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senjō no valkyria 3 chronicles ( japanese 戦場のヴァルキュリア3 lit valkyria of the battlefield 3 ) commonly referred to as valkyria chronicles iii outside japan is a tactical role @@ playing video game developed by sega and mediavision for the playstation portable released in january 2011 in japan it is the third game in the valkyria series employing the same fusion of tactical and real @@ time gameplay as its predecessors the story runs parallel to the first game and follows the nameless a penal military unit serving the nation of gallia during the second europan war who perform secret black operations and are pitted against the imperial unit raven |
the game began development in 2010 carrying over a large portion of the work done on valkyria chronicles ii while it retained the standard features of the series it also underwent multiple adjustments such as making the game more forgiving for series newcomers character designer honjou and composer hitoshi sakimoto both returned from previous entries along with valkyria chronicles ii director takeshi ozawa a large team of writers handled the script the game's opening theme was sung by may'n |
it met with positive sales in japan and was praised by both japanese and western critics after release it received downloadable content along with an expanded edition in november of that year it was also adapted into manga and an original video animation series due to low sales of valkyria chronicles ii valkyria chronicles iii was not localized but a fan translation compatible with the game's expanded edition was released in 2014 mediavision would return to the franchise with the development of valkyria azure revolution for the playstation 4 |
as with previous chronicles games valkyria chronicles iii is a tactical role @@ playing game where players take control of a military unit and take part in missions against enemy forces stories are told through comic book @@ like panels with animated character portraits with characters speaking partially through voiced speech bubbles and partially through unvoiced text the player progresses through a series of linear missions gradually unlocked as maps that can be freely scanned through and replayed as they are unlocked the route to each story location on the map varies depending on an individual player's approach when one option is selected the other is sealed off to the player outside missions the player characters rest in a camp where units can be customized and character growth occurs alongside the main story missions are character @@ specific sub missions relating to different squad members after the game's completion additional episodes are unlocked some of them having a higher difficulty than those found in the rest of the game there are also love simulation elements related to the game's two main heroines although they take a very minor role |
the game's battle system the system is carried over directly from chronicles during missions players select each unit using a top @@ down perspective of the battlefield map once a character is selected the player moves the character around the battlefield in third @@ person a character can only act once per @@ turn but characters can be granted multiple turns at the expense of other characters' turns each character has a field and distance of movement limited by their action gauge up to nine characters can be assigned to a single mission during gameplay characters will call out if something happens to them such as their health points ( hp ) getting low or being knocked out by enemy attacks each character has specific potentials skills unique to each character they are divided into personal potential which are innate skills that remain unaltered unless otherwise dictated by the story and can either help or impede a character and battle potentials which are grown throughout the game and always grant boons to a character to learn battle potentials each character has a unique masters table a grid @@ based skill table that can be used to acquire and link different skills characters also have special abilities that grant them temporary boosts on the battlefield kurt can activate direct command and move around the battlefield without depleting his action point gauge the character can shift into her valkyria form and become invincible while imca can target multiple enemy units with her heavy weapon |
troops are divided into five classes scouts engineers lancers and armored soldier troopers can switch classes by changing their assigned weapon changing class does not greatly affect the stats gained while in a previous class with victory in battle experience points are awarded to the squad which are distributed into five different attributes shared by the entire squad a feature differing from early games' method of distributing to different unit types |
the game takes place during the second europan war gallian army squad 422 also known as the nameless are a penal military unit composed of criminals foreign deserters and military offenders whose real names are erased from the records and thereon officially referred to by numbers ordered by the gallian military to perform the most dangerous missions that the regular army and militia will not do they are nevertheless up to the task exemplified by their motto meaning always ready the three main characters are no7 kurt irving an army officer falsely accused of treason who wishes to redeem himself ace no1 imca a female darcsen heavy weapons specialist who seeks revenge against the valkyria who destroyed her home and no13 riela a seemingly jinxed young woman who is unknowingly a descendant of the valkyria together with their fellow squad members these three are tasked to fight against a mysterious imperial unit known as calamity raven consisting of mostly darcsen soldiers |
as the nameless officially do not exist the upper echelons of the gallian army exploit the concept of plausible deniability in order to send them on missions that would otherwise make gallia lose face in the war while at times this works to their advantage such as a successful incursion into imperial territory other orders cause certain members of the 422nd great distress one such member becomes so enraged that he abandons his post and defects into the ranks of calamity raven attached to the ideal of darcsen independence proposed by their leader dahau at the same time elements within gallian army command move to erase the nameless in order to protect their own interests hounded by both allies and enemies and combined with the presence of a traitor within their ranks the 422nd desperately move to keep themselves alive while at the same time fight to help the gallian war effort this continues until the nameless's commanding officer ramsey crowe who had been kept under house arrest is escorted to the capital city of in order to present evidence exonerating the weary soldiers and expose the real traitor the gallian general that had accused kurt of treason |
partly due to these events and partly due to the major losses in manpower gallia suffers towards the end of the war with the empire the nameless are offered a formal position as a squad in the gallian army rather than serve as an anonymous shadow force this is short @@ lived however as following maximilian's defeat dahau and calamity raven move to activate an ancient super weapon within the empire kept secret by their benefactor without the support of maximilian or the chance to prove themselves in the war with gallia it is dahau's last trump card in creating a new darcsen nation as an armed gallian force invading the empire just following the two nations' cease @@ fire would certainly wreck their newfound peace kurt decides to once again make his squad the nameless asking crowe to list himself and all under his command as killed @@ in @@ action now owing allegiance to none other than themselves the 422nd confronts dahau and destroys the weapon each member then goes their separate ways in order to begin their lives anew |
concept work for valkyria chronicles iii began after development finished on valkyria chronicles ii in early 2010 with full development beginning shortly after this the director of valkyria chronicles ii takeshi ozawa returned to that role for valkyria chronicles iii development work took approximately one year after the release of valkyria chronicles ii the staff took a look at both the popular response for the game and what they wanted to do next for the series like its predecessor valkyria chronicles iii was developed for playstation portable this was due to the team wanting to refine the mechanics created for valkyria chronicles ii and they had not come up with the revolutionary idea that would warrant a new entry for the playstation 3 speaking in an interview it was stated that the development team considered valkyria chronicles iii to be the series' first true sequel while valkyria chronicles ii had required a large amount of trial and error during development due to the platform move the third game gave them a chance to improve upon the best parts of valkyria chronicles ii due to being on the same platform in addition to sega staff from the previous games development work was also handled by the original scenario was written kazuki yamanobe while the script was written by hiroyuki fujii koichi majima miyagi seiki and takayuki its story was darker and more somber than that of its predecessor |
the majority of material created for previous games such as the system and the design of maps was carried over alongside this improvements were made to the game's graphics and some elements were expanded such as map layouts mission structure and the number of playable units per mission a part of this upgrade involved creating unique polygon models for each character's body in order to achieve this the cooperative elements incorporated into the second game were removed as they took up a large portion of memory space needed for the improvements they also adjusted the difficulty settings and ease of play so they could appeal to new players while retaining the essential components of the series' gameplay the newer systems were decided upon early in development the character designs were done by honjou who had worked on the previous valkyria chronicles games when creating the nameless squad honjou was faced with the same problem he had had during the first game the military uniforms essentially destroyed character individuality despite him needing to create unique characters the player could identify while maintaining a sense of reality within the valkyria chronicles world the main color of the nameless was black as with the previous valkyria games valkyria chronicles iii used the graphics engine the anime opening was produced by production ig |
the music was composed by hitoshi sakimoto who had also worked on the previous valkyria chronicles games when he originally heard about the project he thought it would be a light tone similar to other valkyria chronicles games but found the themes much darker than expected an early theme he designed around his original vision of the project was rejected he the main theme about seven times through the music production due to this need to reassess the game the main theme was initially recorded using orchestra then sakimoto removed elements such as the guitar and bass then adjusted the theme using a synthesizer before redoing segments such as the guitar piece on their own before incorporating them into the theme the rejected main theme was used as a hopeful tune that played during the game's ending the battle themes were designed around the concept of a modern battle divorced from a fantasy scenario by using modern musical instruments constructed to create a sense of atonality while sakimoto was most used to working with synthesized music he felt that he needed to incorporate live instruments such as orchestra and guitar the guitar was played by mitsuhiro ohta who also arranged several of the later tracks the game's opening theme song if you wish for ( kimi ga nara ) was sung by japanese singer may'n its theme was the reason soldiers fought in particular their wish to protect what was precious to them rather than a sense of responsibility or duty its lyrics were written by seiko fujibayashi who had worked on may'n on previous singles |
in september 2010 a teaser website was revealed by sega hinting at a new valkyria chronicles game in its september issue famitsu listed that senjō no valkyria 3 would be arriving on the playstation portable its first public appearance was at the 2010 tokyo game show ( tgs ) where a demo was made available for journalists and attendees during the publicity story details were kept scant so as not to spoil too much for potential players along with some of its content still being in flux at the time of its reveal to promote the game and detail the story leading into the game's events an episodic flash visual novel written by fujii began release in january 2011 the game was released january 27 2011 during an interview the development team said that the game had the capacity for downloadable content ( dlc ) but that no plans were finalized multiple dlc maps featuring additional missions and recruitable characters were released between february and april 2011 an expanded edition of the game valkyria chronicles iii extra edition released on november 23 2011 packaged and sold at a lower price than the original extra edition game with seven additional episodes three new three chosen by staff from the game's dlc and one made available as a pre @@ order bonus people who also owned the original game could transfer their save data between versions |
unlike its two predecessors valkyria chronicles iii was not released in the west according to sega this was due to poor sales of valkyria chronicles ii and the general unpopularity of the psp in the west an unofficial fan translation patch began development in february 2012 players with a copy of valkyria chronicles iii could download and apply the patch which translated the game's text into english compatible with the extra edition the patch was released in january 2014 |
on its day of release in japan valkyria chronicles iii topped both platform @@ exclusive and multi @@ platform sales charts by early february the game sold 102 @@ 779 units coming in second overall to the last story for the wii by the end of the year the game had sold just over 152 @@ 500 units |
famitsu enjoyed the story and were particularly pleased with the improvements to gameplay japanese gaming site game watch impress despite negatively noting its pacing and elements recycled from previous games was generally positive about its story and characters and found its gameplay entertaining despite off @@ putting difficulty spikes 4gamernet writer naohiko in a play test article based on the game's psn demo felt that valkyria chronicles iii provided a profound feeling of closure for the valkyria chronicles series he praised its gameplay despite annoying limitations to aspects such as special abilities and positively noted its shift in story to a tone similar to the first game |
playstation official magazine uk praised the story's blurring of gallia's moral standing art style and most points about its gameplay positively noting the latter for both its continued quality and the tweaks to balance and content its one major criticism were multiple difficulty spikes something that had affected the previous games heath hindman of gaming website playstation lifestyle praised the addition of non @@ linear elements and improvements or removal of mechanics from valkyria chronicles ii in addition to praising the returning gameplay style of previous games he also positively noted the story's serious tone points criticized in the review were recycled elements awkward cutscenes that seemed to include all characters in a scene for no good reason pacing issues and occasional problems with the game's ai |
in a preview of the tgs demo ryan geddes of ign was left excited as to where the game would go after completing the demo along with enjoying the improved visuals over valkyria chronicles ii kotaku's richard eisenbeis was highly positive about the game citing is story as a return to form after valkyria chronicles ii and its gameplay being the best in the series his main criticisms were its length and gameplay repetition along with expressing regret that it would not be localized |
kurt and riela were featured in the nintendo 3ds crossover project x zone representing the valkyria series mediavision would return to the series to develop valkyria azure revolution with ozawa returning as director azure revolution is a role @@ playing video game for the playstation 4 that forms the beginning of a new series within the valkyria franchise |
valkyria chronicles 3 was adapted into a two @@ episode original video animation series in the same year of its release titled senjō no valkyria 3 taga tame no ( lit valkyria of the battlefield 3 the wound taken for someone's sake ) it was originally released through playstation network and between april and may 2011 the initially @@ planned release and availability period needed to be extended due to a stoppage to psn during the early summer of that year it later released for dvd on june 29 and august 31 2011 with separate black and blue editions being available for purchase the anime is set during the latter half of valkyria chronicles iii detailing a mission by the nameless against their imperial rivals calamity raven the anime was first announced in november 2010 it was developed by a @@ 1 pictures produced by shinji directed by nobuhiro kondō and written by hiroshi sakimoto's music for the game was used in the anime |
the anime's title was inspired by the principle purpose of the nameless to suffer in battle for the goals of others a subtitle attached to the project during development was the road to kubinka which referenced the kubinka tank museum in moscow the game's main theme was how the characters regained their sense of self when stripped of their names and identities along with general themes focused on war and its consequences while making the anime the production team were told by sega to make it as realistic as possible with the consequence that the team did extensive research into aspects such as what happened when vehicles like tanks were overturned or damaged due to it being along the same timeline as the original game and its television anime adaptation the cast of valkyria chronicles could make appearances which pleased the team the opening theme akari ( light ) ( @@ ) was sung by japanese singer the ending theme someday the flowers of light will bloom ( itsuka saku hikari no hana ) was sung by minami kuribayashi both songs' lyrics were written by their respective artists |
two manga adaptations were produced following each of the game's main female protagonists imca and riela they were senjō no valkyria 3 namo no hana ( 戦場のヴァルキュリア3 lit valkyria of the battlefield 3 the flower of the nameless oath ) illustrated by naoyuki fujisawa and eventually released in two volumes after being serialized in dengeki maoh between 2011 and 2012 and senjō no valkyria 3 unmei no ( 戦場のヴァルキュリア3 lit valkyria of the battlefield 3 the valkyrie of the crimson fate ) illustrated by mizuki tsuge and eventually released in a single volume by kadokawa shoten in 2012 |
the tower building of the little rock arsenal also known as us arsenal building is a building located in macarthur park in downtown little rock arkansas built in 1840 it was part of little rock's first military installation since its decommissioning the tower building has housed two museums it was home to the arkansas museum of natural history and antiquities from 1942 to 1997 and the macarthur museum of arkansas military history since 2001 it has also been the headquarters of the little rock æsthetic club since 1894 |
the building receives its name from its distinct octagonal tower besides being the last remaining structure of the original little rock arsenal and one of the oldest buildings in central arkansas it was also the birthplace of general douglas macarthur who became the supreme commander of us forces in the south pacific during world war ii it was also the starting place of the camden expedition in 2011 it was named as one of the top 10 attractions in the state of arkansas by |
the arsenal was constructed at the request of governor james sevier conway in response to the perceived dangers of frontier life and fears of the many native americans who were passing through the state on their way to the newly established oklahoma territory thirty @@ six acres were appropriated on the outskirts of little rock by major robert b lee of the us army the land had been previously used as a racetrack by the local jockey club john wormley walker a builder for the federal government supervised the construction originally $ 14 @@ 000 was allocated for the construction of the arsenal but proved inadequate the budget was later increased to $ 30 @@ 000 work began on the tower building in 1840 and it was the first permanent structure of the arsenal to be built being originally constructed to store ammunition the building was designed with 3 @@ foot @@ thick ( 0 @@ 91 m ) exterior walls the original plans called for it to be built of stone however masonry was used instead the arkansas gazette referred to the structure as a splendid specimen of masonry |
for several years the arsenal which was owned by the federal government served as a simple arms depot and was staffed with only a handful of soldiers but in november 1860 with the american civil war on the horizon a company of the second united states artillery consisting of sixty @@ five men was transferred to little rock under the command of captain james totten on january 15 1861 the state legislature decided to hold a referendum to determine if a state convention should be held to consider the issue of secession and to elect delegates to such a convention it was planned for february 18 however events at the arsenal would not wait on january 28 then governor henry massey rector informed captain totten that he and his soldiers would be permitted to remain in the possession of the federal officers until the state by authority of the people shall have determined to sever their connection with the general government totten responded to this by telling the governor that his orders came from the united states government and began a desperate but ultimately futile dispatch of letters and telegrams asking for reinforcements although rumors were widely spread that they were already coming the first telegraph wire to span between little rock and memphis had recently been completed local attorney john m harrel was asked to compose the first telegraph dispatched from arkansas's capital in his message harrel reported unconfirmed rumors that more federal troops had been sent to reinforce the little rock arsenal |
the united states troops at the outposts of the western frontier of the state and in the indian nation have all been recalled from winter quarters to reinforce the garrison at fort smith the garrison at fort smith had been previously transferred to the united states arsenal in this city ( little rock ) the arsenal is one of the richest depositories of military stores in the united states and is supposed to be the ultimate destination of the [ sic ] ordered from the frontier |
m harrel telegram january 31 1861 |
the item was intended simply as a piece of news but telegraph lines quickly spread the news throughout the state fueling procession sentiment the rumor was interpreted by some arkansans as a call from the governor to assemble to help expel the federal troops from the arsenal by february 5 six militia units consisting of 1 @@ 000 men with a guarantee that the numbers could be increased to 5 @@ 000 if the situations deemed it necessary had assembled in little rock governor rector vehemently denied ordering the troops to assemble or giving any order at all in connection with the troops faced with the fact that the military had assembled believing they were following his orders and the consensus of the citizens of little rock against any armed conflict between the civilian army and federal troops governor rector was forced to take control of the situation on february 6 he sent a formal demand for surrender of the arsenal to captain totten |
this movement is prompted by the feeling that pervades the citizens of this state that in the present emergency the arms and munitions of war in the arsenal should be under the control of the state authorities in order to their security this movement although not authorized by me has assumed such an aspect that it becomes my duty as the executive of this to interpose my official authority to prevent a collision between the people of the state and the federal troops under your command i therefore demand in the name of the state the delivery of the possession of the arsenal and munitions of war under your charge to the state authorities to be held subject to the action of the convention to be held on the 4th of march next |
perhaps because abraham lincoln had not yet been inaugurated as president captain totten received no instructions from his superiors and was forced to withdraw his troops he agreed to surrender the arsenal as long as the governor agreed to three provisions |
the governor would take possession of the arsenal in the name of the united states |
the soldiers would be allowed safe passage in any direction carrying any personal and public property besides munitions of war |
the soldiers would be allowed to march away as men leaving under orders not as conquered and surrendering soldiers |
on the morning of february 8 1861 rector and totten signed an agreement placing the arsenal in the hands of state officials that afternoon the citizen militia marched to the arsenal with governor rector at its head all of the federal troops had left at this point except totten who had stayed behind to listen to the governor's speech and to hand the arsenal over in person |
the little rock arsenal was classified in 1860 as an arsenal of deposit meaning that it was simply a warehouse for the storage of weapons intended for the use of the state militia in times of crisis thus there were no substantial operations for ordnance fabrication or repairs nor for the manufacture of cartridges at the time the arsenal fell into state hands most of these operations were started from scratch through the efforts of the arkansas military board |
inside the little rock arsenal after its seizure in february 1861 the confederates inventoried some 10 @@ 247 weapons 250 @@ 000 musket cartridges and 520 @@ 000 percussion caps as well as the four bronze cannon of totten's battery long arms in the arsenal's inventory consisted of |
m1822 69 cal ( flintlock ) 5 @@ 625 |
m1822 69 cal ( percussion @@ converted ) 53 |
69 cal smoothbore ( percussion ) 357 |
58 cal rifle @@ muskets 900 |
common rifles 125 |
rifle ( mississippi rifle ) 54 |
2 |
hall's carbines 267 |
hall's rifles ( flintlock ) 2 @@ 864 |
total 10 @@ 247 |
of this number approximately 9600 weapons were serviceable or ready @@ for @@ issue note there were only 1 @@ 364 percussion weapons available disposition of the weapons found in the arsenal is somewhat sketchy but from various records it can be surmised that the 5th 6th 7th and 8th arkansas infantry regiments mustered in june 1861 were issued / m1822 69 caliber flintlocks the 9th and 10th arkansas four companies of kelly's 9th arkansas battalion and the 3rd arkansas cavalry regiment were issued flintlock hall's rifles the units comprising the infantry force of van dorn's army of the west were the 1st and 2nd arkansas mounted rifles were also armed with m1822 flintlocks from the little rock arsenal by the time the 11th and 12th arkansas infantry regiments mustered in at little rock the supply of arms had been almost completely exhausted and only old junker weapons were left |
most of the equipment arms and machinery at the little rock arsenal was removed to east of the mississippi river by order of maj gen earl van dorn in april and may 1862 and accountability for it is lost at that point by all appearances the equipment was sent down the river to napoleon arkansas and from there to jackson mississippi where it was probably destroyed during the vicksburg campaign in the early summer of 1863 |
major general thomas c hindman sent to command the district of arkansas in may 1862 found the state nearly destitute of military material hindman established another armory at arkadelphia and revived the little rock arsenal as a collection point and depot for armaments and ammunition manufacture for small arms hindman recorded |
machinery was made for manufacturing percussion caps and small arms and both were turned out in small quantity but of excellent quality lead mines were opened and worked and a chemical laboratory was established and successfully operated in aid of the ordnance department and in the manufacture of calomel castor oil spirits of nitre the various tinctures of iron and other valuable medicines most of these works were located at or near arkadelphia on the ouachita river 75 miles south from little rock the tools machinery and the material were gathered piecemeal or else made by hand labor nothing of this sort had been before attempted on government account in arkansas to my knowledge except for the manufacture of small arms the machinery for which was taken away by general van dorn and there was neither capital nor sufficient enterprise among the citizens to engage in such undertakings a further supply along with lead and caps was procured from the citizens of little rock and vicinity by donation purchases and impressments |
this ammunition and that which i brought with me was rapidly prepared for use at the laboratory established at the little rock arsenal for that purpose as illustrating as the pitiful scarcity of material in the country the fact may be stated that it was found necessary to use public documents of the state library for cartridge paper were employed or conscripted tools purchased or impressed and the repair of the damaged guns i brought with me and about an equal number found at little rock commenced at once but after inspecting the work and observing the spirit of the men i decided that a garrison 500 strong could hold out against fitch and that i would lead the remainder about 1500 to gen'l rust as soon as shotguns and rifles could be obtained from little rock instead of pikes and lances with which most of them were armed two days elapsed before the change could be effected |
the confederate ordnance establishment at little rock was reactivated in august 1862 looking around for a suitable person to head this activity general hindman turned to the confederate navy and borrowed lieutenant john w dunnington lt dunnington was the commander of the gunboat css ponchartrain which had been brought to little rock in hopes of converting it to an ironclad dunnington was selected to head the ordnance works at little rock and although he continued to draw his pay from the confederate navy department he was placed in charge of all confederate ordnance activities ( which included artillery functions ) there with the rank of lieutenant colonel |
lt col dunnington's returns for the month of august 1862 at little rock arsenal csa are found in vol 149 chapter iv of the captured rebel ordnance records and are most enlightening as to the scope of confederate ordnance activities at little rock during this crucial time according to dunnington when i assumed command at this post all material had been removed to arkadelphia there were no persons employed no shops were open for repair of arms or for fabricating ammunition material tools etc had to be procured as well as the employment of laborers work commenced the last part of the month |
the military force at little rock under dunnington's command consisted of four officers himself major john b lockman captain cc green and 2nd lt ww murphy in addition to these he had 20 enlisted men and a civilian force composed of a foreman 2 clerks 3 gunsmiths for repairing small arms a 26 laborers in the ammunition laboratory and a carpenter for making packing boxes |
during the month of august 1862 the following work was performed one pair of musket bullet moulds 10 @@ 000 buck & ball shot cartridges repaired 750 muskets shotguns and rifles received and repaired ordnance stores and performed guard office and police duties inspected posts at camden and arkadelphia |
lt col dunnington continued to build up his works at little rock until november 1862 when captain sanford c faulkner ( composer of the arkansas traveler ) was placed in charge of the arsenal dunnington presumably returned to his naval duties and the ponchartrain |
a summary of the work done for november 1862 little rock arsenal shows fabrication |
75 @@ 000 buck & ball cartridges percussion |
14 @@ 000 buck & ball cartridges flint |
275 paper fuzes |
117 rounds 6 @@ pounder canister shot |
130 rounds 6 @@ pounder ball shot |
96 ammunition packing boxes |
repaired |
2 @@ 236 shotguns and rifles ( repaired mostly for troops in service ) |
23 pistols ( repaired mostly for troops in service ) |
received & issued |
752 packages of ordnance and ordnance stores received and mostly issued to troops in service |
repaired and painted |
4 gun carriages |
performed |
guard office and police duties |
perhaps the most illuminating points of the above summary of work and those for following months are that the standard ammunition made was buck & ball indicating that the 69 caliber smoothbores and shotguns remained the predominant caliber weapon in use and of this nearly one sixth or more of all small arms ammunition was still for flintlock weapons indicating that no less than a sixth of the confederate troops in this vicinity were still armed with obsolete flintlock weapons |
the summaries of work done at little rock arsenal csa continue at about the same pace and scale from august 1862 until august 1863 to the summary for august 1863 is the ominous notation during the last week in the month nearly all stores at the arsenal have been packed and sent to arkadelphia in obedience to orders from chief of ordnance district of arkansas this then marks the beginning of the evacuation of ordnance activities from little rock with the city being surrendered to the advancing federal troops of frederick steele's arkansas expedition on september 11 1863 |
in 1864 after little rock fell to the union army and the arsenal had been recaptured general fredrick steele marched 8 @@ 500 troops from the arsenal beginning the camden expedition |
the arsenal was briefly seized once more by joseph brooks loyalists during the brooks @@ baxter war of 1874 |
in 1873 the building was renamed little rock barracks and used as a barracks for married officers and their families the building was drastically altered the inside and outside prior to renovation a rear basement door provided the only entrance to the building while the tower served as a hoist to move munitions between floors by 1868 front and rear porches had been added to the building as well as interior walls and stairs some of which remain today including the central staircase in 1880 douglas macarthur was born on the northwest upper floor of this building while his father captain arthur macarthur was stationed there |
in the 1880s the federal government began closing many small arsenals around the country in favor of smaller ones built near railroads for quick deployment the arsenal commander received word from washington that the little rock site must be abandoned not later than october 1 1890 on april 12 1893 the tower building and the surrounding buildings were traded to the city of little rock for 1 @@ 000 acres ( 4 km ² ) in north little rock under the condition that the building and land be forever exclusively devoted to the uses and purposes of a public park for 1 @@ 000 acres ( 4 km ² ) in big rock mountain on the north side of the arkansas river present day north little rock that site later became fort logan h roots all of the original buildings surrounding the tower building were demolished |
in 1894 the little rock æsthetic club one of the oldest women's societies west of the mississippi river moved into the tower building this was prompted due to increased membership and a need for larger more permanent quarters the previous year club members working with women's organizations throughout the state raised money to furnish the arkansas building of the columbian exposition at the chicago world's fair at the fair's conclusion artifacts from the exhibit were displayed in the tower building with the æsthetic club invited to meet in the columbian room |
except for æsthetic club meetings the tower building remained largely unoccupied for almost fifty years and suffered significant deterioration the æsthetic club provided much @@ needed financial support during the period and even paid the electric bill during the great depression the æsthetic club is still headquartered in the tower building |
the building and the surrounding park were used for many public purposes throughout the early 20th century the tower building served as headquarters for the united confederate veterans reunion may 15 18 1911 over 106 @@ 000 civil war veterans the largest popular gathering in the history of the city up to that time attended and were housed in the building or camped in the park which had also become a popular camping area later the building served as an armory for the arkansas national guard in 1912 the second floor of the tower building became little rock's first public library in 1917 little rock built a fire station in the park that building is now gone a band shell named for h h foster also was built in the park during this time but also no longer exists in 1936 works progress administration built the museum of fine arts now called the arkansas arts center just south of the tower building |
the arsenal was listed in the national register of historic places in 1970 due to its association with the camden expedition of 1864 the arsenal may be included in the camden expedition sites national historic landmark designated in 1994 |
in 1942 the tower building was renovated due to the efforts of the æsthetic club little rock philanthropist frederick w allsop and the works progress administration it became the new home of the arkansas museum of natural history and antiquities which had been located in little rock city hall the museum remained in the tower building for approximately fifty @@ five years the area surrounding the tower building had been known as arsenal park when the first decommissioned and then later renamed city park due to the efforts of bernie babcock however the city finally named it macarthur park in 1942 in honor of douglas macarthur |
in 1997 the museum of science and natural history merged with the little rock children's museum which had been located in union station to form the arkansas museum of discovery the new museum was relocated to a historic building in the little rock river market district the macarthur museum of arkansas military history opened on may 19 2001 in the tower building the new museum's goal is to educate and inform visitors about the military history of arkansas preserve the tower building honor servicemen and servicewomen of the united states and commemorate the birthplace of douglas macarthur |
cicely mary barker ( 28 june 1895 16 february 1973 ) was an english illustrator best known for a series of fantasy illustrations depicting fairies and flowers barker's art education began in girlhood with correspondence courses and instruction at the croydon school of art her earliest professional work included greeting cards and juvenile magazine illustrations and her first book flower fairies of the spring was published in 1923 similar books were published in the following decades |
barker was a devout anglican and donated her artworks to christian fundraisers and missionary organizations she produced a few christian @@ themed books such as the children s book of hymns and in collaboration with her sister dorothy he leadeth me she designed a stained glass window for st edmund's church pitlake and her painting of the christ child the darling of the world has come was purchased by queen mary |
barker was equally proficient in watercolour pen and ink oils and pastels kate greenaway and the pre @@ raphaelites were the principal influences on her work she claimed to paint instinctively and rejected artistic theories barker died in 1973 though she published flower fairy books with spring summer and autumn themes it wasn't until 1985 that a winter collection was assembled from her remaining work and published posthumously |
barker was born the second daughter and youngest child of walter barker a partner in a seed supply company and an amateur artist and his wife mary eleanor ( oswald ) barker on 28 june 1895 at home at 66 waddon road in croydon surrey england barker was an epileptic as a child and cared for at home by her parents later her sister and elder by two years dorothy oswald barker continued the care |
the family of four was moderately well off and belonged to the lower end of the upper middle class a nanny a governess and a cook to prepare special meals for barker were hired she spent much time in bed at home amusing herself with painting books and a nursery library that included the works of kate greenaway and randolph caldecott two artists who exerted strong influences on her later art |
barker took correspondence courses in art probably until about 1919 in 1908 at 13 years she entered an evening class at the croydon school of art and attended the school into the 1940s in time she received a teaching position |
in 1911 raphael tuck & sons bought four of barker's little drawings for half a sovereign and published them as postcards in october 1911 she won second prize in the croydon art society's poster competition and shortly afterward was elected the youngest member of the society the art critic for the croydon advertiser remarked her drawings show a remarkable freedom of spirit she has distinct promise |
following her father s death in june 1912 the seventeen @@ year @@ old barker submitted art and poetry to my magazine child s own leading strings and raphael tuck annuals in an effort to support both her mother and sister her sister dorothy taught kindergarten in two private schools before opening a kindergarten at home she brought in some money for the family's support while supervising the household |
fairies became a popular theme in art and literature in the early 20th century following the releases of the coming of the fairies by sir arthur conan doyle peter pan by jm barrie and the fairy @@ themed work of australian ida outhwaite queen mary made such themes even more popular by sending outhwaite postcards to friends during the 1920s in 1918 barker produced a postcard series depicting elves and fairies |
in 1923 barker sent her flower fairy paintings to various publishers blackie paid £ 25 for 24 paintings with accompanying verses but it wasn't until publication of flower fairies of the summer in 1925 that barker received royalties for her work mary violet clayton calthrop wife of author dion clayton calthrop wrote in april 1925 about barker and flower fairies of the spring she has such exquisite taste besides draughtsmanship |
in 1924 the family moved into a four @@ level semi @@ detached victorian house at 23 the waldrons barker had a studio built in the garden and her sister conducted a kindergarten in a room at the back of the house the family lived frugally and attended both st edmund's and st andrew's in croydon low churches for the less privileged barker sometimes incorporated portraits of her fellow parishioners in her religious works she was described by canon ingram hill as one of the pillars of st andrew's |
the children in the kindergarten modelled for the flower fairies until the kindergarten closed in 1940 in an interview in 1958 barker said my sister ran a kindergarten and i used to borrow her students for models for many years i had an atmosphere of children about me i never forgot it she also painted the children of relatives as well as gladys tidy the barkers' young housekeeper who posed for the primrose fairy in 1923 the plants were painted from life and if a specimen was not readily at hand kew gardens staff would provide her the specimens needed barker designed and built the flower fairy costumes and based each on the flowers and leaves of the particular plant to be illustrated the costumes were kept in a trunk in her studio along with wings made of twigs and gauze each was broken down after an illustration was completed and the parts recycled for other costumes she often referred to dion clayton calthrop's english costume |
in the late 1920s barker began to doubt she was doing enough for the church and considered focusing solely on sacred works family and friends recommended she continue secular and sacred works which she did |
barker continued to attend evening classes at the croydon art school between the 1920s and the 1940s eventually receiving a teaching position she took sketching trips to amberley and storrington in sussex and to cornwall and the southern coast with family and friends she visited and stayed with artist margaret tarrant in gomshall surrey and with family in near whitby north yorkshire |
in 1940 the barker's live @@ in maid retired and dorothy barker closed her school at the back of the house in the waldrons she continued to supervise the household and to give both her mother and sister the care they needed dorothy and her sister collaborated upon only two books our darling's first book and the christian @@ themed he leadeth me in 1954 dorothy barker died of a heart attack barker was unable to pursue her art to any significant extent following her sister's death as all the care of her aged mother devolved upon her but she did manage to begin planning a stained glass window design in her sister's memory for st edmund's pitlake |