George would go on to be a professor at the Tuskegee Institute where he began to research better practices and tools to be sued for farming. He found new ways to improve depleted soil and experimented with new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and other crops. His work became the catalyst for changes across the country in farming and industry. President Theodore Roosevelt was a big admirer of his. Through all of his success in the later years of his life George maintained his daily walks into nature and always held his passion for education and conservation of the land.

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Pea Ridge National Military Park {Arkansas}

Our next stop was at the Pea Ridge National Military Park. The Pea Ridge Battle, also called the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, was a pivotal battle of the Civil War. This drive through park offers the history behind the best preserved battlefield of the Civil War.

At this time in the war, Missouri and Arkansas were a powerful point between the Union and the Confederates and control over the area had gone back and forth between the two sides. The confederate army was hoping to regain control of Arkansas and push the Union out of the south. The confederate army was made up of a few different divisions including some Cherokee Indians. The Union soldiers were outnumbered but after the two days of fighting they were able to take control of Arkansas which helped in winning ultimately over the Confederates and winning the war.

It is interesting to consider that during the Civil War, there were two reigning presidents. President Abraham Lincoln was the leader of the Union wanting to preserve the country as one while the Confederate president was the leader of the rebellion wanting to break away from those of the north and establish their own country. A walk through the visitor center really gave an insight into these two presidents and what they were fighting for. So often we want to make heroes and villains out of these men depending on what side they were on. But the truth is that both sides are firmly in the gray area with both good and bad parts to them.

We drove through the park looking the wide fields with the rows of cannons and thinking about these battles that changed the war and defined the country. With something as so complex as the Civil War it can be difficult to really understand the different sides. This park has a 7 mile loop that people can drive, ride, or walk through the park with stops along the way explaining the battle and the people behind it.

At one corner of the park is the Elkhorn Tavern where the two sides initially clashed and where most of the fighting happened. After the battle, the tavern was then used as a hospital. The road to the tavern was closed off while we there for maintenance and we were disappointed to not be able to get a closer look at it.

It is a sobering thought to think about how different everything would be had the Confederate army had won these battles and won the war. While the union of the country was preserved, we still seem to have this fracture between us as people and in many ways those dividing lines are ever present in the country. Places like this are reminders of the high cost that came from the Civil War and stand as testaments of the need to come together. Because in the end, united we stand but divided we fall.

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Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site {Arkansas}

Our last stop was to visit the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. It was here in 1957 that they first started to integrate black students into a previously all white school. This site was an epicenter of conflict, but in the end it was an important force that strengthened the Civil Rights Movement.

To say that this caused confrontation would be a drastic understatement. With the passing of desegregation laws this was the first school to make the changes and allow black students to join with the white students. But the Arkansas governor was determined to challenge the law and employed national guard members to block the path of the black students. In a counter defense, President Eisenhower sent in federal troops to protect them. These federal troops would escort the students (called the Little Rock Nine) to every class and act as a barrier between the Nine and the angry mobs.

The visitor center is located next to the high school and gives a powerful understanding of the courage of these students and how they became catalysts change in the fight for Civil Rights. To watch the videos of the Nine as they looked back on that tumultuous time was really powerful. The school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and a few years later became a National Historic Site in 1982.

The high school itself is still a functioning high school and today it is has a majority of black students. It It stands a physical reminder of the important role it played in changing the country.

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It was an educational and thought provoking tour of these historic sites. It was so interesting to consider the influence that one person, one decision, and one idea can have. One moment can change the world for better or for worse and the rest of history will feel those ripples of influence. From the awful participation of slavery, to the complexities of a country at war, to taking a stand for compassion and fairness- it is interesting to see the progression of where we were as a country to who we are now. We’ve come a long way but we still have so far to go to really become something better. I felt humbled to see these moments and the power they carried through to the present day.

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If you are interested in some other Civil War battlefields, then you may want to consider these:

Shiloh National Military Park- Tennessee

Stones River National Battlefield- Tennessee

Chickamauga National Military Park- Georgia

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Thanks for coming along on this series of historic sites of George Washington Carver, Pea Ridge Battlefield, and Little Rock Central High School. May you always be brave in the face of opposition and change the world with your influence.