Confederate Capital

After Union troops occupied Little Rock on Sept. 10, 1863, Arkansas's Confederate government relocated to Washington and used the 1836 Hempstead County Courthouse as its Capitol building. The legislature met there from Sept. 22 to Oct. 2, 1864, and the state Supreme Court also held sessions there. Washington served as headquarters of the Military District of Arkansas and as a supply post for Trans Mississippi Confederate troops, while hospitals in town cared for sick soldiers. In June 1865, the 12th Michigan Infantry arrived and used the courthouse as a jail.

Washington, Arkansas · United States