The 7th Arkansas Infantry Regiment was an infantry formation of the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

Organized mainly from companies, including several prewar volunteer militia companies, raised in northeastern Arkansas, the regiment was among the first transferred to Confederate service, and spent virtually the entire war serving east of the Mississippi River. After the unit sustained heavy casualties in the Battle of Shiloh and the Kentucky Campaign, the unit spent most of the rest of the war field consolidated with the 6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment to form the 6th/7th Arkansas Infantry Regiment.

Formation The 7th Arkansas was mustered into state service on June 16, 1861, at Smithville in Lawrence County, Arkansas. The unit was inducted into Confederate service in July 1861 at Camp Shaver, near Pocahontas, Arkansas.

The regimental staff at the time of organization of the 7th Arkansas were:Col. John M. Harrell, "Confederate Military History, a library of Confederate States", Military History: Volume 10.2, Arkansas Clement Anselm Evans, ed., p. 301, Accessed July 21, 2011, Colonel Robert G. Shaver, formerly Colonel of the 60th Arkansas Militia Regiment, of Lawrence County.Kie Oldham Papers, Arkansas History Commission, Little Rock, Arkansas, box 2, items 134a. See also Arkansas Military Department Records, List of Commissioned Officers of the Militia 1827–1862, Arkansas History Commission, Microfilm Roll 00000038-8, p. 518 Lieutenant Colonel William R. Cain Major James T. Martin Adjutant John M. Dean Quartermaster H. C. Tunsell Commissary John S. Shaver Surgeon Dr. Bohannon Assistant Surgeon Dr. Hoadley

The company officers at the time of organization were: Company A, of Randolph County, commanded by Captain Joseph C. Martin Company B, the "Glaize Rifles," of Jackson County, commanded by Captain George E. Orme.Howerton, Bryan, R. "COMPANY B 7TH Arkansas Infantry Regiment CSA". Edward Gerdes Civil War Home Page. Retrieved March 15, 2011. This unit was originally organized as a volunteer militia company in the 34th Arkansas Militia Regiment, Jackson County, on December 28, 1860.Arkansas Military Department Records, List of Commissioned Officers in State Militia 1827–1862, Microfilm Roll 00000038-8, Page Company C, of Marion county, commanded by Captain James Archer. Archer resigned before the company was mustered into service and was succeeded by Captain William M. Blackburn, whose date of rank was July 26, 1861, the date of muster. Company D, the "Dick Johnson Guards", of Lawrence county, commanded by Captain Carney C. Straughan.Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Western Arkansas, Goodspeed Publishers, 1891, Accessed March 2, 2011, This unit was originally organized as a volunteer militia company in the 60th Arkansas Militia Regiment, Lawrence County, on June 17, 1861.Arkansas Military Department Records, List of Commissioned Officers of the Militia 1827–1862, Arkansas History Commission, Microfilm Roll 00000038-8, p. 510 Company E, the "Pike Guards", of Independence County, commanded by Captain John H. Dye Company F, of Randolph county, commanded by Captain Thomas J. Mellon Company G, of Independence County, commanded by Captain Ganum Brightwell Company H, of Izard County, commanded by Captain D. G. Deason Company I, of Fulton county, commanded by Captain Michael V. Shaver Company K, the "Arkansas Guards" of White County, Captain John C. McCauleyArkansas Military Department Records, List of Commissioned Officers in State Militia 1827–1862, Microfilm Roll 00000038-8, p. 349 This unit was originally organized in September 1860, under the command of Captain, later Brigadier General, Dandridge McRea. The company participated in the seizure of the Little Rock Arsenal in February 1861 under the command of Captain McRea.

Lieutenant Colonel Cain resigned at Camp Shaver because of failing health, and was replaced by John M. Dean as lieutenant colonel and Jack Horne as adjutant. Commissary Shaver resigned at about the same time, and John D. Sprigg replaced him.

The unit's field officers were Colonels Robert G. Shaver and D. A. Gillespie; Lieutenant Colonels W. R. Cain, John M. Dean, James Rutherford, and Peter Snyder; and Majors John A. Hill, James T. Martin, and John C. McCauley.

The regiment was armed with weapons which the state confiscated when the Federal Arsenal at Little Rock was seized by Arkansas State Militia troops in February 1861. Disposition of the weapons found in the Arsenal is somewhat sketchy, but from various records it can be surmised that the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Arkansas Infantry Regiments, mustered in June, 1861, were issued M1816/M1822 .69 caliber flintlocks. They retained these weapons until April, 1862 when they were able to exchange them for better weapons scavenged from the battlefield at Shiloh.

The regiment remained in state service about six weeks, when General Hardee was ordered to make transfer of the state regiments into Confederate service. In making these transfers, nearly all the regiments lost the equivalent of a company, as some men declined to re-enlist for Confederate service and were discharged. The 7th Arkansas transferred with the loss of only 17 men who refused to re-enlist as "Confederate troops". Captain C. C. Straughan of Co. G and Captain James F. Archer of Co. H retired, and were replaced by Captain Warner and Captain Blackburn, respectively.

History The 7th Arkansas saw no action in the coming months, only taking part in a small raid into Missouri with General Hardee's Command. The 7th Arkansas was ordered to Pittman's Ferry, where it was drilled and disciplined by General Hardee in person until the last of August, when Hardee's brigade marched by land to Point Pleasant, MO on the Mississippi River, and then traveled by steamboat to the Confederate stronghold at Columbus, KY. By October 1861, the regiment, along with the rest of General Hardee's division had been sent to Columbus, Kentucky, to become the Army of Central Kentucky.United States. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 7., Book, 1882; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154610/m1/858/?q=Army of Mississippi : accessed June 27, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. From Columbus the brigade moved to Bowling Green, KY, in October, where it was assigned to the division commanded by General Simon B. Buckner. Here, Col. Shaver was appointed to command a newly formed brigade made up of the 7th and 8th Arkansas regiments, the 19th Tennessee, and a battalion of the 9th Arkansas. Shaver's Brigade remained at Bowling Green until February, 1862, when that place was evacuated.

After the losses of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February 1862, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston withdrew his forces into western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and Alabama to reorganize. Shaver's brigade guarded the Confederate rear during this retreat from Bowling Green, being shelled by the artillery of Buell's advance while the last trains of stores were being loaded. On leaving, Col. Shaver, by order of Gen. Hardee, burned the depot and took down the telegraph wires. It was during the worst month in that climate, with rain and snow and the thermometer at night below zero, when this retreat was made. The 7th was caused to stand at arms all night by a report that a large force of Buell's army was coming on its heels, which turned out to be Helm's Kentucky cavalry coming in his rear by an unexpected order of march. General A.S. Johnston, at Nashville, sent a message to Colonel Shaver that the enemy's cavalry was advancing on his rear. This was made known to General Wood, of Alabama, who had taken command of the brigade during the retreat. General Wood refused to wait for the rear guard, and for this reason Colonel Shaver applied for and secured a transfer of the 7th to Hindman's brigade. The regiment reached Nashville ten days after the fall of Fort Donelson, and went there to Murfreesboro. On March 29, 1862, the Army of Central Kentucky was merged into the Army of Mississippi in preparation for the Battle of Shiloh. From Murfreesboro the 7th went to Decatur and thence to Courtland, Alabama, and went into camp at Corinth, Mississippi, to await the concentration of the Confederate armies to meet the federal advance through Tennessee.

Shiloh

During the Battle of Shiloh, General Hardee nicknamed this unit "The Bloody Seventh." The 7th Arkansas had been formed with 905 officers and men, but after the conflict at Shiloh there were only 380 present. Colonel Shaver was assigned to command a brigade, which consisted of the 2nd, 6th and 7th Arkansas Infantry Regiments. Shaver's Brigade struck the first blow in the battle before sunrise on April 6, 1862. The Arkansas troops initially rushed into a Union camp of two German regiments from St. Louis, MO, and regiments from Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois—all commanded by Colonel Peabody. When the pickets' fire was heard in the Union encampment, Colonel Peabody's men took up defensive positions on the edge of their camp and laid down heavy fire. Shaver's Brigade rushed them with a wild Rebel yell. The Union troops stood their ground until the Arkansas soldiers were within 30 feet of them and then they broke and fled. The Shaver's men pushed in amongst the retreating Union soldiers and a fierce hand-to-hand melee followed. Many Union troops were bayoneted, including Colonel Peabody. Shaver's Brigade had rushed forward so fast that General Hardee halted them at that point until the line of battle could catch up. The 7th Arkansas, together with most of the Arkansas troops at the Battle of Shiloh, was armed mainly with flintlock muskets, flintlock & percussion shotguns and various other outdated smooth bore weapons supplied from the soldiers' own homes. In Colonel Peabody's camp they found 2000 new M1853 Enfield rifled muskets (still in their wooden crates) complete with ammunition. So the men of the 7th threw away their outdated weapons, took up the new Enfield muskets, and continued fighting. Later, still on the first day, Shaver's Brigade made an attack against the 24th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Union). During the battle of Pittsburgh Landing every officer on Shaver's staff was either killed or wounded. Colonel Shaver had four horses killed under him before he was critically wounded by an artillery shell on the second day of fighting. Lieutenant Colonel John M. Dean, who had field command of the 7th in place of Colonel Shaver, was killed during a charge at Shiloh. Lieutenant Colonel Dean led his men into battle at Shiloh with his musicians (drum and fife) playing the song "Granny does your Dog Bite?" Lt. Colonel Dean was mentioned in the afteraction reports for the gallantry that he and his men displayed at Shioh.Tipton, Jay Brent, "Re: Shaver's 7th Arkansas Infantry, Company H", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 13 April 2006, Accessed 5 June 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=12330