4th Arkansas Infantry

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 4th Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)


caption=Arkansas state flag
dates= 1861 to 1865
country= Confederate States of America
allegiance= CSA
branch= Infantry
equipment=
battles=Battle of Murfreesboro
Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Wilson's Creek
Battle of Pea Ridge
Battle of Richmond
Battle of Franklin

4th Arkansas Infantry (1861-1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment from the state of Arkansas during the American Civil War.

Immediately following the outbreak of the Civil War, Arkansas formed some 48 infantry regiments, along with a number of cavalry units and artillery batteries. The 4th Arkansas originated in Mount Ida, Arkansas, and was recruited for and organized from soldiers hailing from Polk, Montgomery, Hempstead, Calhoun and Lafayette counties. Immediately after formation, the regiment marched from Mount Ida to Mount Vernon, Missouri, a total of 261 miles, where they offered themselves to the Confederacy for service. They were initially placed under the command of Colonel Evander McNair, who would lead them during the Battle of Wilson's Creek, then later at the Battle of Pea Ridge, and who would later become Brigadier General, after which the 4th Arkansas became a part of his brigade.

For a time they were attached to the forces of General Sterling Price, then later fell under General Kirby Smith. In early 1862 they took part in the First Battle of Chattanooga, then would go on the offensive with the forces of General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee during the Kentucky Campaign, and would fight in the Battle of Richmond, immediately following that with fighting at the Battle of Murfreesboro. In September, 1863, they were fighting under the direction of General James Longstreet during the Battle of Chickamauga. McNair was badly wounded during the battle, and the brigade as a whole suffered heavy casualties.

Through most of 1864 the regiment and the rest of their brigade were in Georgia as a part of the force attempting to stop Sherman's March, seeing sporatic action during this period, mostly in hit-and-run skirmishes. By November of that year they had been sent back to Tennessee, where they fought at the Battle of Franklin. It was their last major action. Fighting in small skirmishes and minor actions between the months of December, 1864, and March, 1865, the regiment surrendered in Greensboro, North Carolina on April 26th, 1865.

References

* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~armontgo/fourth.htm Battle Actions and History of the 4th Arkansas Infantry, CSA]
* [http://www.civilwararchive.com/Confedreg/confedar.htm Arkansas Confederate Regimental Histories]