December 25, 1817

The original company of riflemen assigned to Fort Smith (Sebastian County) arrived in the town. Surgeon Thomas Russell, a War of 1812 veteran who was with the company, died in Fort Smith in 1819 and was the first person whose burial in the Fort Smith post cemetery was recorded. Designated a national cemetery in 1867, the Fort Smith National Cemetery is the oldest original national cemetery of the three in the state.