1st Arkansas Cavalry (Union)

1st Arkansas Union Cavalry (1862 - 1865) was a cavalry regiment from the state of Arkansas that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although Arkansas had joined the Confederate States of America in 1861, not all of its citizens supported secession. Arkansas formed some 48 Confederate Army infantry regiments, along with several cavalry regiments and artillery batteries. However, citizens of that state also formed some 11 Union Army infantry regiments, and another 6 cavalry regiments along with 2 artillery batteries.

The 1st Arkansas Cavalry was formed in Springfield, Missouri in July, 1862. They immediately returned to Arkansas due to roaming bands of Confederate guerrilla's that were harassing Union sympathizers, seeing brief skirmishes in that realm. Following the Battle of Pea Ridge, Union forces briefly occupied parts of Northern Arkansas, but following the Union forces moving their headquarters to Independence County, Arkansas, many Union supporting families were once again left exposed, leading many of them to move north to Missouri.

The 1st Arkansas Union Cavalry's first combat action in battle was during the Battle of Prairie Grove, on December 7, 1862. They performed very poorly in this battle. A sudden Confederate surging attack during that battle had sent two regiments of Missouri cavalry fleeing through the ranks of the 1st Arkansas Cavalry, and with hundreds of their Union comrades fleeing, the 1st Arkansas Cavalry also fled. In the ensuing panic, several hundred Missouri and Arkansas troops streamed to the rear. Following this embarrassing performance, the regiment was assigned to garrison duty in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Confederate forces under the command of Brigadier General William Lewis Cabell attacked that garrison on April 18, 1863. Both the attacking forces and the defending forces were made up entirely of Arkansas regiments. After a three hour battle, and unable to break the Union lines, the Confederates retreated. This action was a great boost to the morale of the 1st Arkansas Union Cavalry. For the remainder of the war the regiment would serve as a counter-guerrilla force, and as escort for wagon supply trains. They were mustered out of service in August, 1865. During their service, their casualties were extremely light compared to many other units. Of the 1,765 men that served in the regiment, they'd suffered 110 killed, with another 235 dying from either disease or accident.

References

* [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1168 1st Arkansas Union Cavalry]
* [http://www.civilwararchive.com/unionar.htm Union Regiments from Arkansas]