3rd Arkansas Infantry

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 3rd Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)


caption=Arkansas state flag
dates= 1861 to 1865
country= Confederate States of America
allegiance= CSA
branch= Infantry
equipment=
battles=Battle of Cheat Mountain
Battle of Seven Pines
Seven Days Battle
Battle of Harpers Ferry
Battle of Antietam
Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of Chickamauga
Knoxville Campaign
Battle of Spotsylvania
Battle of Cold Harbor
Appomattox Campaign

3rd Arkansas, or 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (May, 1861-April 12, 1865) was a Confederate Army regiment during the American Civil War, and the most celebrated unit from that state. Formed and initially commanded by Colonel Albert Rust, and later falling under the command of Colonel Van H. Manning, the regiment was part of the Army of Northern Virginia serving under General Robert E. Lee. The regiment served for the duration of the war, from the late months of 1861 through to the Surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865. They were the only Arkansas regiment to serve the entire war in the east, where most of the major battles were fought. They were also the only Arkansas regiment to initially sign up for the duration of the war, with all other regiments from that state signing on for a one year enlistment. Another Arkansas regiment, the 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles, would later, near the end of the war, sign extended "three year or the duration of the war" enlistments.

Formation

The regiment was formed in May and June 1861, initially by Dr. W. H. Tebbs, who would be appointed a captain, and Van Manning who would later command the regiment. The regiment was raised from several companies originating from recruitment in Ashley, Drew, Union, Dallas and Hot Spring counties, making up eleven companies, and including one company mixed with Arkansans from other counties as well as Kentucky and Tennessee recruits. The regiment was then marched to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where they were offered to the Confederacy by Van Manning. Initially, they were turned down. However, Manning enlisted the help of Arkansas politician Albert Rust, whose brothers James and Robert were members of the regiment. Through persistence the regiment was then accepted as a part of the Confederate Army, to serve for the duration of the war. Albert Rust was appointed colonel, and the regiment was sent to Lynchburg, Virginia for military training. While in Virginia, command level officers with formal military training were assigned to the regiment, to include West Point graduate Seth Maxwell Barton who was assigned as lieutenant colonel, and with Virginia Military Institute graduate Thomas Middleton Semmes assigned as regimental adjutant. The regiment was then attached to General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, and deployed to the area of what would soon after become West Virginia. By mid-1862, the regiment was under the command of Van Manning following Albert Rust's promotion to Brigadier General, with William H. Tebbs being promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Battle actions

From its induction into the Confederate Army, the 3rd Arkansas would go on to become one of the most distinguished and well respected Confederate regiments of the war. However, prior to their first battle actions, the first impressions of them by their fellow Confederates were, by written accounts since, not good to say the least. In several accounts, relayed by author and historian Mauriel P. Joslyn, the regiment was first seen as a poorly dressed and poorly equipped lot of ignorant country boys. Similar accounts are recorded in "They'll Do to Tie To! - The Story of the Third Regiment, Arkansas Infantry, C.S.A.", by Calvin L. Collier. Once proven in combat, however, those opinions of them would change dramatically.

The regiment took part in almost every major eastern battle, decimating their ranks by the wars end, to include the Battle of Cheat Mountain, Battle of Seven Pines, Seven Days Battle, Battle of Harpers Ferry, Battle of Antietam, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of the Wilderness, and the Battle of Chickamauga. In almost every battle the 3rd Arkansas fought as a part of the Texas Brigade, which as a brigade would also become well respected, distinguishing itself in numerous combat actions, and which also included the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas regiments. The 3rd Arkansas acquired a reputation as tenacious fighters, often finding themselves in the thickest fighting on the battlefield, such as their presence at the "sunken road" during the Battle of Antietam. Their most famous action was while serving as a part of the Texas Brigade during the Battle of Gettysburg, at the Devil's Den, where they took heavy casualties while serving under General John Bell Hood. The regiment was commended for gallantry in that action, while under the direct command of Brigadier General Jerome B. Robertson. Mauriel P. Joslyn later described the heroism of the 3rd Arkansas at Gettysburg in "For Ninety Nine Years or the War" The Story of the 3rd Arkansas at Gettysburg". The regiment suffered even heavier casualties later in the Battle of the Wilderness, during which they lost many of their commanding officers in addition to heavy losses in their ranks. In that battle they lost Colonel Van Manning and Lt. Col. Robert Samuel Taylor, both of whom were badly wounded and captured, in addition to Major William K. Wilkins who was killed in action. By the end of the war, the Texas Brigade as a whole, which included the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas, and the 3rd Arkansas, had only 617 men remaining out of a total of 5,353. When General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, only 144 men of the 3rd Arkansas remained out of the 1,353 mustered into it from the start of the war.

References

* [http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/3rd-his.html 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA]
* [http://members.cox.net/preston1863/history.html History of the 3rd Arkansas]
* [http://www.texas-brigade.com/3ark.htm 3rd Arkansas, Texas Brigade]
* [http://www.civilwarhome.com/robertsongettysburgor.htm 3rd Arkansas at Devil's Den]
* [http://www.morningsidebooks.com/cgi/bookshop/articles.cgi?cat=2&issue=14&article=5&userid=$id "For Ninety Nine Years or the War" The Story of the 3rd Arkansas at Gettysburg]
* [http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/welch/ar_infy.htm Arkansas Confederate regimental histories]
* [http://www.texas-brigade.com/3arkf&s.htm Confederate Officers of the 3rd Arkansas, CSA]
* [http://pages.suddenlink.net/camp246/3rdhist.htm 3rd Arkansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment]
* [http://ranger95.com/civil_war/arkansas_csa/infantry/3rd_ark_inf_regt.html 3rd Arkansas roster]
* [http://www.researchonline.net/arcw/mastindx.htm Arkansas Civil War Soldiers Index]
* [http://www.civilwarhome.com/chattanoogaorderofbattle(confed).htm Order of Battle, Battle of Chattanooga]