The 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment, also known as the "Third Arkansas", was a line infantry formation of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.
Mustered into Confederate service in 1861 under Colonel Albert Rust, and later falling under the command of Colonel Van. H. Manning, the Arkansas regiment was part of the Army of Northern Virginia, serving under General Robert E. Lee. The Third Arkansas served for the duration of the war, from the late months of 1861, through to its surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865.
It was the only Arkansas regiment to serve the entire war in the Eastern Theater, where most of the major American Civil War battles were fought, and the only one from the state to initially sign up for the duration of the war, with all other regiments from the state opting for twelve-month 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. H. Manning who would later command the regiment. Early in May, 1861, Dr. W. H. Tebbs, Captain of a volunteer company raised on Bayou Bartholomew, in Ashley county, and Captain Van. H. Manning, the captain of a company organized at Hamburg, in Ashley County, went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, in order to tender the services of their two companies, for service in the Confederate Army. They contacted Leroy P. Walker, Confederate Secretary of War, at Montgomery, by telegraph and received his reply declining the offer of the two companies, separate from a regiment. They then went to Montgomery, and Manning enlisted the help of Arkansas Confederate Senator Albert Rust. Rust help gain the acceptance as a part of the Confederate Army, conditioned on his raising the remaining companies needed to form a regiment. Rust, returned to Arkansas, and organized nine additional companies, and joined Captain Tebbs and Capt Manning in Virginia, where the regiment was mustered into service for the period of the war. The addition of nine companies made eleven when the regiment was organized. Tebbs' Company and Captain Mannings' were perhaps the first and only companies denied admission into the Confederate service, even for a day, and were the first companies enlisted for the war. When organized, the regiment was composed of 11 companies:
Company A — "The Arkansas Travelers", commanded by Captain W. H. Tebbs, organized at Portland, Ashley county. On September 25, 1862, forty-two members of disbanded Company L—also from Ashley county—were assigned to this company. During its four years of service, 147 men served in Company A. Only twenty of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company A", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 2012 Company B — "The Berlin Beauregards", commanded by Captain Capers, organized at Berlin, Ashley county. During its four years of service, 110 men served in Company B, only eight of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company B", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 2012 Company C — "The Confederate Stars", commanded by Captain Thomas M. Whittington, organized at Monticello, Drew county. During its four years of service, 154 men served in Company C, only thirteen of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company C", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 2012 Company D — "The Selma Rifles", commanded by Captain R. S. Taylor, organized at Selma, Drew county. During its four years of service, 83 men served in Company D, only eight of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company D", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 2012 Company E — "The Champagnolle Guards", commanded by Captain Thomas F. Nolan, organized at Champagnolle, Union county. On July 18, 1862, twenty-eight members of disbanded Company C, Second Arkansas Infantry Battalion, which was also from Union county, were assigned to this company. During its four years of service, 131 men served in Company E, only twenty of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company E", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 201 Company F — "The Hot Spring Hornets", commanded by Captain Daniel A. Newman, organized at Rockport, Hot Spring county. On July 18, 1862, thirty-three members of disbanded Company A, 2nd Arkansas Infantry Battalion, were assigned to this company; however, most of them were soon discharged for various wounds and illnesses. During its four years of service, 119 men served in Company F, only ten of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company F", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 2012 Company G — "The Three Creeks Rifles", commanded by Captain, later Major Reedy, organized at Three Creeks, Union county. On July 18, 1862, eighteen members of disbanded Company C, 2nd Arkansas Infantry Battalion—also from Union county—were assigned to this company. During its four years of service, 127 men served in Company G, only 23 of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company G", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 2012 Company H — "The Orphan Company", commanded by Captain Reed, a mixed Arkansas/Kentucky company. The fledgling company had only gathered 33 volunteers, only a third of that needed to constitute a full company. Two companies of Arkansas volunteers from Ashley county, passing through Nashville, Tennessee, on their way to Virginia to form the Third Arkansas Infantry, met Samuel V. Reid, of Kentucky, who had brought 30 of his fellow Kentuckians down to Tennessee, looking for a regiment to attach themselves to. It was proposed that the two groups of volunteers join forces to fit out a full company for the Third Arkansas. The commissioned and non-commissioned officer appointments would be equally divided among the two groups, with Reid becoming captain and Gibson becoming First Lieutenant. Accordingly, the Kentuckians enlisted at Nashville on June 10; the Arkansawyers enlisted at Tyro on June 15; and the new company traveled to Lynchburg, Virginia, where it was assigned to the Third Regiment, Arkansas Volunteers, as Company H, July 1861. Colonel Albert Rust, regimental commander, referred to the company as "my orphans", a name which the men adopted as "The Orphan Company". In keeping with its cosmopolitan nature, Company H also recruited quite a few Virginians during the war. During its four years of service, 116 men served in Company H, only nine of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company A", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 2012 Company I — "The Tulip Rifles", commanded by Captain Alexander, organized at Tulip, Dallas county. On July 18, 1862, thirty members of disbanded Company B, Second Arkansas Infantry Battalion, were assigned to this company. Company I was the only company in the Third Arkansas that made significant use of conscripts to reinforce its ranks. In March 1863, thirty farmers and furloughed soldiers from other regiments were conscripted at Camden, Arkansas, and sent to the company in Virginia. During its four years of service, 150 men served in Company I. Only thirteen of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company I", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 201 Company K — "The Ashley Volunteers", commanded by Captain Wilson Wilkins organized at Hamburg, Ashley county. During its four years of service, 134 men served in Company A, only twenty-four of them remained when the company was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company K", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 2012 Company L — "The Rust Guards", commanded by Captain Joseph H. Bell organized at Latonia, Ashley county (later consolidated with Company A). On September 25, 1862, the company was disbanded. Forty-two of its members were transferred to company A—also from Ashley county. A total of seventy-three men were carried on the rolls of Company L during its existence. Only ten of them remained when the regiment was surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Howerton, Bryan, "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, Company L", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 May 2012
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. M. 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 Third 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. 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.Collier, Calvin L. They'll Do to Tie To! - The Story of the Third Regiment, Arkansas Infantry, C.S.A., Little Rock, AR, CWRT Associates, 1988, reprint of 1959 ed. page 20. E553.5.3rd.C65 Once proven in combat, however, those opinions of them would change dramatically.Howerton Bryan R. "Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, CSA, A Brief History ", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 21 March 2012
The regiment was ordered to the mountains of West Virginia, where it performed arduous and discouraging service in the campaign on the Gauley and Cheat rivers. The regiment was engaged in the Battle of Cheat Mountain and the Battle of Greenbrier River. This was followed by hard marching under Stonewall Jackson (whom Col Rust later described as "an impracticable old schoolmaster who said grace before he ate and prayed before going to bed") in the Valley Campaign. Under General Jackson at Winchester, in January, 1862, the Third Arkansas marched to Bath and Romney, returned to Winchester, and was ordered thence to Fredericksburg and assigned to the brigade of Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes. Colonel Rust was promoted to Brigadier-General about this time, and was transferred to a command in the western armies. Van. Manning was promoted to the Colonel of the regiment succeeding Rust.
The Third Arkansas was engaged in the battles of White Oak Swamp, June 3, 1862, in J.G. Walker's brigade, on July 1, 1862, participated in the battle of Malvern Hill.