1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment - Battles

Battles

On the road from Arkansas to Virginia, the regiment attracted much attention, being known to have among its captains a grandson of Davy Crockett, and Capt. Donelson McGregor, who was reared near the Hermitage, and was grand-nephew of the beloved wife of President Andrew Jackson. The regiment was stationed at Aquia Creek, near Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the brigade of Gen. T. H. Holmes, and was led by him into the battle of First Manassas. The regiment was mustered in to Confederate service on 19 May 1861, at Lynchburg, Virginia. It was then stationed at Evansport, where the men of the regiment, under Capt. Will H. Martin, made a daring but unsuccessful attempt to capture the Federal gunboat Pocahontas, on the Potomac.

In February 1862 they were transferred and attached to the Army of Mississippi under the command of General P.G.T. Beauregard, and fought at the Battle of Shiloh. The 1st Arkansas was attached to Colonel Randall L. Gibson's 1st Brigade of Brigadier General Daniel Ruggles' 1st Division of Major General Braxton Bragg's 1st Army Corps. It was at Shiloh that they became best known, mainly due to the heavy casualties they sustained. Entering the battle with a force of just over 800, they took 364 casualties, 45 percent of their force.

Following that battle, they were reorganized and received replacements, then were assigned to Army of Mississippi for the upcoming Kentucky Campaign, the 1st Arkansas was assigned to Colonel Samuel Powel's 3rd Brigade of Brigadier General James Patton Anderson's 2nd Division of Major General William Joseph Hardee's Corps. After the battle of Perryville, the Army of Mississippi and the Army of Kentucky were reorganized and renamed as the Army of Tennessee and the 1st Arkansas was assigned to Brigadier General Lucius E. Polk's Brigade of Major General Patrick R. Cleburne's Division of Lieutenant General William Joseph Hardee's Corps with whom they would remain for the rest of the war.

The 1st Arkansas would go on to take part in the Battle of Murfreesboro, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Battles for Chattanooga, and the Siege of Atlanta. Lieutenant Colonel Donelson McGregor and fourteen others soldiers for the Battle of Murfreesboro As of result of high casualties during the Chattanooga campaign, the 1st Arkansas was consolidated with the 15th Arkansas under the command of Lietenant Colonel William H. Martin. This consolidation united the two units that had been designated "1st Arkansas" because upon its formation, the 15th Arkansas had originally been designated by the Arkansas State Militiary Board as the 1st Arkansas Infantry, State Troops.

During the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, 1864, the 1st/15th Arkansas became involved in a famous humanitarian act. At one point in the battle, not far from the position known as the "Dead Angle", the Union frontal assault had failed leaving hundreds of dead and wounded Union soldiers between the Confederate works and the Union lines. The woods and brush between the two armies caught fire because of the gunfire and artillery. The fire began to creep toward the wounded soldiers. Lt. Colonel William P. Martin who was commanding the 1st and 15th combined Arkansas Regiments, jumped on the earthworks and ordered his Confederate soldiers to cease firing. He then waved a white flag of truce yelling to the Union soldiers to "come and get your wounded, they are burning to death." For a short time the Union and Confederate soldiers helped remove the wounded and put out the fires. The next day the Union generals presented Martin with two Colt Revolvers as a thank you for his humanitarian efforts. Later the opposing forces began to fire at each other again.

The regiment and it colors were captured, along with much of Govan's Brigade at the Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia on Sept. 1, 1864. Due to a special cartel between Union General Sherman and Confederate General John B. Hood, the unit was quickly paroled and exchanged for Union prisoner held at Andersonville Prison. The regiment re-entered service approximately a month later. The 1st/15th reported 15 killed, 67 wounded, and 3 missing during the Battle of Atlanta.

The regiment and the rest of Govan's Brigade were released and exchanged just in time to participated in General John B. Hood's disastrous Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Due to the appalling losses suffered by Govan's Brigade during the Atlanta Campaign, the 1st/15th, 5th/13th and 2nd/24th Arkansas Regiments were consolidated into one regiment, which was commanded by Colonel Peter Green of the 5th/13th (specifically of the 5th). The other officers of the consolidated regiment were Major Alexander T. Meek, of the 2nd/24th Arkansas, Captain Mordecai P. Garrett and Sergeant Major Thomas Benton Moncrief of the 15th Arkansas. The consolidated regiment fought under the colors of the consolidated 5th/13th Arkansas Regiment, because this was one of the only colors not captured when Govan's Brigade was overrun at the Battle of Jonesboro. The flag of the combined 5th/13th Arkansas was issued in March 1864 and was captured by Benjamin Newman of the 88th Illinois Infantry at the battle of Franklin. The consolidated regiment numbered just 300 rifles and sustained 66% casualties during the Battle of Franklin.

The remnants of Govan's Brigade that survived the Tennessee Campaign remained with the Army of Tennessee through its final engagements in the 1865 Carolinas Campaign. The Confederacy had only one medal for valor, the Confederate Medal of Honor (a.k.a. Southern Cross of Honor). Twenty seven soldiers of the 1st Arkansas Infantry were awarded the medal, although the Confederacy lacked the funds to manufacture the actual medals. The 1st Arkansas Infantry took part in the following engagements:

• First Battle of Bull Run, Virginia, July 21, 1861
• Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, April 6–7, 1862.
• Siege of Corinth, April to June 1862.
• Kentucky Campaign, Kentucky, August – October, 1862.
  • Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862.
• Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, December 31, 1862 to January 3, 1863.
• Tullahoma Campaign, June 1863.
  • Battle of Liberty Gap, Tennessee, June 24–26, 1863.
• Chickamauga Campaign, Georgia, August–September, 1863.
  • Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, September 19–20, 1863.
• Chattanooga Campaign, September to November 1863.
  • Battle of Missionary Ridge, Tennessee, November 25, 1863.
  • Battle of Ringgold Gap, Georgia, November 27, 1863.
• Atlanta Campaign, May to September 1864.
  • Battle of Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia, May 5–11, 1864.
  • Battle of Resaca, Georgia, May 14–15, 1864.
  • Battle of New Hope Church, Georgia, May 25 to June 4, 1864.
  • Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, June 27, 1864.
  • Battle of Peachtree Creek, Georgia, July 20, 1864.
  • Siege of Atlanta, Georgia, July 22, 1864.
  • Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia, August 31 to September 1, 1864.
• Franklin–Nashville Campaign, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, September 18 to December 27, 1864.
  • Battle of Spring Hill, Tennessee, November 29, 1864.
  • Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864.
  • Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, December 15–16, 1864.
• Carolinas Campaign, February to April 1865.
  • Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, March 19–21, 1865.