To mark the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, Dr. Nancy Hendricks will present a program about a Civil War-era resident of the Bryant area, David O. Dodd. Portraying Mrs. Lydia Dodd, mother of the young ma who was called the “Boy Hero of Arkansas,” Hendricks will appear at the meeting of the Bryant Historical Society at the Mabel Boswell Memorial Library, 201 Prickett Road, Bryant, on Thursday, May 14, at 6 p.m. The meeting is free and open to the public.
David Owen Dodd (1846-1864) lived with his family in the Bryant area southwest of Little Rock. During the Civil War, the 17-year-old was hanged as a spy by the Union army after he was discovered crossing enemy lines carrying a message in Morse code. Along with “Boy Hero of Arkansas,” Dodd has also been called “Boy Martyr of the Confederacy.” Historical markers, monuments, annual re-enactments of his execution, and the naming of the David O. Dodd Elementary School in southwest Little Rock are among the state’s recognitions of his life and death.
“His story is of course a tragic one, but is also inspiring,” said Hendricks. “When ordered to name his informant, Dodd is said to have replied, ‘I can give my life for my country but I cannot betray a friend.’ So many average people on both sides of the Civil War died, both soldiers and civilians. They showed so much courage and honor as well as compassion. It is an honor for me to help keep their story alive.”
By speaking in the character of the boy’s mother, the program has a special immediacy and pathos. Hendricks adds that her program will also touch on questions that remain unanswered, asking, “Where did the information in the Morse-coded message come from? Who was he protecting? Did he knowingly re-cross enemy lines or did he just get lost? Or was their something else involved?”
A discussion will follow her presentation in which these questions will be addressed.
Hendricks is author of the play, “Boy Hero: The Story of David O. Dodd. Her newest book, Terrible Swift Sword: Long Road to the Sultana illuminates little-known stories of the Civil War era and was released this month.
Hendricks is known for her portrayal of Senator Hattie Caraway of Arkansas, the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Hendricks, author of the book Senator Hattie Caraway: An Arkansas Legacy, travels nationwide with her program, Hattie to Hillary: Women in Politics.
Hendricks is an award-winning author who received the Pryor Award for Arkansas Women’s History, Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Women in History Award, and White House Millennium Award for her work.
