Jump to content

4th Arkansas Infantry Regiment: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→Consolidation and surrender: added information and reference
→Organization: added reference
Line 76: Line 76:


An eleventh company was temporarily attached—Kelley's Company, the "Pike County Rangers" (Pike County)<ref name="HB & MG"/>
An eleventh company was temporarily attached—Kelley's Company, the "Pike County Rangers" (Pike County)<ref name="HB & MG"/>

On 18 August marched to Mt. Vernon, Missouri where the following commissioned and non-commissioned staff officers were appointed:<ref>The Old Fourth Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Ancestery.com, Accessed 17 February 2012, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~armontgo/fourth.htm</ref>

Colonel: McNAIR, Evander from Hempstead Co.
Major: MAY, James H. from Montgomery Co.
Surgeon of the Regiment: GAMMAGE, W.L.
Assistant Surgeon: JONES, F.N. of Arkansas
A.C. Quartermaster: WALKER, George W. An Englishman
Adjutant: GRANT, Nathaniel Lieutenant of company C. Montgomery Co.
Chaplain: BLACK, B.B. of Washington Co.
Sergeant-Major: JOHNSON, Needham O.S. of company E.
Fife Major: PRINCE, Wm. H. private of company E.
Drum Major: KNOX, Wm. W. private of company E.
Forage Master: BOSTICK, John of company C. Montgomery Co.
Wagon Master: HARMON, Thos private of company H., Polk Co.
Quartermaster Sergeant: BLACK, Warren private of company A., Calhoun Co.
Commissary sergeant: BEARD, John private of company B., of Washington
Quartermaster's Clerk: FERGUSON, of Washington
Hospital Steward: KERR, Dr. E.W. private of company B, Hempstead Co.


==Battles==
==Battles==

Revision as of 16:33, 19 February 2012

4th Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)
Arkansas state flag
Active1861 to 1865
CountryConfederate States of America
AllegianceCSA Dixie
BranchInfantry
EngagementsBattle of Pea Ridge,[1]

Siege of Corinth,

Kentucky Campaign

Battle of Richmond,
Battle of Perryville,

Battle of Murfreesboro,[2]

Siege of Jackson,

Chattanooga Campaign,

Battle of Chickamauga,
Siege of Chattanooga,
Battle of Missionary Ridge,
Battle of Ringgold Gap,

Atlanta Campaign,

Battle of Dug Gap,
Battle of Resaca,
Battle of New Hope Church,
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain,
Battle of Moore's Hill,
Battle of Peachtree Creek,
Battle of Atlanta,
Battle of Ezra Church,
Siege of Atlanta,
Battle of Jonesboro,
Battle of Lovejoy's Station,
Battle of Moon's Station,

Franklin–Nashville Campaign

Battle of Franklin,
Battle of Nashville,
Battle of Sugar Creek

Carolinas Campaign,

Battle of Averasboro,
Battle of Bentonville,
Battle honoursSouthern Cross of Honor Nine soldiers for the Battle of Murfeesboro[3]

Template:Arkansas Confederate Infantry Regiments

4th Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment from the state of Arkansas during the American Civil War. There was also a 4th Regiment, Arkansas State Troops which participated in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, but was never transferred to Confederate Service. There is no connection between the two units.

Organization

Originally known as the "Southwestern Arkansas Regiment", the 4th Arkansas was organized at Mount Vernon, Missouri, from volunteer companies from the southwestern part of Arkansas, which arrived in Missouri just after the Battle of Wilson's Creek. The original eight companies which were mustered into service at Miller's Springs, Missouri, on August 17, 1861, were:[4]

  • Company A, the "Calhoun Escopets" (Calhoun County) [5]
  • Company B, the "Hempstead Hornets" (Hempstead County)[6]
  • Company C, the "Caddo Rifles" (Montgomery County)[7]
  • Company D, the "Bright Star Rifles" (Lafayette County)[8]
  • Company E, the "Confederate Guards" (Hempstead County)[9]
  • Company F, the "Montgomery Hunters" (Montgomery County)[10]
  • Company G, the "Pike County Blues" (Pike County)[11]
  • Company H, the "Polk County Invincibles" (Polk County)[12]

Two additional companies were added on October 26, 1861 at Fort Smith, Arkansas:

  • Company I, the "Polk Rifles" (Polk County)[13]
  • Company K, the "Calhoun Invincibles" (Calhoun County)[14]

An eleventh company was temporarily attached—Kelley's Company, the "Pike County Rangers" (Pike County)[4]

On 18 August marched to Mt. Vernon, Missouri where the following commissioned and non-commissioned staff officers were appointed:[15]

Colonel: McNAIR, Evander from Hempstead Co. Major: MAY, James H. from Montgomery Co. Surgeon of the Regiment: GAMMAGE, W.L. Assistant Surgeon: JONES, F.N. of Arkansas A.C. Quartermaster: WALKER, George W. An Englishman Adjutant: GRANT, Nathaniel Lieutenant of company C. Montgomery Co. Chaplain: BLACK, B.B. of Washington Co. Sergeant-Major: JOHNSON, Needham O.S. of company E. Fife Major: PRINCE, Wm. H. private of company E. Drum Major: KNOX, Wm. W. private of company E. Forage Master: BOSTICK, John of company C. Montgomery Co. Wagon Master: HARMON, Thos private of company H., Polk Co. Quartermaster Sergeant: BLACK, Warren private of company A., Calhoun Co. Commissary sergeant: BEARD, John private of company B., of Washington Quartermaster's Clerk: FERGUSON, of Washington Hospital Steward: KERR, Dr. E.W. private of company B, Hempstead Co.

Battles

Colonel, later General, Evander McNair

They were initially placed under the command of Colonel Evander McNair, who would lead them during the Battle of Pea Ridge, and who would later become Brigadier General, after which the 4th Arkansas became a part of his brigade.

For a time they were attached to the forces of General Sterling Price, then later fell under General Kirby Smith. In early 1862 they took part in the First Battle of Chattanooga, then would go on the offensive with the forces of General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee during the Kentucky Campaign, and would fight in the Battle of Richmond, immediately following that with fighting at the Battle of Murfreesboro. In September, 1863, they were fighting under the direction of General James Longstreet during the Battle of Chickamauga. McNair was badly wounded during the battle, and the brigade as a whole suffered heavy casualties.

Through most of 1864 the regiment and the rest of their brigade were in Georgia as a part of the force attempting to stop Sherman's March, seeing sporadic action during this period, mostly in hit-and-run skirmishes. By November of that year they had been sent back to Tennessee, where they fought at the Battle of Franklin and the Battle of Nashville. The unit is entitled to the following Campaign Participation Credits:[16] After the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, the Arkansas regiments of Reynolds' Brigade marched via Bainbridge, Alabama, Tuscumbia, Iuka and Corinth to Tupelo, Mississippi, where they went into camp on January 10, 1865. They departed Tupelo on January 30 and marched to West Point, Mississippi. From West Point they traveled by rail to Selma, Alabama. From Selma they traveled by steamboat to Montgomery, then by rail to Columbus, Georgia. From Columbus they marched via Macon and Milledgeville to Mayfield, Georgia. From Mayfield they traveled by rail to Augusta, Georgia. From there they marched to Newberry, South Carolina. On March 19, 1865, they fought their last major engagement at the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. They then marched to Smithfield, North Carolina, where the entire brigade was consolidated into a single understrength regiment, the 1st Consolidated Mounted Rifles on April 9, 1865.[17]

Flags

When the 4th Arkanas was organized in 1861, it recieved several new flags, all were apprently based on the 1st National Flag of the Confederacy. The following is taken from the Hempstead county newspaper Washington Telegraph:

"At an early hour last Wednesday, the Battalion of volunteers under command of Lt. Col McNair took up the line of march for Missouri. It was a splendid sight. The different companies, under the command of their respective officers were marched into town fromt the camp and fromed in front of the Jones Hotel, the Confederate Guards in front. This company was presented with a flag from the ladies of Hempstead County by the hands of Miss Emma Jett...


"The Confederate Guards were then marched to the right exposing the Bright Star Rifles from LaFayette County. A beautiful flag from presented to this company by Miss Bettie Etter, through a friend...The flag bore upon its field the legend "Fidelis ad urnam.".....


"During the ceremony, the Hempstead Hornets carried with them their own flag previously presented to them by the ladies of Missouri Township.

Miss Jett's speech ended "'Tis the flag of the South! aye, fling its fold to the kindred breeze, emblem of dread to tyrant hordes, of freedom of the seas! forever may its stars and stripes in cloudless glory wave: Red, White, and Blue--eternal types of nations free and brave" Miss Mollie Pagan presented a flag to the Hempstead Hornets and described it as "the flag of our southern confederacy", probably refering to a first national flag pattern. Colonel McNair was a Hempstead County resident and therefore probably selected a comany flag from one of the Hempstead County units as the first 4th Arkansas flag which would be the flag carried by the regiment at the Battle of Pea Ridge and used until they crossed the Mississipi and were issued new colors.[18]


By the time of the Battle of Murfreesboro, the 4th Arkansas had been issued McCown Style battle flag. This was a moderately rectangular banner with a predominantly blue field. The field was crossed with a white St. Andrew's Cross and the entire flag was bordered in white. From battle descriptions it is likely that every regiment of McNair's Arkansas Brigade carried a similar flag. Only one of these flags survived the war, that of the 25th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, which was then known as the 30th Arkansas. The flag of the 25th/30th Arkansas was captured after the color bearer's hand was shot off. It is now in the Old State House Museum in Little Rock. The 4th Arkansas would have carried a similar flag, either with their own individual markings, or with none at all.[19]

Consolidation and surrender

On April 9, 1865, the depleted Arkansas regiments of D. H. Reynolds' Brigade, Walthall's Division, Confederate Army of Tennessee, were consolidated into a single regiment the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles, at Smithfield, North Carolina. The companies of the consolidated regiment were drawn from the following Arkansas regiments: [20]

Company A — 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles.
Company B — 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles.
Company C — 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles.
Company D — 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles.
Company E — 4th Arkansas Infantry.
Company F — 4th Arkansas Infantry.
Company G — 31st Arkansas Infantry.
Company H — 9th Arkansas Infantry.
Company I — 9th Arkansas Infantry.
Company K — 25th Arkansas Infantry.

The 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles surrendered with the Army of Tennessee at Greensboro, North Carolina, April 26, 1865. The regiment was paroled on May 1, 1865, at Jamestown, North Carolina.[21] After the surrender, the men were offered free rail transportation (where available) in the direction of their homes, by what was left of the Southern railway companies. Most of the men traveled by rail, where they could. A large number of men were killed or seriously injured in a railroad accident at Flat Creek Bridge, Tennessee on May 25, 1865.[22]

See also

Sources

  • Battle Actions and History of the 4th Arkansas Infantry, CSA
  • Arkansas Confederate Regimental Histories
  • Gammage,Washington L., The Camp, the Bivouac, and the Battlefield, Being a History of the Fourth Arkansas Regiment, from its First Organization Down to the Present Date.
  • Lavendar, Captain John W. 1837-1921. The War Memoirs of Captain John W. Lavender, CSA The Southern Press, 1956. Sub title:
  • Lavender, John. They Never Came Back: The Story of Co. F. Fourth Arkansas Infantry, C.S.A. (Pine Bluff, AR: The Southern Press, 1956).

References

  1. ^ Sikakis, Stewart, Compendium of the Confederate Armies, Florida and Arkansas, Facts on File, Inc., 1992, ISBN 978-0-8160-2288-5, page 78
  2. ^ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 20, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1887, Page 173; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154629/m1/183/?q=Arkansas%20Infantry : accessed February 17, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.
  3. ^ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 20, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1887, Page 974; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154629 : accessed February 07, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.
  4. ^ a b Howerton, Bryan and Martin, George, "4th Arkansas Infantry Regiment", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=24343
  5. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company A, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_coa.html ", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  6. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company B, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT ", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_cob.html
  7. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company C, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_coc.html
  8. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company D, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT ", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_cod.html
  9. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company E, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT ", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_coe.html
  10. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company F, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT ", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_cof.html
  11. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company G, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT ", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_cog.html
  12. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company H, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT ", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_coh.html
  13. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company I, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT ", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_coi.html
  14. ^ Gerdes, Edward G., "Company K, 4th (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_cok.html
  15. ^ The Old Fourth Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Ancestery.com, Accessed 17 February 2012, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~armontgo/fourth.htm
  16. ^ Gerdes, Edward G.," 4TH (McNair's) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT " Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 11 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/4mcnair_f&s.html
  17. ^ Howerton, Bryan R. "Re: 25 Infantry Company C", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 20 March 2005, Accessed 8 February 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=9849
  18. ^ Williams, Keenan. "Re: Flags of the 4th Ark Infantry", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 12 October 2003, Accessed 17 February 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=5526
  19. ^ Confederado, "Re: Flags of the 4th Ark Infantry", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 12 October 2003, Accessed 17 February 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=5525
  20. ^ Bryan Howerton, "1st Consolidated Mounted Rifles", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted, 5 January 2009, 8:58 am" Accessed 6 August 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=19347
  21. ^ Howerton, Bryan, "9th Regiment Arkansas Infantry", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 15 July 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/9thinf_hist.html
  22. ^ Howerton, Bryan R. "Re: 25 Infantry Company C", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 20 March 2005, Accessed 8 February 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=9849
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=4th_Arkansas_Infantry_Regiment&oldid=477729670"