The 37th Arkansas Infantry Regiment or the 1st Trans-Mississippi Rifle Regiment (also known as "Pleasants' regiment" and "Bell's regiment") was an infantry formation of the Confederate States Army in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was successively commanded by Colonels Joseph C. Pleasants and Samuel S. Bell.

Formation The 37th Arkansas Infantry Regiment was organized in Pope County by individual companies during March through June 1862 and organized as the 29th Arkansas Infantry Regiment upon its acceptance into Confederate service on June 6, 1862, under the command of Colonel Joseph C. Pleasants. The unit was also at one time designated as the 1st Trans-Mississippi Infantry Regiment. The unit's Field Officers were Lieutenant Colonel Jeptha C. Johnson and Major John A. Geoghegan. It was renamed as the 37th Arkansas Infantry regiment following the Battle of Prairie Grove. The unit was composed of volunteer companies from the following counties:Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page. Retrieved 30 January 2011.

Company A, Commanded by Captain William J. Donaldson, organized at Hamburg, Arkansas, on March 15, 1862. Company B, Commanded by Captain George W. Hurley, organized in Searcy, Arkansas, on March 29, 1862. Company C, Commanded by Captain J. J. Hall, organized at Augusta, Arkansas, on April 30, 1862. Company D, Commanded by Captain John N. Bradley, organized at Hillsboro, Arkansas, on April 26, 1862. Company E, Commanded by Captain Joe P. Vann, organized at Princeton, Arkansas, on May 8, 1862. Company F, Commanded by Captain William J. Smith, organized in Clark County, Arkansas, on May 7, 1862. Company G, Commanded by Captain William H. Bell, organized in Hamburg, Arkansas, on May 10, 1862. Company H, Commanded by Captain James L. Weatherspoon, organized at Arkadelphia, Arkansas, on May 15, 1862. Company I, Commanded by Captain W. R. Basden, organized at Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, on May 20, 1862. Company K, Commanded by Captain William Goodrum, organized at Camp Hindman, Arkansas, on June 7, 1862.

Maj John A. Geoghagan was assigned as Lieutenant Colonel and Captain Sam S. Bell was assigned as Major, with date of rank June 17, 1862.

Captain J.B. Dugger was appointed as the Assistant Quarter Master of the regiment. Lieutenant Lieut C.H. Rundell was appointed as the Adjutant of the regiment.

History On November 15, 1862, General Hindman moved the Arkansas infantry to Massard Prairie, three miles southeast of Fort Smith to drill and organize divisions. The 37th Arkansas was assigned to Brigadier General James F. Fagan's 1st Brigade of Brigadier General Francis A. Shoup's 2nd Division, of Major General Thomas Carmichael Hindman's 1st Corps of Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes's Army of the Trans-Mississippi. The unit was brigaded with the 34th Arkansas Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel William H. Brooks, the 35th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel James P. King, the 39th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel Alexander T. Hawthorn and Chew's Arkansas Infantry Battalion, commanded by Major Robert E. Chew.

At the very end of November the cavalry was sent north toward Washington County. Early in December the infantry followed heading north. The brigade crossed the Arkansas River on December 2, 1862. On December 4, the column reached Oliver's Store on Lee creek in the Boston Mountains. Their battle flags were presented to the regiments of the division.

On December 6, 1862, Fagan's brigade arrived at Morrow's and controlled all the approaches to Cane Hill from the south and east. Hindman then learned of the approach of General Herron, who had two divisions just north of Fayetteville. Hindman planned to get behind the Federal division of General Blunt and prevent General Herron's division from combining with Gen. Blunt. Upon reaching the high ground at Prairie Grove on December 7, Hindman's army formed on the ridge overlooking Crawford Prairie and Fagan's brigade was advanced to a position fifty yards from the Borden Orchard. The position was very good and there the army waited for Herron to advance. Brook's regiment was posted behind an artillery battery. Around 2:00 pm the artillery duel started. Blocher's Battery, which was part of Fagan's brigade became a lightning rod for Federal artillery and later infantry. The 20th Wisconsin advanced to take the battery and when their right flank was 50 yards away from their position, Brook's 34th Arkansas rose and fired into them. The regiment was ordered forward along with Chew's Arkansas Infantry Battalion and Hawthorne's regiment. The 20th Wisconsin was driven back and the battery was retaken. As the Confederate counterattack came off the ridge and onto the prairie they came under heavy fire and retreated to their position in the ravine. As the Confederates were reorganizing another Federal attack was launched. This time the 37th Illinois advanced to the summit. Again the Fagan's brigade rose out of the scrub and fired a point blank volley and charged. The two forces locked in hand-to-hand fighting. Again the Confederates followed the retreating Federals and ran into heavy fire. As the brigade resumed their position on the summit, the tempo of the battle slowed and shifted to another part of the battlefield. They stayed in position until nearly midnight when the order to retreat came. During the march over the Boston Mountains many of the men deserted to their homes. The casualties of the 29th Arkansas included the regiment's colonel, major, color-bearer, half of the first sergeants, and a third of the company commanders. Only one man deserted the field during the battle. Colonel John C. died as a results of wounds in the Battle of Prairie Grove and he was succeeded by Colonel Samuel S. Bell.

Redesignation as the 37th Arkansas During the general re-organization of the 1st Corps of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, following the Battle of Prairie Grove, new muster rolls for several of the regiments were sent to the Confederate War Department in Richmond, which assumed that the rolls were for new regiments, and thus assigned new numerical designations, thus the 29th Arkansas Infantry became redesignated as the 37th Arkansas Infantry Regiment.Howerton, Bryan R. , Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 8 March 2005, accessed 27 April 2012 After the retreat from Prairie Grove to Van Buren, Fagan's brigade spent the winter of 1863–64 in camp near Little Rock, remaining there until June when the unit began the movements that would lead to the Battle of Helena.Howerton, Bryan R. "Report on Camp Conditions", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 29 June 2012, accessed 2 July 2012

Helena On July 4, 1863, the 37th Arkansas served in the attack on the federal post at Helena, Arkansas. Fagan's Brigade was assigned to Major General Sterling Price's Division of Lieutenant General Theophilus H. Holmes's army during the attack on Union forces at Helena Arkansas on July 4, 1863. General Fagan's 1,300 men were assigned to capture Hindman's Hill southwest of the city. Generals Fagan and Price failed to coordinate their attacks due to General Holmes' vague order to "attack at daylight." Price interpreted this order to mean an attack at sunrise and Fagan interpreted it to mean an attack at first light. The result was that Fagan was surprised to find his attack on Hindman Hill was opposed by artillery fire from Graveyard Hill, which was General Price's objective. General Fagan had expected Price to be engaged already with that battery. Fagan's artillery had not been able to reach the battlefield because of felled trees blocking the road. Fagan had no artillery available to silence the Federal guns and had no choice but to order his troops to try to take the hill while under artillery fire. Fagan's men reached the summit of the hill and managed to seize the outer fortifications but were pinned down just short of the summit by the two Union batteries. The exposed Confederates were targeted by every remaining gun on the battlefield as well as the heavy guns of the USS Tyler.

By 10:30 General Holmes realized that his position had deteriorated and that he could make no further headway. A general retreat was ordered, and the attack on the Union base had failed. During this stage of the battle, a significant part of the 37th Arkansas was captured. Detachments of the 43rd Indiana, 33rd Iowa and 33rd Missouri all seem to have been involved in the capture of the forward elements of the 37th Arkansas. Here is what Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Heath, commanding 33rd Missouri, reported:

Lieutenant-Colonel Cyrus H. Mackey, commanding 33rd Iowa, reported:

Col. Samuel A. Rice, 33rd Iowa, commanding the brigade to which these regiments belonged, didn't credit any specific regiment with the capture of the 37th Arkansas, but the captured colors were credited to his own regiment. The regiment sustained 50 percent casualties, including the colonel, lieutenant-colonel, adjutant, color-bearer, and seven of the ten company commanders. The regiment reported 222 losses during the Battle of Helena, including 14 Killed, 17 wounded and 191 missing.United States. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 22, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1888; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154600/m1/430/?q=Helena Fagan Brigade Arkansas 1863 : accessed June 30, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas Most of the men of the 37th Arkansas captured at Helena were sent to military prison at Alton, Illinois, and later sent to Fort Delaware, where they were held until March 1865, when they were forwarded to City Point, Virginia, for exchange. The Officers were sent to military prison Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio. A large number of the men who were captured died in captivity.

Little Rock The 37th Arkansas, now under the command of Maj Thomas H. Blacknall, due to Colonel Bell's capture at the Battle of Helena, subsequently served in the defense of Little Rock in September, 1863, with Fagan's Brigade. The Union advance upon Little Rock was opposed mainly by the Confederate cavalry divisions of Generals Marmaduke and Walker. The Confederate infantry brigades were dug in on the north side of the Arkansas River. According to Captain Ethan Allen Pinnell of the Eighth Missouri Infantry, "Our works extend from the [Arkansas] river two miles below the city. to the eastern part of Crystal Hill, a distance of 6 miles. Gen'l Fagan's Brig. is on the extreme right, Parson's on Fagan's left, Frost in the center and McRea's on the left."Banasik, Michael E., ed. Serving with Honor: The Diary of Captain Ethan Allen Pinnell of the Eighth Missouri Infantry. Iowa City, Iowa: Camp Pope Bookshop, 1999. The Union forces established a pontoon bridge near Bayou Fourche, and crossed to the south side of the very low Arkansas River. With his works on the north side of the river now flanked, Major General Price was forced to abandon the city on September 10, after a brief engagement at Bayou Fourche. Price's Army withdrew in the direction of Rockport.Burford, Timothy Wayne, and Stephanie Gail McBride. The Division: Defending Little Rock, August 25–September 10, 1863. Jacksonville, AR: WireStorm Publishing, 1999.

Red River