Clarksville was a key point in the defense of the Arkansas River Valley during the Civil War. Confederate troops occupied the town several times before Union forces took Little Rock and Ft. Smith and gained control of the valley. In early 1864, Lt. Col. G.M. Waugh and men of the 2nd Arkansas Infantry (U.S.) used Clarksville as a base to fight guerrilla bands and Confederates cutting telegraph lines in the area. When Gen. J.O. Shelby’s Confederates crossed the river in May 1864, Waugh left after torching much of Clarksville, including the Methodist church. On Feb. 20, 1865, Union Jayhawkers raided the home of Lutetia Howell and Susan Willis in Johnson County’s Pittsburg community, held the women’s legs in a bed of hot coals to force them to reveal whether they had hidden money, and then burned the house to the ground. Mrs. Howell was burned so badly that her leg had to be amputated. Other women in the area were also tortured and other houses burned. Union officials arrested deserters and soldiers from Kansas and Arkansas accused of taking part in the crimes, though none apparently were punished.