Confederate Regiments & Batteries * Arkansas
The 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment was formed in June of 1861 in Virginia from volunteers who had made their way there. It was the only Arkansas regiment to serve in the eastern theater. The 3rd Arkansas Infantry served until it was surrendered at Appomattox. It mustered a total of 1,353 men during the Civil War. There is a monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield to the regiment.
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1861
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| May – June | Individual compaies were organized and made their way to Lynchburg, Virginia, where the regiment itself was organized and assigned field officers.
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| July 5 | Mustered into Confederate service “for three years or during the war.” under the command of Colonel Albert Rust. Lieutenant Colonel Seth M. Barton (West Point Class of 1849) was a Virginian and West Point graduate assigned to the regiment. Vannoy Hartog Manning, an Arkansas lawyer, was appointed major. |
| September 11 – 17 |
Cheat Mountain Campaign |
| November | Lieutenant Colonel Seth Barton resigned to become Chief Engineer of Jackson’s Division. |
| December 1 | Captain Thomas M. Whittington of Company C resigned. |
| December 10 | Captain Joseph D. Christian of Company L resigned. Lieutenant Epenetus O. Hundley was promoted to captain of Company L. |
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1862
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| January 1 – 28 |
Jackson’s Romney Expedition |
| January 4 | Captain George D. Alexander of Company I was wounded, losing his left arm. He left the regiment, was promoted to major, and became ordnance master at Camden, Arkansas. |
| January 14 | Captain Epenetus O. Hundley of Company L died of disease in Winchester, Virginia. |
| February 11 | Joseph H. Bell of Company K was appointed captain of Company L. |
| March 3 | Lieutenant Drury H. Ket of Company B was appointed captain of Company E. |
| March 4 | Colonel Rust was promoted to Brigadier General and transferred to the Western Theater. Lieutenant Colonel Barton was also promoted to Brigadier General. |
| March 11 | Major Manning was promoted to Colonel. Captain William H. Tebbs of Company A was promoted to lieutenant colonel and Captain James H. Capers of Company B was promoted to major. Lieutenant Sampson L. Harris was promoted to Captain of Company A. |
| April 23 | Major James Capers resigned and Captain Robert S. Taylor of Company D was promoted to major. |
| May 31 – June 1 |
Battle of Seven Pines (Fair Oaks) |
| June – July |
Seven Day’s Battles |
| June 24 | Lieutenant Samuel Webb Smith was elected captain of Company I. |
| July 18 | The 133 survivors of the 2nd Arkansas Infantry Battalion were merged into the regiment. Thirty members of the battalion’s Company B were assigned to the regiment’s Company I, and 18 members of the battalions’ Company C were assigned to the regiment’s Company G. |
| September |
Maryland CampaignThe regiment suffered 182 casualties during the campaign. |
| September 13 |
Siege of Harpers Ferry |
| September 17 |
Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam)Colonel Manning was wounded commanding the brigade. Captain John Reedy led the regiment, which fought in the Sunken Road. Companies A and L were almost wiped out. From the first of two markers for Manning’s Brigade on the Antietam battlefield:Manning’s Brigade reached Sharpsburg on the afternoon of September 16 and was held in reserve until daybreak of the 17th, when it took position opposite Snavely’s Ford on the Antietam, one and a half miles from town. Between 8 and 9 A.M., it moved to the left and supported McLaws in his attack on the enemy in the West Woods. Arriving on the rise of ground 300 yards west of this point, the 3d Arkansas and 27th North Carolina formed to hold the open space between the West Woods and the left of D.H. Hill’s Division east of this road. The remainder of the Brigade advanced on the right of Ransom’s Brigade to and beyond the road at the Dunkard Church, where it was repulsed. The 3d Arkansas and 27th North Carolina co-operated in expelling Greene’s Division from the woods about the church, after which they crossed the road and advanced through the fields to the east, but were repulsed and resumed their original position and were not again engaged. From the second of two markers for Manning’s Brigade on the Antietam battlefield:(September 17, 1862.) About 10:20 A.M., the 30th Virginia, 46th and 48th North Carolina charged from the woods beyond the Dunkard Church to capture Tompkins’ Rhode Island Battery on the high ground east of the church. The 30th Virginia crossed the road at this point, filed to the right across the two fences of the Smoketown Road and over the rock ledge occupied by the Maryland monument to the depression at the base of the ridge, where it was checked by the right of Greene’s Division and Artillery. At the same time the 46th North Carolina passed either side of the church, crossed the road and mingled with the 30th Virginia. After a very short struggle both Regiments were repulsed with great loss and retreated through the West Woods. The 46th North Carolina upon reaching the road north of this point was checked by Artillery fire from the front and fell back upon the advance of Greene’s Division into the woods around the church. The loss in the three Regiments was 77 killed, 387 wounded, and 41 missing. The 30th Virginia lost over 68 percent of its men. Captain Sampson L. Harris of Company A was mortally wounded. Lieutenant Thomas D. Ferris of Company F was wounded. |
| September 18 | Lieutenant Bart W. Johnson was promoted to captain of Company A. |
| September 25 | Company L was disbanded and its 42 survivors were transferred into Company A. |
| October 2 | Captain Joseph H. Bell of Company L resigned. |
| October 28 | Captain Drury H. Key of Company E resigned. Lieutenant Barnard H. Tucker was promoted to captain of Company E. |
| November 20 | Lieutenant Mark Williams of Company C died of disease at Madison Court House, Virginia. |
| November 26 | The regiment was transferred to the Texas Brigade in Hood’s Division, Longstreet’s Command for the rest of the war, where it was sometimes referred to as the “3rd Texas.” |
| December 10 | Lieutenant William H. Keesee of Company B died of smallpox in Richmond. |
| December 12-15 |
Battle of Fredericksburg |
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1863
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| January 11 | Lieutenant Colonel Tebbs resigned due to urgent personal reasons. Major Robert S. Taylor was promoted to lieutenant colonel and Captain John W. Reedy of Company G was promoted to major. |
| January 19 | Lieutenant Alexander C. Jones of Company G was promoted to captain. |
| January 20 | Captain Barnard H. Tucker of Company E was released from service. |
| February 1 | Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Taylor was sent to Arkansas on recruiting service. |
| February 12 | Lieutenant Lafayette J. Allen was promoted to captain of Company H. |
| April 11 – May 6 |
Suffolk CampaignThe regiment lost 3 men killed and 29 wounded |
| April 18 | Lieutenant Thomas D. Ferris of Company F resigned. |
| July 1-3 |
Battle of GettysburgThe regiment brought 479 men to Gettysburg under Colonel Van H. Manning. It lost 43 men killed, 101 wounded, and 40 missing or captured. Colonel Manning was wounded, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert S. Taylor took command. From the State of Texas monument at Gettysburg: From near this spot the Texas Brigade at about 4:30 p.m. on July 2 crossed Emmitsburg Road and advanced with Hood’s Division across Plum Run toward Little Round Top. The Texas Brigade after severe fighting on the slopes of Little Round Top retired to a position on the south side of Devil’s Den. The Brigade held this position the night of July 2 and during the day on July 3 then fell back to a position near this memorial on the evening of July 3. On the field at Gettysburg the Texas Brigade suffered 597 casualties. Captain Lafayette J. Allen of Company H was killed. Captain Samuel Webb Smith of Company I was wounded in both legs, and Captain Bart Johnson of Company A was wounded. Lieutenants John A Cameron and Thomas J. Hadley of Company A were wounded. |
| July 10 | Captain Daniel A. Newman of Company F resigned. |
| September 1 | Lewis P. Burler was appointed Lieutenant and Adjutant. |
| September | Transferred with Hood’s Division to the Army of the Tennessee. |
| September 18- 21 |
Battle of ChickamaugaMajor John Reedy was killed. Captain William K. Wilkins of Company K was promoted to major and took command of the regiment, and Captain Warren W. Worthington of Company G was killed. |
| November 17 – December 4 |
Siege of Knoxville |
| November 4 | Lieutenant Henry A. Butler of Company I was elected Captain and Adjutant. |
| November 29 |
Assault on Forts Saunders and Loudoun (Battle of Knoxville) |
| December 30 | Adjutant Lewis P. Burler retired to the Invalid Corps. |
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1864
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| January | Captain Bart Johnson of Compan A was furoughed to Arkansas but was captured in Louisiana and never returned to the regiment. |
| January 16-17 & 26-28 | Operations about Dandridge, Tennessee |
| April | Returned from Tennessee to Virginia and rejoined the Army of Northern Virginia. |
| May 6 |
Battle of the WildernessThe regiment took part in the “Lee to the Rear” incident before charging with the Texas Brigade to plug a gap in the Confederate line. Colonel Manning was badly wounded in the right thigh and captured. He would remain a Federal prisoner until the end of the war. Lieutenant Colonel Robert S. Taylor was badly wounded in his side, but recovered to take over command of the regiment. Major William K. Wilkins was killed. Captain Alexander C. Jones of Company G was badly wounded in hs right arm. Lieutenant Benjamin T. Allen was badly wounded in his arm. Captain Samuel W. Smith of Company I was promoted to major and Lieutenant Benjamin T, Allen was elected captain of Company I. |
| May 8-21 |
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House |
| May 22-26 |
Battle of North Anna |
| June 1-12 |
Battles around Cold Harbor |
| June 1864 – April 1865 |
Siege of Petersburg |
| June 27 – 29 |
Deep Bottom, New Market Road and Strawberry Plains |
| July 14 | Captain Bart Johnson was relieved as captain of Company A for absence without leave, having been captured while on furlough. Lieutenant Thomas J. Hadley was promoted to captain of Company A. |
| July 16 | Captain Thomas J. Hadley was of Company A was badly wounded in the head. He would spend the rest of the war in the hospital. |
| August 6 |
Deep Run |
| August 13 – 20 |
Deep Bottom, New Market Road and Darbytown Road |
| October 27-28 |
Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road |
| November 6 | Captain and Adjutant Henry M Butler retired to the Invalid Corps. |
| December 3 | Major Samuel Webb Smith retired to the Invalid Corps due to his wounds. |
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1865
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| March 17 | Captain Benjamin T. Allen of Company I retired to the Invalid Corps. |
| April 4 |
Retreat from RichmondLieutenant William D. Scroggin was captured. |
| April 6-7 |
High Bridge and Farmville |
| April 9 |
Appomattox Court HouseThe regiment surrendered 15 officers and 130 men under Lieutenant Colonel Robert Samuel Taylor:
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