The 3rd Arkansas Light Artillery, also known as the Jackson Light Artillery (1861–1865), was a Confederate Army artillery battery during the American Civil War. The battery spent the majority of the war serving in Confederate forces east of the Mississippi River. The battery is also known as McCown's Battery, Hubbard's Battery, and Thrall's Battery in official reports.
Organization The Jackson Light Artillery was organized at Jacksonport, Jackson County, Arkansas, on June 15, 1861.Watson, Lady Elizabeth, Fight and Survive!: a history of Jackson County, Arkansas, in the Civil War, Jackson County Historical Society, 1996, Page 9 Most of the original members of the battery were from Jackson County, but there were men from neighboring Craighead, Independence, Lawrence, White and present-day Woodruff counties who also joined the battery at Jacksonport. Although officially named the Jackson Light Artillery, it was the practice in the Confederate Army to refer to a battery by the name of its current commander; thus, it is variously identified in most contemporary records as McCown's Battery, Hubbard's Battery, and Thrall's Battery. In the "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Arkansas," the service records of these men are carried under the heading "Thrall's Battery" on Roll 42.
At the battery's organization, George W. McCown was elected captain, James C. Thrall was elected first lieutenant, George T. Hubbard was elected second lieutenant, and Robert S. Anderson was elected third lieutenant. The battery marched to Pitman's Ferry, near Pocahontas in Randolph County, where it enlisted in the Confederate service on July 25, 1861. A week earlier, on July 17, Captain McCown had resigned and returned to Jacksonport. Lieutenant Hubbard was elected captain in his place.Howerton, Bryan R., "Jackson Light Artillery (Thrall's Battery)", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 30 January 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/jackson.html
A total of 165 men served in this unit from June 15, 1861, to May 11, 1865. A remarkable number of original members served with the battery through the entire conflict. The battery had one of the lowest desertion rates in the Confederate Army. Even among the large number of conscripts who joined the battery in 1863 there were relatively few deserters. From all contemporary accounts, it seems that the Jackson Light Artillery enjoyed competent leadership and high morale throughout the war.
On July 14, 1861, Confederate Brigadier General William J. Hardee arrived in Little Rock to assume unified Confederate command in the state. The following day the state Military Board signed an "Article of Transfer", which provided that all state forces would be transferred on a voluntary basis to the command of the Confederate States of America. The Articles of Transfer included Major Francis A. Shoup's battalion of artillery;
Company A, Captain A. W. Clarkson's Helena Light Artillery,The National Archives Publication Number: M317, Publication Title: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Arkansas, Content Source: NARA, National Archives Catalog ID: 586957, National Archives Catalog Title: Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Confederate Organizations, compiled 1903 – 1927, documenting the period 1861 – 1865, Record Group: 109, Roll: 0039, Military Unit: Hart's Battery, Light Artillery AND Key's Battery, Light Artillery, Accessed 21 February 2013, http://www.fold3.com/image/#20|219834366 Company B, Captain John T. Trigg's Arkansas Battery; and Company C, Captain George T. Hubbard's Jackson Light Artillery.
Many Confederate artillery units seem to have begun the war named for the city or county that sponsored their organization. In the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, artillery units are most often referred to by the name of their battery commander. During the war, efforts were made to organize artillery units into battalions and regiments, but the battalions seldom functioned as a consolidated organization, in fact batteries were often broken out and fought as one or two gun sections. Shoup's battalion would be an exception to this rule.
Service The battery, as part of Shoup's Battalion moved to central Kentucky with Hardee's forces.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=Arkansas Battery : accessed February 13, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, TexasUnited 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/m1/910/?q=shoup : accessed February 13, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. Major Shoup's battalion was associated with Brigadier General Patrick Cleburne's brigade when it moved into Kentucky and remained so until after the battle of Shiloh. The Battalion was in the retreat from Bowling Green to Corinth, Mississippi, following the fall of Forts Donelson and Henry.;Confederate military history: a library of Confederate States history, Volume 10, Page 328, Accessed 21 February 2013, https://books.google.com/books?id=VZ9YAAAAMAAJ&dq=Shoup%27s+Arkansas+Artillery+Battalion&pg=RA1-PA327
During the Battle of Shiloh, a.k.a. Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, Sunday, April 6, 1862 – Monday, April 7, 1862, the battery, armed with two 6-pounder smoothbores and two rifled 3-inch guns became involved in what was at that time, the largest massed artillery attack in North America.Daniel, Larry J., Cannoneers In Gray: The Field Artillery Of The Army Of Tennessee, (University of Alabama Press, 2005) The unit was attached to General Patrick Cleburne's 2nd Brigade of Major General William J. Hardee Third Army Corps. By the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, 1862, men of Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions had established and held a position nicknamed the Hornet's Nest.Cunningham, O. Edward. Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862. Edited by Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith. New York: Savas Beatie, 2007. , pp. 241–42. The Confederates assaulted the position for several hours rather than simply bypassing it, and they suffered heavy casualties during these assaults.Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. . p. 227, cites 12. See Also, Daniel, Larry J. Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. p. 214, It was not until the Confederates, led by Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles, assembled over 50 cannons, including on section of Hubbard's Battery, commanded by Lieutenant Thrall, into a position known as "Ruggles's Battery"Historians disagree on the number of artillery pieces the Confederates massed against the Hornets Nest. Cunningham, p. 290, can account for 51. Daniel, p. 229, argues for 53. Eicher, p. 228 and Sword, Wiley. Shiloh: Bloody April. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992. . First published 1974 by Morrow. p. 326, report the traditional count of 62, which was originally established by battlefield historian D.W. Reed. to blast the line at close range that they were able to surround the position, and the Hornet's Nest fell after holding out for seven hours.Nevin, David, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Road to Shiloh: Early Battles in the West. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983. . pp. 121–29, 136–39; See also Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. , map 36; Daniel, pp. 207–14; See Also Woodworth, Steven E. Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861–1865. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. . pp. 179–85; See Also Eicher, p. 227. Sword, p. 306, lists 2,320 captured; Eicher, p. 228, 2,200; Daniel, p. 214, 2,400.
In response to a request from Brig. Gen. Ruggles, Captain Thrall filed a report on April 1, 1863, of his and other Arkansas artillery unit's roll in the Battle of Shiloh and the formation of Ruggles' Battery:United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 10, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1884; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154613/m1/487/?q=thrall : accessed February 10, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.
James C. Thrall succeeded Captain Hubbard as battery commander on May 12, 1862, and remained in command until the end of the war.
Heavy Artillery
After fighting at Shiloh the unit was assigned to the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana and was active in the Siege of Jackson during the Vicksburg Campaign in the summer of 1863.
The battery is listed in an August 29, 1862, report of Heavy Artillery at Columbus, Mississippi and again on September 14, 1862.
The battery is listed as Thrall's Heavy Battery and is listed as being stationed at Columbus Mississippi, according to a report of Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton in December, 1862.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 17, In Two Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1887; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154627/m1/815/?q=Thrall : accessed January 22, 2014), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas. On January 1, 1863, Colonel Adams reported:
The battery is mentioned again by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton on January 31, 1863, the battery was assigned to the Department of Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana, Brigadier General Daniel Ruggles' First Military District.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 24, In Three Parts. Part 3, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1889; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154593/m1/611/?q=Thrall : accessed January 14, 2014), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas.