The 5th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment (1863–1865) was a

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The regiment was designated at various times as Newton's Regiment Arkansas Cavalry, Morgan's Regiment Arkansas Cavalry, 2nd Regiment Arkansas Cavalry, and the 8th Regiment Arkansas Cavalry. This regiment should not be confused with a later regiment commanded by Col. Robert Crittenden Newton, which was a regiment of Arkansas State Troops usually referred to as Newton's 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment.

Organization

Organized with 12 companies at Little Rock, Arkansas in April, 1863 under the command of Colonel Robert C. Newton. The unit was composed of companies from the following counties:Howerton, Bryan R., "Re: 8th Arkansas Cavalry", Posted 13 January 2009, Accessed 2 December 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=19395 * Company A – Van Buren County and Jackson County; enlisted June 24, 1862, at Clinton, Arkansas. * Company B – Jefferson County; enlisted February 10, 1863, at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. * Company C – Independence County; enlisted January 10, 1863, at Pleasant Plains, Arkansas. * Company D – Lawrence County; enlisted November 1, 1862, at Evening Shade, Arkansas. * Company E - Conway County; enlisted December 24, 1862, in Conway county, Arkansas. * Company F – Independence County; enlisted January 9, 1863, at Hess Ferry, Arkansas. * Company G – Fulton county, Arkansas, enlisted December 12, 1862, also known as Capt. Lorenzo Dow Bryant's mounted company, which also included some Missourians from near by Howell and Oregon counties. The company was organized in December 1862 and was attached to the 4th Missouri Cavalry as (old) Co. I until April 1863, when it was detached and assigned to the 5th Arkansas Cavalry as Company G.Howerton, Bryan R., "Re: 8th Arkansas Cavalry", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 6 February 2009, Accessed 2 December 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=19541 * Company H – Independence County and Izard County enlisted December 15, 1862. * Company I - Mississippi County; enlisted March 16, 1863, at Camp Wilson, Arkansas. * Company K – Van Buren County; enlisted March 4, 1863, at Clinton, Arkansas. * Company L – Van Buren County; enlisted December 26, 1862, at Kenyon, Arkansas. The regiment went by a variety of unofficial names during its existence. When Colonel Robert Crittenden Newton was in command, it went by its official title of 5th Arkansas Cavalry. Colonel Newton was succeeded in December 1863 by Col. Thomas J. Morgan, formerly captain of Company C. Under Colonel Morgan's command, the regiment went by the designation 8th Arkansas Cavalry; but it was also known on occasion as the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry. The Compiled Service Records are filed under the designation 8th Arkansas Cavalry. The commanders of the 5th/2nd/8th Cavalry include Colonels Robert C. Newton, Thomas J. Morgan, and W. A. Bevens.

Battles

As the 5th Arkansas under Colonel Newton, the unit served in General J. G. Walker's (later Dobbins') Division, Trans-Mississippi Department, and fought in the following engagements: *

Battle of Helena The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, near Helena, Arkansas, as part of the American Civil War. Union troops had captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. Over 7,500 Confederate troops led by Lieu ...

, Arkansas, July 4, 1863. *

Battle of Brownsville, Arkansas The Battle of Brownsville was fought on August 25, 1863, near what is now Lonoke, Arkansas, between Union forces led by Colonel Washington Geiger and Confederate troops under Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke. Union forces commanded by Major G ...

, August 25, 1863 * Battle of Reed's Bridge, Arkansas, August 27, 1863 *

Battle of Bayou Fourche The Battle of Bayou Fourche, also known as the Battle of Little Rock and the Engagement at Bayou Fourche, took place on September 10, 1863, in Pulaski County, Arkansas, and was the final battle of the Little Rock campaign, Little Rock Campaign, ...

, Arkansas, September 10, 1863. *

Battle of Pine Bluff The Battle of Pine Bluff, also known as the Action at Pine Bluff, was an engagement fought on October 25, 1863 in Jefferson County, Arkansas during the American Civil War. The Post of Pine Bluff, a United States garrison commanded by Colonel Po ...

, Arkansas, October 25, 1863. The unit had several members captured in the

(Little Rock) in September 1863. These prisoners were sent to Camp Morton, near Indianapolis, Indiana. A few died in prison, a few joined the U.S. Army frontier service, but most were exchanged in March 1864. Many of these men were back in Arkansas in time to be paroled at Jacksonport, Arkansas, on June 5, 1865, at the end of the war. The unit designation changed to the 2nd (Morgan's) Cavalry Regiment effective December 24, 1863. As the 8th/2nd Arkansas under Colonel Morgan, the unit served in General Cabell's Brigade, Trans-Mississippi Department, and fought in the following engagements: *

Battle of Poison Spring The Battle of Poison Spring was fought in Ouachita County, Arkansas on April 18, 1864, as part of the Camden Expedition, during the American Civil War. A Union force commanded by Major General Frederick Steele had moved from Little Rock, Arka ...

, Arkansas, April 18, 1864. *

Battle of Marks' Mills The Battle of Marks' Mills (April 25, 1864), also known as the Action at Marks’ Mills, was fought in present-day Cleveland County, Arkansas, during the American Civil War. Confederate Brigadier-General James F. Fagan, having made a forced m ...

, Arkansas, April 25, 1864. The regiment lost 18 percent of the 130 engaged. *

Price's Missouri Raid Price's Missouri Expedition (August 29 – December 2, 1864), also known as Price's Raid or Price's Missouri Raid, was an unsuccessful Confederate cavalry raid through Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the Am ...

, Arkansas-Missouri-Kansas, September–October, 1864 ::

Battle of Fort Davidson A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, Missouri, September 27, 1864 :: Fourth Battle of Boonville, Missouri, October 11, 1864 ::

Battle of Glasgow, Missouri The Battle of Glasgow was fought on October 15, 1864, in and near Glasgow, Missouri, as part of Price's Missouri Expedition during the American Civil War. The battle resulted in the capture of needed weapons and improved Confederate morale, w ...

, October 15, 1864 :: Battle of Sedalia, Missouri, October 15, 1864 ::

Second Battle of Lexington The Second Battle of Lexington was a minor battle fought during Price's Raid as part of the American Civil War. Hoping to draw Union Army forces away from more important theaters of combat and potentially affect the outcome of the 1864 United S ...

, Missouri, October 19, 1864 ::

Battle of Little Blue River The Battle of Little Blue River was fought on October 21, 1864, as part of Price's Raid during the American Civil War. Major General (CSA), Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army led an army into Missouri in September 1864 ...

, Missouri, October 21, 1864 ::

Second Battle of Independence The Second Battle of Independence was fought on October 22, 1864, near Independence, Missouri, as part of Price's Raid during the American Civil War. In late 1864, Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army led a cavalry fo ...

, Missouri, October 21–22, 1864 ::

Battle of Byram's Ford The Battle of Byram's Ford (also known as the Battle of Big Blue River and the Battle of the Blue) was fought on October 22 and 23, 1864, in Missouri during Price's Raid, a campaign of the American Civil War. With the Confederate States of ...

, Missouri, October 22–23, 1864 ::

Battle of Westport The Battle of Westport, sometimes referred to as the "Gettysburg of the West", was fought on October 23, 1864, in modern Kansas City, Missouri, during the American Civil War. Union Army, Union forces under Major General (United States), Major G ...

, Missouri, October 23, 1864 ::

Battle of Marais des Cygnes The Battle of Marais des Cygnes () took place on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas, during Price's Missouri Raid in the American Civil War. It is also known as the Battle of Trading Post. In late 1864, Confederate Major General (CSA), Ma ...

Linn County, Kansas Linn County (county code LN) is a county located in east-central Kansas and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 9,591. Its county seat is Mound City, and its most populous city is Pl ...

, October 25, 1864 ::

Battle of Mine Creek The Battle of Mine Creek, also known as the Battle of the Osage, was fought on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas, as part of Price's Missouri Expedition during the American Civil War. Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate Stat ...

, Missouri, October 25, 1864 ::

Battle of Marmiton River The Battle of Marmiton River, also known as Shiloh Creek or Charlot's Farm, occurred on October 25, 1864, in Vernon County, Missouri during the American Civil War. Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army commenced an expedi ...

, Missouri, October 25, 1864 ::

Second Battle of Newtonia The Second Battle of Newtonia was fought on October 28, 1864, near Newtonia, Missouri, between cavalry commanded by Major General James G. Blunt of the Union Army and Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby's rear guard of the Confederate Army of ...

, Missouri, October 28, 1864

Surrender

This regiment actually disbanded prior to the formal surrenderedHaseltine, John; " Re: 8th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry", Posted 28 October 2010, Accessed 2 December 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=22726 and the men were paroled at various places, but primarily at

Jacksonport, Arkansas Jacksonport is a town in Jackson County, Arkansas, United States, along the White River at its confluence with the Black River. The population was 212 at the 2010 census. History Jacksonport was once an important steamboat stop on the White R ...

Bibliography

Bears, Edwin C. “The Battle of Helena, July 4, 1863.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 20 (Autumn 1961): 256–297. Christ, Mark K. Civil War Arkansas, 1863: The Battle for a State. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2010. Christ, Mark K., ed. Rugged and Sublime: The Civil War in Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1994. Christ, Mark K. “‘We Were Badly Whipped’: A Confederate Account of the Battle of Helena, July 4, 1863.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 69 (Spring 2010): 44–53. Schieffler, George David. “Too Little, Too Late to Save Vicksburg: The Battle of Helena, Arkansas, July 4, 1863.” MA thesis, University of Arkansas, 2005

Organization

Battles

Surrender

Bibliography

References

See also