THE HISTORY.
In April of 1861, the building served as the site for the presentation of a battle flag to Saline County’s Company E of the 1st Arkansas Infantry, Confederate States of America. The flag was made by the women of Benton and accompanied the men to the battles of Murfreesboro and Chickamauga.
In 1863, Union troops occupied Benton. The union officers made the house their official quarters, while the troops were quartered in a fort constructed across the road on what is now the southeast corner of Carpenter and Military roads.
THE SHOPPACH FAMILY DECENDENTS
John William Shoppach
Born March 16, 1809, in Hesse-Cassel, Germany.
Died November 19, 1861, in Benton, Arkansas.
Sibby Pelton Shoppach
Born June 16, 1813, in Illinois, USA.
Died October 13, 1902, in Benton, Arkansas.
John and Sibby married on July 18, 1838, and had the following children.
William P: May 5, 1839 - March 17, 1855
John: September 30, 1840 - October 4, 1840
Phoebe Emily: February 26, 1842 - October 30, 1844
* James Henry: March 26, 1845 - December 20, 1922
Mary Eliza: June 2, 1847 - October 8, 1848
John Fredrick: April 15, 1849 - April 15, 1937
Charles Carroll: March 10, 1851 - August 10, 1910
Mary Jane: February 22, 1851 - February3, 1936
Martha Ellen: September 26, 1855 - September 24, 1856
Sibby Frances: August 10, 1858 - January 1936
ALL THE INFORMATION LISTED ABOVE WAS RECORDED IN THE JOHN W. SHOPPACH FAMILY BIBLE
* (The year of this date cannot be correct in view of the birthdate of the preceding child. family bible, the last two figures show evidence of having been changed at a later date. It seems a safe conclusion that James changed the "46" to "45" in order to pass muster into the Confederate Army in 1862, the minimum age for such enlistment being 17 years.)