Arkansas 40-Series Regiments

[Stryker65]

Hey folks,
I've been looking at Price's Raid a bit, and noticed the existence of the Arkansas 40-Series Regiments. Some of you may have heard of these before, and for those who haven't, they're basically either infantry regiments mounted and given a new designation, or regiments formed of (sometimes-conscripted) Arkansans during the Raid. However, information on them is extremely spotty, and most of what I have is based off of history-sites.com (a CivilWarTalk-type site, but less organized) from the work of Damon Cluck, Bryan Howerton, and Danny Odom -- and some from @Bruce Allardice as well.
Here are the sites themselves:
http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=24507
http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=24755
http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?page=1;md=read;id=31929
Now, what I have listed so far for these units are the following:
- 40th Arkansas: Unknown
- 41st Arkansas: Formerly D. W. Jones's 20th Arkansas (Col. Daniel W. Jones commanding)
- 42nd Arkansas: Formerly O. P. Lyles's 23rd Arkansas (Col. Oliver P. Lyles commanding)
- 43rd Arkansas: Unknown
- 44th Arkansas: Formerly J. H. McGehee's 29th Arkansas (Col. James H. McGehee commanding)
- 45th Arkansas: Baber's/Clark's (Col. Milton D. Baber, Col. James W. Clark commanding)
- 46th Arkansas: Crabtree's/Coleman's (Col. John W. Crabtree, Col. William O. Coleman commanding)
- 47th Arkansas: Crandall's (Col. Lee Crandall commanding)
- 48th Arkansas: Unknown
Bryan Howerton believes that the 40th and 43rd were the 15th (Northwest) and 19th (Dockery's), but is unsure which is which. Also, the 48th Arkansas is believed to be C. H. Carlton's 28th Arkansas Infantry, as the unit was mounted and present at the time of the raid.
I know that several of these infantry-to-cavalry units aren't actually fully converted; for example, Jones's 20th and Lyles' 23rd regiments actually became part of McNair's consolidated brigade, but most likely the surplus officers and men from these units (and there were many) formed these new units. It is possible, however, that these units were in fact separate, as Price's Raid finished between October and December, 1864, and the completion of McNair's Consolidated Brigade occurred within that time as well. It is highly plausible, then, that what was known as the 41st and 42nd Arkansas Cavalries/Mounted Infantries, upon returning to Texas and Louisiana, were dismounted and then placed in the consolidated units. However, the 44th, 45th, 46th, and 47th served out the war with M. Jeff Thompson's command, and surrendered near Jacksonport iirc.
I'm still looking for info on the 40th and 43rd, and if anybody can prove that the 48th was Carlton's. Feel free to correct me on any of the above information, as well.
-Stryker

 

[Klaudly]

This information collected some time ago.
The only doubt concerned an 'old' order of battle, which listed the McGehee Regiment and 44 Mounted Infantry as separate units.

 

[Stryker65]

40th Regiment was Gee's 15th??

 

[Klaudly]

'After Price's raid on Missouri, it was consolidated with other units to form the 3rd Infantry Regiment Consolidated'.
I did this research years ago, I can't remember the sources anymore, sorry.

 

[TnFed]

I remember Bryan Howerton..a very knowledgeable man and nice guy. I miss alot of those guys from that site.

 

[Bruce Allardice]

Thompson's memoirs are sorta scathing about his "command" in NE Arkansas. He basically says these regiments in his District were paper regiments only, which had devolved into scattered guerrilla bands, and that the only reliable unit he had was Clardy's battalion of Missourians. The scattered men only showed up at the final surrender, to be paroled.
Yes, Bryan, Damon and Danny helped me a lot in my book on Confederate Colonels.

 

[danny]

Hey folks,
I've been looking at Price's Raid a bit, and noticed the existence of the Arkansas 40-Series Regiments. Some of you may have heard of these before, and for those who haven't, they're basically either infantry regiments mounted and given a new designation, or regiments formed of (sometimes-conscripted) Arkansans during the Raid. However, information on them is extremely spotty, and most of what I have is based off of history-sites.com (a CivilWarTalk-type site, but less organized) from the work of Damon Cluck, Bryan Howerton, and Danny Odom -- and some from @Bruce Allardice as well.
Here are the sites themselves:
http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=24507
http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=24755
http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?page=1;md=read;id=31929
Now, what I have listed so far for these units are the following:
- 40th Arkansas: Unknown
- 41st Arkansas: Formerly D. W. Jones's 20th Arkansas (Col. Daniel W. Jones commanding)
- 42nd Arkansas: Formerly O. P. Lyles's 23rd Arkansas (Col. Oliver P. Lyles commanding)
- 43rd Arkansas: Unknown
- 44th Arkansas: Formerly J. H. McGehee's 29th Arkansas (Col. James H. McGehee commanding)
- 45th Arkansas: Baber's/Clark's (Col. Milton D. Baber, Col. James W. Clark commanding)
- 46th Arkansas: Crabtree's/Coleman's (Col. John W. Crabtree, Col. William O. Coleman commanding)
- 47th Arkansas: Crandall's (Col. Lee Crandall commanding)
- 48th Arkansas: Unknown
Bryan Howerton believes that the 40th and 43rd were the 15th (Northwest) and 19th (Dockery's), but is unsure which is which. Also, the 48th Arkansas is believed to be C. H. Carlton's 28th Arkansas Infantry, as the unit was mounted and present at the time of the raid.
I know that several of these infantry-to-cavalry units aren't actually fully converted; for example, Jones's 20th and Lyles' 23rd regiments actually became part of McNair's consolidated brigade, but most likely the surplus officers and men from these units (and there were many) formed these new units. It is possible, however, that these units were in fact separate, as Price's Raid finished between October and December, 1864, and the completion of McNair's Consolidated Brigade occurred within that time as well. It is highly plausible, then, that what was known as the 41st and 42nd Arkansas Cavalries/Mounted Infantries, upon returning to Texas and Louisiana, were dismounted and then placed in the consolidated units. However, the 44th, 45th, 46th, and 47th served out the war with M. Jeff Thompson's command, and surrendered near Jacksonport iirc.
I'm still looking for info on the 40th and 43rd, and if anybody can prove that the 48th was Carlton's. Feel free to correct me on any of the above information, as well.
-Stryker

Dug these notes from my files:

By: Damon Cluck
Date: 6/24/2016, 12:24 pm
In Response To: Re: Identity of the 48th Ark (Bryan Howerton)
What we really need is a statement, probably in a pension application, from one of the known 48th Ark Members, that "my Regimental cdr was...." or "my Col on Price's raid was....."

Barring that, my money is still on the 48th Ark being either

1. The re-designation of Rogan's 30th Ark Infy
2. The designation of Witt's 10th Ark Infy
3 The official designation of Carlton's Ark Cav



By: Bryan Howerton
Date: 6/25/2016, 10:00 am
In Response To: Re: Identity of the 48th Ark (Damon Cluck)
Damon, I finally located the box that contained my old research notes on the 48th Ark. It had been so long since I had seen those notes that I wasn't sure what was in them. I think dinosaurs were still roaming the earth at the time. Lo & behold, I found some POW records from the U.S. Military Prison at Little Rock that identify the prisoners as members of Co G, Coleman's Ark Regt. When those prisoners were transferred to other prisons (Gratiot Street, Alton, Rock Island) they were identified as members of Co G, 48th Ark Cav.

One of those men was Capt Benjamin W. Bolton, cdg Co G, Coleman's Regt. On a miscellaneous record from Alton prison, a prisoner is identified variously as a Pvt of Co G, 48th Ark, & Capt Bolton's Co, 48th Ark. What think ye?


By: Damon Cluck
Date: 6/25/2016, 10:38 am
In Response To: Re: Identity of the 48th Ark (Bryan Howerton)
But it could be Coleman's second unit? My understanding is that after organizing the unit that Crabtree commanded, Coleman when ahead to organize another unit. I have the following from a previous discussion on this subject:

The confusion over which Div the 46th Ark was assigned to & whether it was under the command of Col Coleman or Lt Col Crabtree during Price's raid may be clarified by an article that Col Coleman wrote for the CV Magazine in May 1909. Coleman indicates that following Shelby's raid on Ashley's Station, he was sent north in to Missouri, ahead of Price's army, to organize new units. This he apparently did, joining Price's force in Missouri. Since Fagan's Div was intended to include all Ark Troops, while Marmaduke's Div was mainly Missouri troops, this would have left the 46th assigned to Fagan's Div, & probably McCray's Bgde, as described by Gen Ewing & Lt Jackson. Confederates often referred to Regts by the name of their cdr, & Col Coleman's Regt is mentioned on several occasions in various reports from Price's Raid. [28] The 46th was involved in the following actions during Price's Raid: [29] some of these reports appear to refer to the 46th Ark as Coleman's Regt, & others appear to be describing the new command that Coleman organized at the very beginning of Price's Raid

By: Bryan Howerton
Date: 6/25/2016, 10:47 am
In Response To: Re: Identity of the 48th Ark (Damon Cluck) One of the POW records, a man in Co G, Coleman's or 48th Ark, includes a reference to McCray's Bgde.


By: Damon Cluck
Date: 6/25/2016, 11:11 am
In Response To: Re: Identity of the 48th Ark (Damon Cluck)
Yep, confusing isn't it...

"…I captured 3 more deserters from Price's army at Fairview, who claimed to belong to Coleman's Regt. From these men I learned that Lt-Col Crabtree, cdg Coleman's Regt, was marching in the direction of Searcy, & that he intended to make Searcy his Hqs…

From all the information I was able to obtain the condition of affairs in Northern Ark at the present time is as follows [3]

There has already returned to Batesville, Jacksonport &Searcy three Regts, all under Col McCray. These Regts are Coleman's, Crandall's & Baber's. Coleman's Regt, commanded by Lt-Col Crabtree, when all together, numbers about 300 men; Crandall's & Baber's some 250 each, but of these two-thirds of the men have deserted, & say they will never go out again-They have thrown away their arms & are nearly all at their homes. They are all greatly demoralized & discouraged; those I saw all agree in the statement that Price's army was badly whipped at every point, & all greatly demoralized, & large numbers are deserting. [3]

Maj Green stated that he had attempted to engage Lt Col Crabtree but the unit had scattered: [3]

"On the morning of the 12th I moved back with my command in the direction of Searcy, intending to hunt up Crabtree & give him fight... on the morning of the 13th I sent a detachment up the Searcy Valley to ascertain the whereabouts of the rebel forces. The detachment returned during the afternoon & reported that the Regt under Crabtree had scattered in every direction & would not give me a fight. We captured a Capt Bolton, of Coleman's Regt, & two of his men."[3]

Lt Col Crabtree was captured by Col Matterson of the 3rd Minn near Augusta, Ark on Dec 15, 1864, along with approximately 30 of his men. [31]



By: Bryan Howerton
Date: 6/25/2016, 12:25 pm
In Response To: Re: Identity of the 48th Ark (Damon Cluck) The only conclusions that makes any sense are that he either raised a new Regt, or (more likely, in my opinion) he was assigned to command a new Regt that needed a Col.




I'm also working on the new high numbered Texas units; Lord willing, and the creek don't rise.

Right now, honey do's are trumping such things; to my dismay!

 

[Stryker65]

Looking back at this two years later:
- 40th and 43rd Arkansas still unknown
- 44th, 46th, 47th, and 48th organized from conscripts / new recruits / etc

But on the 41st, 42nd, and 45th, I am wondering:

• It doesn't seem like the entire regiment was mounted -- that is evident by the fact that every one of these was at this time 1/3 or more of a consolidated regiment, and therefore did not have enough strength to be separated as a single unit;
• Could it be that a detachment of the regiment was made the basis of these new units, formed with supernumeraries from these regiments? In this way:
  • Col. Daniel W. Jones (20th AR), supernumerary of the 3rd AR Consolidated (Col. H. G. P. Williams, 19th AR), took a detachment from his regiment as the nucleus for the 41st AR Mounted
  • Col. Oliver P. Lyles (23rd AR), supernumerary of the 2nd AR Consolidated (Col. T. J. Reid, 12th AR), took a detachment from his regiment as the nucleus for the 42nd AR Mounted
  • Capt. James W. Clark (31st AR), supernumerary since his regiment had been disbanded in 1862, took furloughed men of his regiment as the nucleus for the 45th AR Mounted
• This way, Jones and Lyles would not significantly decrease the strengths of the consolidated regiments, and could possibly have returned the nucleus after organizing and drilling their new recruits. Could this make more sense?