22nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment
Encyclopedia
The 22nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment was a Confederate Army infantry
regiment
during the American Civil War
(1862–1865). This was the second regiment to be officially designated as the 22nd Arkansas. The first was mustered in at DeValls Bluff, Arkansas, on April 9, 1862, was later reorganized as the 20th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
.
The 17th Arkansas Infantry was orgionally composed of volunteer companies from the following counties:
Whatever the truth behind the regiment's retreat and break up following the Battle of Pea Ridge, by early May 1862, portions of Companies A, B, C, and G were still in Arkansas with Colonel Rector, and the remaining companies were at Corinth, Mississippi, with the Army of the West. Lieutenant Colonel John Griffith commanded a battalion-sized 17th Arkansas at the battle of Corinth, and this portion of the regiment would go on to form the famous 11th/17th Consolidated Mounted Infantry.
Meanwhile, back in Arkansas, Governor Henry Massey Rector
issued an address on May 5, 1862 calling for the formation of 30 new infantry companies and 20 new cavalry companies. Most of the states' militia regiments had conducted their final recorded militia muster during the last week of February and the first week of March 1862. Rector indicated that if there were insufficient volunteers to fill these new companies, a draft would be made upon the militia regiments and brigades. As a further enticement, Rector also indicated that these regiments were for home defense and that they would not be transferred to Confederate Service without their consent. During the spring and summer following this final muster, many former militiamen joined one of the newly formed Volunteer Regiments. It may be that the militiamen decided it was better to enlist and remain together than to wait for forced conscription under new Confederate Conscription laws, which were being strictly enforced during the summer of 1862. Rector's much reduced former regiment, the remaining portions of Companies A, B, C, and G, were reinforced with troops, many of whom were came from the from the 58th Regiment Arkansas Militia regiment of Franklin County, the 15th Regiment Arkansas Militia of Pope County, and the 10th Militia Regiment of Johnson County.
The reorganized regiment consisted of the following companies:
and Brook's 34th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
. . Adams' 3rd Arkansas, after breaking under fire at the Battle of Prairie Grove and being ordered broken up, never assumed its intended Confederate designation of 36th Arkansas Infantry and that designation eventually went to McRae's old 28th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
in the reorganization of the Confederate Army following the Battle of Prairie Grove.
The regiment was was consolidated into four companies after the Little Rock campaign.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
(1862–1865). This was the second regiment to be officially designated as the 22nd Arkansas. The first was mustered in at DeValls Bluff, Arkansas, on April 9, 1862, was later reorganized as the 20th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
20th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
The 20th Arkansas Infantry was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was also known as the 22nd Arkansas Infantry.-Organization:...
.
Organization
The second regiment designated as the 22nd Arkansas Infantry was the unit originally known as the 17th (Rector's) Infantry Regiment, which was organized at Fort Smith, Arkansas, November 17, 1861. Its commanding officers were Colonels Frank Rector, James P. King and Henry J. McCord, Lieutenant Colonel John W. Wallace, and Majors John J. Dillard and Mark T. Tatum. The regiment was originally composed of eight companies mostly from Sebastian County and the surrounding area.The 17th Arkansas Infantry was orgionally composed of volunteer companies from the following counties:
- Company A—Sebastian County
- Company B—Sebastian County
- Company C—Sebastian County
- Company D—Washington County
- Company E—Washington County
- Company F—Sebastian County
- Company G—Madison County
- Company H—Hempstead County (Hempstead Rifles Number 2) (Originally in 3rd Regiment, Arkansas State Troops3rd Regiment, Arkansas State TroopsThe 3rd Infantry, Arkansas State Troops was an Arkansas State infantry regiment that served during the American Civil War. The regiment was designated as the 2nd Infantry, Arkansas State Troops, by the State Military Board, but it was named the 3rd Arkansas by Brigadier General Nicholas Bartlett...
)
Battles
The regiment's first major action was the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862 where, from some accounts, Rector's regiment did not acquit itself well. A Missouri (Confederate) artillery battery allegedly found the regiment's colors laying on the field, and for a time refused to return the flag to Rector, saying that a regiment that would abandon its colors in battle had no right to carry them after the battle. Another account of the 17th Arkansas's conduct at the Battle of Pea Ridge was given in 1895 in a letter from former Captain Ben B. Chism to Mrs. Harlow Bishop of Junction City, Texas:Whatever the truth behind the regiment's retreat and break up following the Battle of Pea Ridge, by early May 1862, portions of Companies A, B, C, and G were still in Arkansas with Colonel Rector, and the remaining companies were at Corinth, Mississippi, with the Army of the West. Lieutenant Colonel John Griffith commanded a battalion-sized 17th Arkansas at the battle of Corinth, and this portion of the regiment would go on to form the famous 11th/17th Consolidated Mounted Infantry.
Meanwhile, back in Arkansas, Governor Henry Massey Rector
Henry Massey Rector
Henry Massey Rector was the sixth Governor of the state of Arkansas.Henry Massey Rector was born near Louisville, Kentucky. Rector was educated by his mother and attended one year of school at Louisville. He moved to Arkansas in 1835. Rector served as U.S...
issued an address on May 5, 1862 calling for the formation of 30 new infantry companies and 20 new cavalry companies. Most of the states' militia regiments had conducted their final recorded militia muster during the last week of February and the first week of March 1862. Rector indicated that if there were insufficient volunteers to fill these new companies, a draft would be made upon the militia regiments and brigades. As a further enticement, Rector also indicated that these regiments were for home defense and that they would not be transferred to Confederate Service without their consent. During the spring and summer following this final muster, many former militiamen joined one of the newly formed Volunteer Regiments. It may be that the militiamen decided it was better to enlist and remain together than to wait for forced conscription under new Confederate Conscription laws, which were being strictly enforced during the summer of 1862. Rector's much reduced former regiment, the remaining portions of Companies A, B, C, and G, were reinforced with troops, many of whom were came from the from the 58th Regiment Arkansas Militia regiment of Franklin County, the 15th Regiment Arkansas Militia of Pope County, and the 10th Militia Regiment of Johnson County.
Re-organized as the 1st Regiment
Colonel Rector's new reinforced regiment, in accordance with Governor Rector's plan of maintaining the organization as a regiment of state troops, was initially organized at Camp Johnson, on July 11, 1862, near Fort Smith, Arkansas as the "1st Regiment, Northwest Division, Trans-Mississippi Department" with 1037 men. They were also called Rector's War Regiment, 1st Arkansas Volunteers.The reorganized regiment consisted of the following companies:
- Company A – Sebastian County (included men from Griffith's 17th Arkansas)
- Company B – Sebastian County
- Company C – Sebastian County
- Company D – Sebastian County
- Company E – Franklin County (Men from the 58th Regiment Militia of Franklin County)
- Company F – Benton County (this is the new Co. F)
- Company G – Crawford County
- Company H – Pope County (men from 15th Arkansas Militia Regiment of Pope County)
- Company I – Johnson County (men from 10th Arkansas militia of Johnson County)
- Company K – Madison County (men from 16th, 17th and Stirman's Battalion)
Redesignated as the 35th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
Two other new regiments were raised under Governor Rector's plan, Brooks' 2nd Arkansas and Adams' 3rd Arkansas. These Regiments participated in the Battle of Prairie Grove under these state designations. When finally inducted into State Service, these regiments would become Rector's 35th Arkansas Infantry Regiment35th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
-External links:* * * *...
and Brook's 34th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
34th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
The 34th Arkansas Infantry was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment was originally designated by the state military board as the 2nd Regiment, Northwest Division, District of Arkansas....
. . Adams' 3rd Arkansas, after breaking under fire at the Battle of Prairie Grove and being ordered broken up, never assumed its intended Confederate designation of 36th Arkansas Infantry and that designation eventually went to McRae's old 28th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
28th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
-External links:* * * * -See also:* List of Arkansas Civil War Confederate units* Lists of American Civil War Regiments by State* Confederate Units by State* Arkansas in the American Civil War* Arkansas Militia in the Civil War...
in the reorganization of the Confederate Army following the Battle of Prairie Grove.
Re-designated as the 22nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment
For reasons that remain unclear the regiment was then re-designated as the 22nd Arkansas Infantry (not to be confused with an earlier 22nd Arkansas, which was redesignated as the 20th Arkansas). The date of this redesignation from the 35th to the 22nd Arkansas is unclear.Battles following Prairie Grove
The 35th/22nd Arkansas Infantry was involved in the following engagements:- Battle of HelenaBattle of HelenaThe Battle of Helena was a land battle of the American Civil War fought on July 4, 1863, at Helena, Arkansas. Overshadowed by the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the Battle of Helena secured eastern Arkansas for the Union.- Union forces :...
, Arkansas, July 4, 1863 - Battle of Little Rock, Arkansas, September 10, 1863
- Battle of Jenkins' FerryBattle of Jenkins' FerryThe Battle of Jenkins' Ferry was fought April 30, 1864, in Grant County, Arkansas during the American Civil War. It was the climactic battle of the Camden Expedition, which was a part of the Union Army’s failed Red River Campaign. Each side sustained a large number of casualties, especially...
on April 30, 1864
The regiment was was consolidated into four companies after the Little Rock campaign.
See also
- List of Arkansas Civil War Confederate units
- Lists of American Civil War Regiments by State
- Confederate Units by State
- Arkansas in the American Civil WarArkansas in the American Civil WarThe state of Arkansas was a part of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, and provided a source of troops, supplies, and military and political leaders for the fledgling country. Arkansas had become the 25th state of the United States, on June 15, 1836, entering as a...
- Arkansas Militia in the Civil WarArkansas Militia in the Civil WarThe units of the Arkansas Militia in the Civil War included militia organizations to which the current Arkansas National Guard has a connection: the militia, Home Guard, and State Troop regiments raised by the State of Arkansas. Like most of the United States, Arkansas had an organized militia...