1st Battalion, Arkansas State Troops
Encyclopedia
The 1st Battalion, Arkansas State Troops (1863–1864) was a Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 State Cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

 during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. The unit is also some times referred to as Pettus' Battalion or Trader's Battalion, Arkansas State Troops. The unit was eventually consolidated with other units in late 1864 to form the Newton's 10th Arkanssas Cavalry Regiment
10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment (Newton's)
The Netwon's 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment was a Confederate Army Cavalry regiment during the American Civil War.-Organization:Netwon's 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment was orgionally organized as a group of Volunteer Companies raised from the militia regiments of southern Arkansas, immediately...

.

Organization

1st Battalion, Arkansas State Troops was orgionally organized as a group of Volunteer Companies raised from the militia regiments of southern Arkansas, immediately following the fall of Little Rock, Arkansas to Union forces in September 1863. Governor Harris Flanagin
Harris Flanagin
Harris Flanagin was the seventh Governor of the State of Arkansas.-Biography:Harris Flanagin was born in Roadstown, New Jersey. Flanagin was educated in Quaker schools in New Jersey. At age 18 he became a professor of mathematics. Flanagin moved west and opened his own private school in Paoli,...

 began organizing a new force of state troops issuing a proclamation on August 10, 1863, just a month before the capitol fell, announcing that he had been authorized to raise new regiments of state troops and that by special agreement these new units could not be transferred out of the state by Confederate authorities.

After the fall of Little Rock, recruiting was far more difficult than it had been in the first years of the war. The constant transfer of Arkansas troops into the eastern theater of the war, across the Mississippi River from their homes, was a major objection by the remaining population of men eligible for military service. With Federal forces now occupying the state capitol, the Confederate state government had no way of enforcing conscription laws in the counties behind the Union lines, except during raids by Generals Price and Shelby in 1864. The remaining Confederate regiments were plagued by desertions.

On September 16, 1863, in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the state capitol, Governor Flanagin issued General Order No. 6 from Arkadelphia, which called in to service the militia regiments of the counties of Clark, Hempstead, Sevier, Pike, Polk, Montgomery, La Fayette, Ouachita, Union, and Columbia in order to resist the Federal army. The Governor's order directed the regiments to march to Arkadelphia at the earliest possible day. Companies were to be mounted and commanders were to compel persons evading the call to come to the rendezvous. The intent was to form companies of twelve-month mounted volunteers. Only six physicians, one druggist, millers to supply the wants of the country, clerks, sheriffs, postmasters, and persons in the employ of the Confederate States were exempted from the order. In describing this call in a letter to General Holmes dated October 18, 1863 from Washington, Arkansas, the new Confederate state capitol, Flanagin stated that he issued the order calling out the militia, as an experiment, expecting to get volunteers. The order succeeded so well as to get companies organized in the counties where the call for the militia was enforced which resulted in seven companies being collected under the call. Flanagin also stated that "the troops raised by the State are more than double all the troops raised by volunteering, or by the conscript law, within the past few months".

On October 26, 1863 Governor Flanagin directed his Adjutant General Gordon N. Peay to:
These new units of Arkansas State Troops were placed under the overall command of Col. William H. Trader who was detailed to Governor Flanagin by General E. Kirby Smith. Col. Trader remained in command of the state troops until he resigned in June 1864.

On January 14, 1864, Governor Flanagin, through General Peay, issued General Orders, No. 8. which directed the following named companies of Arkansas mounted volunteers, which had been called into the service of the State under the proclamation of the August 10, A.D. 1863, compose and be designated as the 1st Battalion, Arkansas State Troops:
  • Company A, of Hempstead County, Captain E. K. Williamson, commanding.
  • Company B, of Clark County, Captain Reuben C. Reed, commanding.
  • Company C, of Sevier County, Captain Allen T. Pettus, commanding.
  • Company D, of Polk County, Captain G. A. Hale, commanding.
  • Company E, of Hot Spring County, Captain John W. Dyer, commanding.


Allen T. Pettus was elected Lieutenant Colonel of this battalion.

Battles

The 1st Battalion, Arkansas State Troops performed routine patrol duties in the general area between Washington and Arkadelphia during the winter of 1863-64. The Battalion was commanded by Colonel W. H. Trader during this period and participated in the Battle of Poison Springs as a part of Cabell's Cavalry Brigade. Both the troops and Colonel Trader were cited for gallant conduct during the battle. A few days later the troops of the Battalion under Lt. Colonel Thomas Gunter and Lt. Colonel A. T. Pettus participated in the Battle of Marks' Mill, April 25, 1864, as a part of Brigadier General William L. Cabell’s Division. Lieutenant Colonel Pettus was killed during the battle and Captain P. K. Williamson of Company A commanded the battalion until the unit was increased to a regiment and transferred to Confederate service.
Red River Campaign
Red River Campaign
The Red River Campaign or Red River Expedition consisted of a series of battles fought along the Red River in Louisiana during the American Civil War from March 10 to May 22, 1864. The campaign was a Union initiative, fought between approximately 30,000 Union troops under the command of Maj. Gen....

, Arkansas Mar-May, 1864.
Battle of Poison Springs, Arkansas, April 18, 1864.
Battle of Marks' Mills
Battle of Marks' Mills
The Battle of Marks' Mills occurred on April 25, 1864, in Cleveland County, Arkansas as part of the Camden Expedition of the American Civil War. Confederate troops under Maj. Gen. James F. Fagan overwhelmed a small Union detachment commanded by Lt. Col. Francis M...

, Arkansas, April 25, 1864.

Transfer to Confederate Service

In August 1864 when the term of enlistment for these state troops was about to expire, Adjutant General Peay issued an order which directed that companies be allowed to vote on the subject of being transferred into Confederate service. However, the chance to vote on being transferred was merely a matter of form because Peay's order also had directions for those who refused transfer to Confederate service:
On September 5, 1864, the Arkansas State Troops, including Pettus' 1st Battalion were consolidated with other units to into one regiment of cavalry to be designated as the 3rd Regiment of Arkansas Cavalry, with Col. Robert C. Newton assigned to the command of the regiment until an election could be held for field officers. The companies of this regiment included.:
  • Company A—Capt. Reuben C. Reed, composed of men from Clark County
  • Company B—Capt. Robert S. Burke, composed of men from Montgomery County
  • Company C—Capt. Cyrus K. Holman (replaced Allen T. Pettus), composed of men from Sever County
  • Company D—Capt. James B. Williamson, composed of men from Polk County
  • Company E—Capt. Samuel Ogden (replaced P.K. Williamson), composed of men from Hempstead County
  • Company F—Capt. Theophilus G. Henley, composed of men from Hempstead County
  • Company G—Capt. George A. Hale, composed of men from Polk County
  • Company H—Capt. William C. Corcoran, composed of men from Scott County
  • Company I—Capt. Allen A. McDonald (replaced John W. Dyer), composed of men from Hot Spring County
  • Company K—Capt. John Connally,


This unit was mustered into the Confederate Service on the October 31, 1864 as the 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment. Col. Newton was elected Regimental Commander. The unit spent much of the winter of 1864-1865 skirmising along the Arkansas River Valley.

Surrender

It appears that rather than surrender, the 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment simply disbanded. It served without ceasing until the last day of May, 1865, when the encampment, which was near Dooleys Ferry, in Hempstead Coounty, Arkansas, was abandoned, the most of the men having been given furloughs to go home and cut wheat.

External links


See also

  • List of Arkansas Civil War Confederate units
  • Lists of American Civil War Regiments by State
  • Confederate Units by State
  • Arkansas in the American Civil War
    Arkansas in the American Civil War
    The state of Arkansas was a part of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, and provided a source of troops, supplies, and military and political leaders for the fledgling country. Arkansas had become the 25th state of the United States, on June 15, 1836, entering as a...

  • Arkansas Militia in the Civil War
    Arkansas Militia in the Civil War
    The units of the Arkansas Militia in the Civil War included militia organizations to which the current Arkansas National Guard has a connection: the militia, Home Guard, and State Troop regiments raised by the State of Arkansas. Like most of the United States, Arkansas had an organized militia...

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