The 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry (Trans-Mississippi) (1864–1865) was a Confederate States Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment is separate from and has no connection with the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment which was formed in the Confederate Army of Tennessee in April 1865 and is also separate from the 1st Regiment, Arkansas State Troops, which became the 15th (Josey's) Arkansas Infantry Regiment and Fagan's

1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 1st Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment was raised in April 1861 by Colonel Thompson B. Flournoy. It moved first to Virginia, but transferred back to Tennessee ...

, which was formed in 1861 and served in the Army of Tennessee.

Formation

In September 1864, the remnants of several Arkansas Infantry Regiments in the Trans-Mississippi Department were consolidated. There is some evidence that this consolidation may have occurred as a field consolidation as early as May 1864. The 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment (Trans-Mississippi) was created by combining the following depleted regiments:Howerton, Bryan, "1st, 2nd & 3rd Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiments", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 26 July 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=24472 *

14th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Powers') 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 and preceding 15. In relation to the word "four" ( 4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a stella octangula number ...

. *

15th (Northwest) Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, also known as the "Northwest regiment", was an infantry formation of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was originally formed as the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Battalion. After receiving t ...

. *

16th Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 16th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (also known as the "Sixteenth Arkansas") was an infantry formation in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Organized from volunteer companies from northwest Arkansas, the regiment participa ...

. * 21st Arkansas Infantry Regiment. Colonel

Jordan E. Cravens Jordan Edgar Cravens (November 7, 1830 – April 8, 1914) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Arkansas. From 1877 to 1883, he served three terms in Congress, first as an Independent Democrat, then as a ...

was selected to command the new consolidate regiment. All of these regiments had been captured at the either the Siege of

Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to: * Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States * The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign * The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle Vicksburg is also the name of ...

or Port Hudson and exchanged back in Arkansas. The consolidated regiment was assigned along with the

2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment The 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment is separate from and has no connection with the 2nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment which served in the Confederat ...

and

3rd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment The 3rd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment is separate from and has no connection with the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment which served in the Confedera ...

s to the 2nd (McNair's) Arkansas Brigade, 1st (Churchill's) Arkansas Division, 2nd Corps, Trans-Mississippi Department,

Service

On September 30, 1864 the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry was assigned to Brigadier General Evander McNair's 2nd (Arkansas) Brigade, Acting Major General

Thomas J. Churchill Thomas James Churchill (March 10, 1824 – May 14, 1905) was an American politician who served as the 13th governor of Arkansas from 1881 to 1883. Prior to that, he was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantr ...

’s 1st (Arkansas) Division, Major General

John B. Magruder John Bankhead Magruder (May 1, 1807 – February 18, 1871) was an American and Confederate military officer. A graduate of West Point, Magruder served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and was a prominent Confede ...

’s Second Army Corps, Army of the Trans-Mississippi and remained in that assignment through December 31, 1864. In mid October, 1864, Brigadier General McNair was the Acting Division Commander, with Division headquarters at Camden, Arkansas.United States. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 41, In Four Parts. Part 4, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1893; (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145061/ : accessed January 08, 2016), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas. On 17 November 1864, a union spy reported that the McNair's Brigade and Churhill's Division was in the vicinity of Camden, in Ouachita County, Arkansas. On 31 December 1864, General Kirby Smith's report on the organization of his forces lists the regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William W. Reynolds as still belonging to Brigadier General Evander McNair's, 2nd Brigade of Acting Major General Thomas J. Churchill's 1st Arkansas Infantry Division of Major General John B. Magruder's 2nd Army Corps, Confederate

Army of the Trans-Mississippi The Army of the Trans-Mississippi was a major Confederate army under the Department of the Trans-Mississippi during the American Civil War. It was the last major Confederate command to surrender, submitting on May 26, 1865, exactly one month aft ...

. On 22 January 1865, Major General Churchill was ordered to move his division to Minden, Louisiana, and occupy winter quarters.United States. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1896; (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139842/ : accessed January 08, 2016), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas. On 23 January 1865, Major General Churchill sent a dispatch to Colonel Hawthorn at Dooley's Ferry and directed his movement to Minden, Louisiana. Union commanders in the Department of the Gulf reported on March 20, 1865 that General McNair's brigade was composed of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Consolidated Regiments, Commanded by Colonels Cravens, Ried, and Williams respectively and that the regiments were made up of paroled prisoners from Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The report provided their location as Minden, Louisiana, with the rest of Churchill's Division. In early April 1865, the division concentrated near Shreaveport Louisiana, and then moved to Marshall, Texas by mid April 1865. This regiment surrendered with the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, General E. Kirby Smith commanding, May 26, 1865. When the Trans-Mississippi Department surrendered, all of the Arkansas infantry regiments were encamped in and around Marshall, Texas (war-ravaged Arkansas no longer able to subsist the army). The regiments were ordered to report to

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

, to be paroled. None of them did so. Some soldiers went to Shreveport on their own to be paroled, but the regiments simply disbanded without formally surrendering. A company or two managed to keep together until they got home. For example, Company G,

35th Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 35th Arkansas Infantry (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. Having gone through multiple prior reorganizations, it had previously been known as the 17th (Griffiths) Arkansas Infantry Regiment, ...

, traveled back to Van Buren, Arkansas where they surrendered to the U.S. post commander in a formal ceremony, drawn up in front of the court-house, laying down their weapons, etc. But for the most part, the men simply went home. Many of the Arkansas Cavalry units, which had largely been furloughed for the winter of 1864-1865 following Price's disastrous Missouri Expedition did formally surrender at Jacksonport, Wittsburg, and a few other locations.Howerton, Bryan, "Re: 17th/1st/35th/22nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment.", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 26 October 2011, Accessed 26 October 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=24907

Notes

References

External links

Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Home PageThe Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110718122909/http://arkansascivilwar.com/ The Arkansas History Commission, State Archives, Civil War in Arkansas {{American Civil War, expanded=CTCBS Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Arkansas 1865 disestablishments in Arkansas Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Military units and formations in Arkansas Military in Arkansas 1864 establishments in the Confederate States of America 1865 disestablishments in the Confederate States of America

Formation

Service

See also

Notes

References

External links