Solon Borland - Civil War Service, Death

Civil War Service, Death

At the start of the Civil War, Borland was appointed as a commander of the state militia by Arkansas Governor Henry Massie Rector, and ordered to lead the expedition that seized Fort Smith, Arkansas, in the first days of the war, despite the fact that Arkansas had not yet seceded. By the time Borland and his forces arrived in Fort Smith, the Federal troops had already departed, and there were no shots fired. He was replaced as commander at the Arkansas Secession convention less than a month later, but he was able to obtain a position as a commander for Northeast Arkansas. For a time in 1861 he commanded the depot at Pitman's Ferry, near Pocahontas, Arkansas, responsible for troop deployments and supplies. His only son with his third wife, George Godwin Borland, had joined the Confederate Army despite being only 16 years of age, and would later be killed in action.

Borland helped recruit troops for the Confederate States Army during this period, and helped raise the "3rd Arkansas Cavalry" on June 10, 1861, and became its first colonel. The regiment was sent to Corinth, Mississippi, but without Borland. The regiment would eventually serve under Major General Joseph Wheeler, seeing action in the Second Battle of Corinth and the Battle of Hatchie's Bridge, along with other battles as a part of the Army of Mississippi. However, Borland never left Arkansas.

While in his command position for the Northern Arkansas Militia, he ordered an embargo of goods to end price speculation, which was rescinded by Governor Rector. Borland protested that a governor could not countermand an order from a Confederate official, but in January 1862 his order was countermanded by the Confederate States Secretary of War at the time, Judah P. Benjamin. In declining health and resenting that embarrassment, Borland resigned from further service to the Confederacy in June, 1862, moving to Dallas County, Arkansas. Borland died before the war's end, in Harris County, Texas. His burial place is in Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In 1962, the town of Frenchport, Arkansas, began hosting "Solon Borland Daze," a community festival dedicated to recalling the life and achievements of the U.S. senator and his French-Creole mistress, after whom the town is named.