MAGNOLIA—The 150 year anniversary of the Civil War is approaching and Dr. Jamie Brandon of Southern Arkansas University will be doing his part to make sure people understand what role played in the war.
Brandon, an associate professor of anthropology at SAU and the Arkansas Archeological Survey’s Research Station in Magnolia, was appointed by Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe this month to serve on the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. The commission’s main charge is to promote a suitable statewide observance of the Civil War’s 150th anniversary from 2011 to 2015. Brandon is one of only four members of the 16 member commission to be hand selected by the governor.
“I’m honored to be a part of the commission, but it is going to be quite a lot of work to organize and promote a state wide set of programs to remember the Civil War,” Brandon said. “One of the great things about being on the Sesquicentennial Commission is that it gives me the opportunity to promote the Civil War and help interpret the parts of the Civil War that people don’t think about. A lot of it took place in Arkansas, especially southwest Arkansas.”
After working for a decade in Northwest Arkansas in a community called Van Winkle’s Mill Community inside Hobb State Park in Benton County, Brandon set his sights on southwest Arkansas, particularly the area of Historic Washington in Hempstead County. He suspects that his project in northwest Arkansas, which eventually led to the creation of a historic trail there, as well as his dedication to doing archeological research in the 11 counties that make up southwest Arkansas, are the reasons he received the nomination.
Brandon divides his time between teaching anthropology classes in the spring at SAU and conducting archeological research in southwest Arkansas. The lion’s share of his work has been in studying the 19th century as well as the Civil War period. Brandon has almost 17 years of experience in the field of archaeology and has been involved with projects in a total of 13 southeastern states. He has also authored or co-authored publications and/or technical reports on research in seven of those states and has a strong background in both the academic and private sectors.
For more information about the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in Arkansas, go to www.arkansaspreservation.org/preservation-services/sesquicentennial-commission/.
