The 39th Arkansas Infantry Regiment or the 6th Trans-Mississippi Rifle Regiment (also known as "Johnson's regiment," "Hawthorn's regiment," "Cocke's regiment," and "Polk'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 Albert W. Johnson, Alexander T. Hawthorn, John B. Cocke, and Lieutenant-Colonel Cadwallader Polk.

The regiment was mustered into service on June 17, 1862, at Trenton, Arkansas, remaining active through May 26, 1865.Sifakis 1995, pp. 124. When Major-General Thomas C. Hindman began authorizing the creation of new infantry regiments within the Trans-Mississippi Department in the summer of 1862, he initially designated them as "Trans-Mississippi Rifle Regiments", and the new regiment being formed by Albert W. Johnson was designated as the 6th Trans-Mississippi Rifle Regiment.

Another state regiment was also designated 39th Arkansas Infantry; that being successively commanded by Colonels Hart, McNeill, and Rogan. It was originally designated as the 39th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, but later redesignated as the 30th. The regiment served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater and participated in all of the principal engagements in the Trans-Mississippi Department before being disbanded on May 26, 1865.

Formation The 39th Arkansas Infantry Regiment was organized in 1862 at Trenton, Arkansas. Hindman assumed command of the Trans-Mississippi Department on May 30, 1862, and immediately began attempting to organize the Confederate forces in Arkansas. On June 15, 1862, Colonel Robert C. Newton, Hindman's Adjutant-General, wrote to Colonel Albert W. Johnson who was attempting to raise a regiment in Phillips County, Arkansas:Odom, Danny, "Re: Cocke's Regiment", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 26 November 2011, Accessed 1 July 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=25131

In mid-July 1862, several companies, including a small battalion under Captain Daniel H. Ringo, were added to Colonel Johnson's regiment. Ringo was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment on July 19, 1862. By August 12, 1862, the new regiment was at Crystal Hill, north of Little Rock. Johnson received his official appointment as Colonel on August 15, with date of rank from June 8, 1862. In September and October, the regiment camped at Austin, Arkansas, and Des Arc. Johnson resigned on October 27 in order to report to Major-General John C. Breckinridge, East of the Mississippi River. Lieutenant-Colonel Ringo resigned the following day. In accepting their resignations, Hindman noted that the two men were not in good standing with the officers of the regiment. On November 3, 1862, Hindman issued Special Order Number 30:

The regiment consisted of the following companies:

Company A – commanded by Captain John B. Torbett, organized at Rockport, in Hot Spring County, on June 9, 1862; Company B – original commander is unknown but the company was organized in Phillips County; Company C – commanded by Captain J. W. Scaife, consisting of men from Monroe County, enlisted June 12, 1862; Company D – commanded by Captain Walton Watkins, organized at Benton, in Saline County, June 17, 1862; Company E – commanded by Captain W. J. F. Jones, organized in Monroe County, on June 17, 1862; Company F – commanded by Captain J. H. Boring, organized in Perry County, on August 1, 1862; Company G – commanded by Captain Felix Strayhorn, organized in Yell County; Company H – commanded by Captain Pleasant G. Roper, organized at Trenton, in Phillips County, on June 4, 1862; Company I – commanded by Captain George Washington, organized in Hot Spring County; Company K – commanded by Captain George Harrod, organized at Danville, in Yell County, on July 21, 1862; Company L – commanded by Captain Joel C. Anderson, organized in Green County, on July 1, 1862.

The regiment served in McRae's, Fagan's, and Hawthorn's brigades, Trans-Mississippi Department. The field officers were Colonels Albert W. Johnson, Alexander T. Hawthorn, John B. Cocke, Cadwallader Polk,United States. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 41, In Four Parts. Part 4, Correspondence, Etc., Book, 1893; digital images, (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145061 : accessed February 14, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. and Lieutenant-Colonel D. W. Ringo.

Confusion over naming

The regiment's designation has caused problems for historians attempting to research the unit. Although Colonel John B. Cocke commanded "Cocke's Regiment" for only three months, and the historically accurate designation should be "39th (Johnson's-Hawthorn's-Cocke's) Infantry Regiment or the 6th Trans-Mississippi Rifle Regiment, and Hailey's, Perkins' and Tumlinson's independent cavalry companies, historians have adopted "Cocke's Arkansas Regiment."" This is because the U.S. government used the name to catalog the service records of the men who served in the regiment. In the early 1900s, an army of U.S. War Department clerks pored over hundreds of thousands of Confederate army records, muster rolls, payrolls, quartermaster and commissary receipts, prisoner of war records, etc., and painstakingly extracted individual information from them to create a Compiled Service Record for each Confederate soldier. This monumental task is one of the most valuable services the federal government performed for researchers. However, the clerks misread many names and also worked with sometimes confusing records, cataloguing everything about this unit under "Cocke's Regiment".

The regiment is officially referred to by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration as "Cocke's Arkansas Infantry Regiment," even though John B. Cocke was the last known colonel of the regiment, serving from January 1864 until April, when he was killed at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry. He was preceded in command by Albert W. Johnson, and Alexander T. Hawthorn. Cadwallader Polk assumed command upon Cocke's death, but there is no surviving record to show he was promoted to colonel. The Trans-Mississippi Department frequently used the name of the regimental commander in its official correspondence, especially for Arkansas regiments. The order of battle for the Battle of Helena lists a "39th Arkansas Infantry Regiment" in McRae's brigade, but this was actually Hart's 30th Arkansas Regiment, which was known for a short time as the 39th Arkansas. Hart's regiment was with McRae, and the real 39th Regiment was in Brig. Gen. Fagan's brigade and is referred to in the battle reports as "Hawthorn's Regiment".

The Arkansas State Military Board was responsible for authorizing, raising and designating Arkansas regiments, in response to requests from the Confederate States War Department for new units. The board took a sheet of lined paper, numbering the lines from 1 to 48, and applied the next available number to each new regiment. Unfortunately, the Confederate States War Department, the Trans-Mississippi Department, the brigade commanders, and even the regimental commanders often used designations different from the State Military Board's.

The State Military Board designated the regiment as "Cocke's Regiment" as 39th in its ledger book. Hindman originally decided to designate all of the Arkansas infantry regiments raised in the District of Arkansas during the summer of 1862 as "Trans-Mississippi Rifle Regiments." Cocke's Regiment was designated as the 6th Trans-Mississippi Rifle Regiment; and, the officers and men of Cocke's Regiment quickly began referring to the regiment as the 6th Arkansas. This redesignation causes more confusion because this designation had already been given to Lyon's-Hawthorn's-Smith's elite 6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment in the Army of Tennessee, on the east side of the Mississippi River. This incorrect association with the other 6th Arkansas Infantry is further reinforced by the fact that Alexander T. Hawthorn commanded the original "6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment" for a time, and later commanded the "other" 6th Arkansas, the 6th Trans-Mississippi (39th Arkansas Infantry Regiment).

History

Prairie Grove On November 15, 1862, Hindman moved the Arkansas infantry regiments to Massard Prairie, three miles southeast of Fort Smith to drill and organize divisions. Hawthorn's regiment was assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division of the First Corps, Army of the Trans-Mississippi.Christmas, Bart B., "Company G, 29th Arkansas Infantry", Generations, Accessed 9 August 2011, https://bartchristmas.blogspot.com/2010/08/taylor-csa-company-g-29th-arkansas.html The unit was brigaded with the 34th Arkansas commanded by Colonel William H. Brooks, the 35th Arkansas, commanded by Colonel James P. King, the 37th Arkansas, commanded by Colonel Joseph C. Pleasants and Chew's Sharpshooter Battalion, commanded by Major Robert E. Chew .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 2, Correspondence., Book, 1888; digital images, (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154590/m1/781/?q=Helena Fagan Brigade Arkansas 1863 : accessed June 30, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas

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. There battle flags were presented to the regiments of the division.

On December 6, 1862 Fagan's brigade arrived at Morrow's and controlled 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 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.