The 33rd Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

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 conscript ...

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 ...

. The unit served in the

Department of the Trans-Mississippi The Trans-Mississippi Department was a geographical subdivision of the Confederate States Army comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western Louisiana, Arizona Territory and the Indian Territory; i.e. all of the Confederacy west of the Mississ ...

from its formation in the summer of 1862 until the surrender in May 1865.

Organization

The 33rd Arkansas was created from existing companies by Special Order Number 28, issued by Major General Thomas C. Hindman on July 11, 1862: These companies were ordered to Camp White Sulphur Springs in mid July 1862 in two battalions which were organized there as the 33rd Arkansas. These two battalions arrived a week or so apart at Sulphur Springs, one in early July and the other after July 15. At one point the regiment included 11 companies. Once the 33rd Arkansas was assembled as a regiment at White Sulphur Springs, it was entered into a camp of instruction under Colonel Robert G. Shaver. The regiment remained at Camp White Sulphur Springs until October 4, 1862, when it was ordered north as part of a brigade commanded by Colonel Shavers. When finally mustered into confederate service the regiment was composed of volunteer companies from the following counties: * Company A, Commanded by Captain Rufus E Arnold, organized in Columbia County, Arkansas, on May 14, 1862. * Company B, Commanded by Captain Dee Newton, organized in Ouachita County, Arkansas, on June 17, 1862. * Company C, Commanded by Captain John A. Goodgame, organized in Dallas County, Arkansas, on June 17, 1862. * Company D, Commanded by Captain Oliver H. Overstreet, organized in Ouachita County, Arkansas, on June 14, 1862. * Company E, Commanded by Captain Geraldus Williams, organized in Clark County, Arkansas, on June 14, 1862. (Composed partly of former members of other organizations, principally, Company A, 12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and, Company H, 23rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment) * Company F, Commanded by Captain John A. Ansley, organized in Ouachita County, Arkansas, on June 18, 1862. (Composed partly of absentees from the

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

and

15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Johnson's) 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious num ...

) * Company G, Commanded by Captain Wiley M. Mitchell, organized in Columbia County, Arkansas, on June 19, 1862. * Company H, Commanded by Captain Thomas M. East, organized in Clark County, Arkansas, on May 18, 1862. (Composed of many reenlisted men from other organizations, principally

12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 12th Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment spent much of its service defending Confederate strong points along the Mississippi River. The unit participated in the d ...

) * Company I, Commanded by Captain Francis J. Erwin, organized in Montgomery County, Arkansas, on June 24, 1862. (Seven of this unit reported as former members of the 4th Arkansas Infantry Regiment) * Company K, Commanded by Captain William B. Langford, organized in Ouachita County, Arkansas, on June 23, 1862. The regimental officers at the formation of the regiment were: * Colonel Hiram L. Grinsted, Appointed July 11, 1862, at the age of 36, was born in Kentucky. * Lieutenant Colonel Henry W. McMillan, Appointed July 11, 1862, at the age of 30, born in North Carolina. * Major William T. Steele, Age 29, born in Tennessee. * Surgeon D. S. Williams, Age 27, born in NC. Appointed July 18, 1862. * Asst Surgeon, Junius N. Bragg, was appointed August 16, 1861, at age 26, and was born in North Carolina. * Sergeant Major James E. Lide, who enlisted on June 17, 1862, at Camden, AR. He was an escaped POW from the

11th Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 11th Arkansas Infantry Regiment or 11th Arkansas Volunteers was an infantry formation of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Following the units surrender during the Battle of Island Number Ten, Battle of Island No. 10, ...

. Appointed Sgt Major July 10, 1863.

African Americans in Confederate Ranks

The 33rd Arkansas is one of the few regiments that included the names of African American servants and slaves on its muster rolls. While it was not uncommon for slaves and servants to accompany their masters to war, some even serving on the battlefield, it was uncommon for them to actually be carried on the unit's muster rolls. The following African Americans are included on the 33rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment's Muster rolls:

Battles

Prairie Grove Campaign

The 33rd Arkansas was assigned to Colonel Robert G. Shaver's 2nd Brigade of Daniel M. Frost's 3rd Division of Major General Thomas C. Hindman's 1st Corps of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi for the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, 1862. The other regiments in the brigade were the

27th 27 (twenty-seven; Roman numeral XXVII) is the natural number following 26 and preceding 28. In mathematics * Twenty-seven is a cube of 3: 3^3=3\times 3\times 3. 27 is also 23 (see tetration). There are exactly 27 straight lines on a smooth ...

, 38th, and Adams' Arkansas Infantry Regiments. According to Colonel Robert G. Shaver's report on the Battle of Prairie Grove, the 38th was ordered to support Colonel

Dandridge McRae Dandridge McRae (October 10, 1829 – April 23, 1899) was an American lawyer, court official, and Inspector General of Arkansas State Troops, as well as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He serv ...

's Brigade during the fight at Prairie Grove. After Prairie Grove the unit retreated to Van Buren, with the rest of Hindman's Army. On February 28, 1863, Brigadier General J. C. Tappan, formerly commander of the

13th Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 13th Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. Organized mainly from companies, including several prewar volunteer militia companies, raised in northeastern Arkansas, the regiment w ...

, was ordered to assume command of Shaver's brigade, consisting of the

38th Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 38th Arkansas Infantry (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was often referred to as Shaver's Arkansas Infantry. The unit served in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi from its form ...

, commanded by Colonel Robert G. Shaver, the

27th Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 27th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit served entirely in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi and surrendered at Marshall, Texas, at the war's end. ...

commanded by Colonel James R. Shaler, and the 33rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Hiram L. Grinsted. They remained with Tappan's Brigade through the remainder of the war.

Summer 1863

General Tappan was ordered to move his brigade to Louisiana to support General Taylor's operations against General's Grant's forces laying siege to Vicksburg Mississippi. The 33rd spent the month of July 1863 in the vicinity of

Delhi, Louisiana Delhi (), originally called Deerfield, is a town in Richland Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 2,622. History During the American Civil War, Delhi and Monroe, the seat of Ouachita P ...

, where they conducted raids on Federal interests between Delhi and the Mississippi River.Howerton, Bryan R., "Re: George W. Harbour, 33 Arkansas Infantry Company", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 5 November 2005, Accessed 8 February 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=11192 Tappan's Brigade was present at the

Battle of Goodrich's Landing The Battle of Goodrich's Landing, Louisiana, was fought on June 29 and June 30, 1863, between Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The Confederates attacked several Union regiments, who were composed mostly of black sol ...

on June 29, 1863, where they helped force the capitulation of two companies of the

1st Arkansas Infantry, African Descent The 46th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was originally designated as the 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment (African Descent). The regiment was composed of ...

.Parsons vs. 1st Arkansas at the Mound, Milliken's Bend, A Civil War Battle in History and Memory, accessed 26 January 2018, http://www.millikensbend.com/parsons-vs-1st-arkansas-at-the-mound/ Tappan's Brigade and the 33rd Arkansas missed the

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 Li ...

on July 4, 1863, because of its operations in Louisiana. Tappan's brigade was ordered to return to Arkansas, via Pine Bluff, in August 1863. Tappan's Brigade and the 33rd returned to Arkansas in August 1863, and participated in the defense of Little Rock. When Little Rock fell on September 10, 1863, the regiment withdrew to southern Arkansas and went into winter quarters in Hempstead County.

Red River Campaign

In the Spring of 1864, Churchill's Division, including Tappan's Brigade moved south to oppose Union General

Nathaniel Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, Civil War. A millworker by background, Banks was promine ...

' Red River Campaign in north-central Louisiana in March and early April 1864. The division arrived during the

Battle of Mansfield 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 ...

on April 8, 1864, but was not committed to the battle and occupied a position on the flank of General Taylor's division. Brigadier General Churchill was placed in command of both his own division and Brigadier General Parson's Division during the pursuit of the enemy from Mansfield to Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, so Brigadier General Tappan assumed command of Churchill's Division. While Tappan commanded the Division, Colonel Grinsted assumed command of Tappan's Brigade and led it through the fight at Pleasant Hill, on April 9, 1864. General Tappan described the action at Pleasant Hill as follows:Louisiana and Arkansas, Confederate Military History, Gen. Clement A. Evans, ed., The Blue and Grey Press, Vol. X, n.d., pp. 244/5 Churchill's Division marched back north into Arkansas to deal with the other part of the Federal advance, General

Frederick Steele Frederick Steele (January 14, 1819 – January 12, 1868) was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for retaking much of secessionist Arka ...

Camden Expedition The Camden Expedition (March 23 – May 3, 1864) was the final campaign conducted by the Union Army in Arkansas during the Civil War. The offensive was designed to cooperate with Major-General Nathaniel P. Banks' movement against Shrevepo ...

. The division arrived after a long forced march at Woodlawn, Arkansas, on April 26, where they rested overnight, then joined the pursuit of Steele's retreating army, catching it trying to cross the Saline River near Jenkins' Ferry. The regimental commander, Colonel Hiram Lane Grinsted, was killed in action at Jenkins' Ferry. The regiment sustained 92 men killed and wounded in the fight at Jenkins' Ferry. The regiment was engaged in the following battles: *

Battle of Prairie Grove The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on December 7, 1862. While tactically indecisive, the battle secured the Union control of northwestern Arkansas. A division of Union troops in the Army of the Front ...

, Arkansas, December 7, 1862. *

Battle of Little Rock 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, also known as the Ad ...

, Arkansas, September 10, 1863. * Red River Campaign, Arkansas March–May, 1864. * Battle of Pleasant Hill, April 9, 1864. *

Battle of Jenkins' Ferry The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, also known as the Engagement at Jenkins' Ferry, was fought on April 30, 1864, at Jenkins' Ferry, southwest of Little Rock (present-day Grant County, Arkansas), during the American Civil War. Although the battle ...

, Arkansas April 30, 1864. Following Colonel Grinsted's death at Jenkins Ferry, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas David Thomson (originally first lieutenant of Co. B) was promoted to colonel, commanding 33rd Arkansas, to rank from April 30, 1864.

Close of the war

On 1 September 1864, Brigadier General James C. Tappan reported that Colonel Thompson's regiment was assigned to Tappan's Brigade. On the same day Brigadier General Tappan reported that the assigned strength of Hardy's Regiment

19th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Hardy's) The 19th and 24th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiment (1863–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was assembled from the portions of Dawson's 19th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and the 24th Ar ...

and Thompson's Regiment was 787 men, of which only 373 were armed.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 3, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1893; (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145055/ : accessed December 23, 2015), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas. On 30 September 1864, General Kirby Smith's report on the organization of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi lists the 33rd Arkansas, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thompson, as belonging to Brigadier General James C. Tappan's, 3rd Brigade of Acting Major General Thomas J. Churchill's 1st Arkansas Infantry Division of Major General John B. Magruder's 2nd Army Corps. On 17 November 1864, a union spy reported that the Tampan's Brigade and Churchill's Division was in the vicinity of Camden, in Ouachita County, 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 December 23, 2015), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas. On 31 December 1864, General Kirby Smith's report on the organization of his forces lists the 33rd Arkansas, under the command of Colonel Thompson as belonging to Brigadier General James C. Tappan's, 3rd 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. On 22 January 1865, Major General Churchill was ordered to move his division to Minden, Louisiana, and occupy winter quarters. Union commanders in the Department of the Gulf reported on March 20, 1865, that General Tappan's brigade minus Shaver's regiment, was located a 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.

Surrender

By late April, news of the surrender of General Lee's army had made it to the Army of the Trans-Mississippi. Captain Junius Newport Bragg, the 27 year old assistant surgeon of the 33rd Arkansas Regiment, in camp near Marshall, Texas, wrote to his wife in Camden, on Sunday, April 23, two weeks after Appomattox: But as the news of the failure in the east set in, desertions became rampant in the Army. Captain Bragg wrote again on May 20, still at Marshall, reporting: The regiment was covered by the formal surrender of the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, General

E. Kirby Smith Four-star rank, General Edmund Kirby Smith (May 16, 1824March 28, 1893) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department (comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western Lo ...

commanding, May 26, 1865. With few exceptions, the Arkansas Infantry regiments in the Trans-Mississippi simply disbanded without formally surrendering. 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, to be paroled but none of them did so. Some individual soldiers went to Shreveport on their own to be paroled, others reported to Union garrisons at Fort Smith, Pine Bluff or Little Rock to receive their paroles, but for the most part, the men simply went home.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

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 1861 establishments in Arkansas Military units and formations established in 1861