8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion
Encyclopedia
The 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry
regiment
during the American Civil War
. The unit was sometimes referred to in contemporary sources as (Jones’) “First Arkansas Battalion” and (Miller’s) “2nd Arkansas Battalion.”
The records of the 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion are highly fragmentary. The battalion’s books and records were lost on two occasions—at the battle of Corinth and the surrender of Port Hudson—and as a result most information about this unit comes from other sources, such as brigade records, casualty and parole lists, promotion and discharge records filed with the Confederate War Department, postwar pension records and veterans’ reminiscences. The task of researching this battalion was made even more difficult by the fact that it was sometimes referred to in contemporary sources as (Jones’) “First Arkansas Battalion” and (Miller’s) “2nd Arkansas Battalion.”
On May 10, 1862, Capt. James J. Franklin’s “Peyton Rifles” of Little Rock, Company C, was transferred to the 25th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
, where it became Company F of that regiment. The 8th Battalion’s companies D through H were subsequently re-lettered C through G. Since the “Peyton Rifles” only served with the battalion for a month, their history is not presented here, but instead is included in the history of the 25th Arkansas. With the loss of the Peyton Rifles the companies were re-lettered as follows:
The unit's numbers were further reduced when Colonel Thomas Pleasant Dockery, commanding Second Brigade, to which the battalion was attached, issued orders on June 14, 1862, which required each regiment and battalion of the brigade to furnish a quota of men for the formation of a battalion of sharpshooters. The quota levied upon the 8th Arkansas Battalion was 29 men. After having to relinquish an entire company to the 25th Arkansas Infantry, and now ordered to give up more men to what would become the 12th Arkansas Battalion (Sharpshooters), Lieutenant-Colonel Jones vehemently refused to make the levy; too vehemently, for he was immediately court-martialed for refusing to obey orders and was cashiered from the army.
Lieutenant-Colonel Batt Jones somehow managed to stay with his battalion. The proceedings of his court-martial, and subsequent correspondence relating thereto, constitute the single largest body of documents dealing with the 8th Arkansas Battalion. For months afterward, his immediate superiors wrote plaintive letters to the various division and army commanders, and to the War Department, asking for guidance. Apparently the order which relieved Lieutenant Colonel Jones never reached higher authority. The matter was finally resolved for all practical purposes when the battalion was surrendered with the garrison at Port Hudson a year later, after which Jones spent the rest of the war in a Union prison camp.
It has been impossible to reconstruct a comprehensive roster of the field and staff officers of the 8th Arkansas Battalion. It is known that there were three field officers from April 1862 through July 1863: Lieutenant-Colonel Batt L. Jones, Major John Miller, and Major Micajah R. Wilson. The battalion adjutant, at least for a time, was First Lieutenant William B. Baird; the battalion sergeant-major was William P. Griffin; the battalion quartermaster-sergeant was Addison E. Roane. Four men are said to have served as battalion ordnance sergeant during the period April 1862 to July 1863—James R. Howard, John Carroll, William F. Lefils and William G. Rolfe—although why there was a high turnover in this position is not stated.
After Port Hudson, the already-sketchy records of the 8th Arkansas Battalion become almost non-existent. It appears that some of the men, mainly the companies from south Arkansas, reconstituted the battalion for a time back in Arkansas. This remnant was eventually consolidated with the 18th and 23rd Arkansas regiments sometime in 1864 to form the 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment
. The companies from north Arkansas are even harder to track during this period. A group of the men, still identifying themselves as the 8th Arkansas Battalion (or Jones’ 1st Arkansas Battalion) were captured en masse in Ripley county, Missouri, on Christmas day, 1863. Practically an entire company of Davies’ 7th Arkansas Cavalry Battalion seems to have been organized from veterans of the 8th Arkansas Battalion.
, 18th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
, 23rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment
and the 12th Arkansas Infantry Battalion
to form the 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment was surrendered along with the rest of the Department of the Trans Mississippi by General Kirby Smith on May 26, 1865 at Marshall, Texas. Other former members appear on parole lists of the unit surrendered at Wittsburg and Jacksonport, Arkansas, in May and June 1865.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant 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 was sometimes referred to in contemporary sources as (Jones’) “First Arkansas Battalion” and (Miller’s) “2nd Arkansas Battalion.”
Organization
The 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion was formally activated at Little Rock on April 9, 1862, and was initially composed of eight companies It was the intention of the State Military Board to add two more companies and form a full regiment, however, events across the Mississippi River necessitated the immediate activation of the unit as a battalion, and it was rushed over to Major-General Earl Van Dorn’s Army of the West at Corinth, Mississippi. Initially under the command of Major John Miller, Lieutenant-Colonel Batt L. Jones was soon appointed to command the battalion. The unit was initially composed of volunteer companies from the follwing counties:- Company A—“Clark Rifles,” from Clark county, Capt. Newton S. Love.
- Company B—“Chicot Rebels,” from Chicot county, Capt. James D. Imboden.
- Company C—“Peyton Rifles,” from Pulaski county, Capt. James J. Franklin’s
- Company D—“Black River Rifles,” from Lawrence county, Capt. Robert C. Jones.
- Company E—“Greene County Roughs,” from Greene county, Capt. Guy S. Murray.
- Company F—“Wood’s Rifles,” from Craighead county, Capt. Joel G. Wood.
- Company G—“Ashley Light Infantry,” from Ashley county, Capt. Micajah R. Wilson.
- Company H—“Lawrence Dead-Shots,” from Lawrence county, Capt. Joseph C. Holmes.
The records of the 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion are highly fragmentary. The battalion’s books and records were lost on two occasions—at the battle of Corinth and the surrender of Port Hudson—and as a result most information about this unit comes from other sources, such as brigade records, casualty and parole lists, promotion and discharge records filed with the Confederate War Department, postwar pension records and veterans’ reminiscences. The task of researching this battalion was made even more difficult by the fact that it was sometimes referred to in contemporary sources as (Jones’) “First Arkansas Battalion” and (Miller’s) “2nd Arkansas Battalion.”
On May 10, 1862, Capt. James J. Franklin’s “Peyton Rifles” of Little Rock, Company C, was transferred to the 25th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
25th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
The 25th Arkansas Infantry was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War.-Organization:The 25th Arkansas Infantry was organized as the 30th Arkansas Infantry Regiment on June 18, 1862, when the 11th Battalion Arkansas Infantry was increased to a regiment. Charles J....
, where it became Company F of that regiment. The 8th Battalion’s companies D through H were subsequently re-lettered C through G. Since the “Peyton Rifles” only served with the battalion for a month, their history is not presented here, but instead is included in the history of the 25th Arkansas. With the loss of the Peyton Rifles the companies were re-lettered as follows:
- Company A—“Clark Rifles,” from Clark county, Capt. Newton S. Love.
- Company B—“Chicot Rebels,” from Chicot county, Capt. James D. Imboden.
- Company C—“Black River Rifles,” from Lawrence county, Capt. Robert C. Jones.
- Company D—“Greene County Roughs,” from Greene county, Capt. Guy S. Murray.
- Company E—“Wood’s Rifles,” from Craighead county, Capt. Joel G. Wood.
- Company F—“Ashley Light Infantry,” from Ashley county, Capt. Micajah R. Wilson.
- Company G—“Lawrence Dead-Shots,” from Lawrence county, Capt. Joseph C. Holmes.
The unit's numbers were further reduced when Colonel Thomas Pleasant Dockery, commanding Second Brigade, to which the battalion was attached, issued orders on June 14, 1862, which required each regiment and battalion of the brigade to furnish a quota of men for the formation of a battalion of sharpshooters. The quota levied upon the 8th Arkansas Battalion was 29 men. After having to relinquish an entire company to the 25th Arkansas Infantry, and now ordered to give up more men to what would become the 12th Arkansas Battalion (Sharpshooters), Lieutenant-Colonel Jones vehemently refused to make the levy; too vehemently, for he was immediately court-martialed for refusing to obey orders and was cashiered from the army.
Lieutenant-Colonel Batt Jones somehow managed to stay with his battalion. The proceedings of his court-martial, and subsequent correspondence relating thereto, constitute the single largest body of documents dealing with the 8th Arkansas Battalion. For months afterward, his immediate superiors wrote plaintive letters to the various division and army commanders, and to the War Department, asking for guidance. Apparently the order which relieved Lieutenant Colonel Jones never reached higher authority. The matter was finally resolved for all practical purposes when the battalion was surrendered with the garrison at Port Hudson a year later, after which Jones spent the rest of the war in a Union prison camp.
It has been impossible to reconstruct a comprehensive roster of the field and staff officers of the 8th Arkansas Battalion. It is known that there were three field officers from April 1862 through July 1863: Lieutenant-Colonel Batt L. Jones, Major John Miller, and Major Micajah R. Wilson. The battalion adjutant, at least for a time, was First Lieutenant William B. Baird; the battalion sergeant-major was William P. Griffin; the battalion quartermaster-sergeant was Addison E. Roane. Four men are said to have served as battalion ordnance sergeant during the period April 1862 to July 1863—James R. Howard, John Carroll, William F. Lefils and William G. Rolfe—although why there was a high turnover in this position is not stated.
Battles
In October, 1862, the 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion was assigned to Cabell’s Brigade, Price’s Corps, and covered the Confederate withdrawal from the battle of Corinth. The battalion suffered significant losses in this rear-guard action of October 5, 1862, and from all accounts fought with great courage. The battalion was then transferred to the brigade of Brigadier-General William Nelson Rector Beall in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, and formed part of the garrison of Port Hudson, Louisiana. They endured the siege of that place from May to July, 1863, only surrendering when the fall of Vicksburg rendered the defense of Port Hudson irrelevant. The garrison capitulated on July 9, 1863. The enlisted men were paroled on July 10, but the officers were sent to Northern prisons and held until the close of the war.- Battle of IukaBattle of IukaThe Battle of Iuka was fought on September 19, 1862, in Iuka, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. In the opening battle of the Iuka-Corinth Campaign, Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans stopped the advance of the army of Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price.Maj. Gen. Ulysses S...
, September 19, 1862 - Battle of FarmingtonBattle of FarmingtonThe Battle of Farmington is a name given to two different battles during the American Civil War − one in Tennessee, the other in Mississippi.The Battle at Farmington, Tennessee was fought October 7, 1863 in Farmington, Marshall County, Tennessee. It ended in a Confederate victory...
, - Siege of CorinthSiege of CorinthThe Siege of Corinth was an American Civil War battle fought from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi.-Background:...
, April to June 1862. - Battle of CorinthBattle of CorinthThe Battle of Corinth may refer to a Roman battle, or to one of two American Civil War Battles:* The Battle of Corinth * The Siege of Corinth, Mississippi , also known as the First Battle of Corinth, during the American Civil War* The Second Battle of Corinth...
, October 3–4, 1862 - Siege of Port HudsonSiege of Port HudsonThe Siege of Port Hudson occurred from May 22 to July 9, 1863, when Union Army troops assaulted and then surrounded the Mississippi River town of Port Hudson, Louisiana, during the American Civil War....
, May to July, 1863
After Port Hudson, the already-sketchy records of the 8th Arkansas Battalion become almost non-existent. It appears that some of the men, mainly the companies from south Arkansas, reconstituted the battalion for a time back in Arkansas. This remnant was eventually consolidated with the 18th and 23rd Arkansas regiments sometime in 1864 to form the 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment
2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment
The 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment is separate from and has no connection to the 2nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment which served in the Confederate Army of Tennessee and separate from the 2nd Regiment, Arkansas...
. The companies from north Arkansas are even harder to track during this period. A group of the men, still identifying themselves as the 8th Arkansas Battalion (or Jones’ 1st Arkansas Battalion) were captured en masse in Ripley county, Missouri, on Christmas day, 1863. Practically an entire company of Davies’ 7th Arkansas Cavalry Battalion seems to have been organized from veterans of the 8th Arkansas Battalion.
Surrender
The portion of the 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion that became consolidated with 12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
The 12th Arkansas Infantry was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War.-Organization:12th Infantry Regiment was organized July 27, 1861 by E. W. Gantt. Many of the men were recruited in Dallas County. The field officers were Colonels Edward W. Gantt and T. J. Reid, Jr.,...
, 18th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
18th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
The 18th Arkansas Infantry was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. This unit is also known as 18th Arkansas Infantry. There was another regiment designated as the 18th Arkansas...
, 23rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment
23rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment
The 23rd Arkansas Infantry was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War.-Organization:23rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment, originally C. W. Adams' 23rd Regiment, was organized at Helena, Arkansas on April 25, 1862 by consolidating Adams' and Hughes Infantry Battalions and...
and the 12th Arkansas Infantry Battalion
12th Arkansas Infantry Battalion
The 12th Arkansas Infantry Battalion was a Confederate Army infantry battalion during the American Civil War. The unit was most often known as “Rapley’s Sharpshooters.”-Organization:...
to form the 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment was surrendered along with the rest of the Department of the Trans Mississippi by General Kirby Smith on May 26, 1865 at Marshall, Texas. Other former members appear on parole lists of the unit surrendered at Wittsburg and Jacksonport, Arkansas, in May and June 1865.
External links
- Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Home Page
- The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
- The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
- The Arkansas History Commission, State Archives, Civil War in Arkansas
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 WarArkansas in the American Civil WarThe 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 WarArkansas Militia in the Civil WarThe 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...