http://ozarkscivilwar.org/photographs/3rd-arkansas-state-troops/
Early war photograph of the Hempstead Rifles, Co. B, 3rd Arkansas State Troops, standing in front of the Jones Hotel in Washington, Arkansas. Raised in Hempstead County, the company completed its organization at Washington on May 4, 1861, with 102 men on its rolls and enlisted for three months' service (in state service). The men were presented their colors in the typical ceremony by the townspeople and marched off to war to the music of the local band. They apparently had this photograph taken shortly before they departed.
Typical for western troops early in the war, many of the men are wearing overshirts or battleshirts, probably homespun. They all wear civilian slouch hats and trousers, some with cravats and at least one man wearing glasses. Most of the volunteers shoulder a musket (perhaps a shotgun or squirrel rifle brought along from home) and large Bowie knives or Arkansas toothpicks.
At Camp Walker in Benton County, Arkansas, they were assigned to the 3rd Regiment, Arkansas State Troops on July 15, 1861. A brigade of Arkansas state troops - containing the 3rd Regiment - joined Gen. Ben McCulloch's forces in their march into Missouri, linking up with Gen. Sterling Price's Missouri State Guard and seeing action at Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861. Involved in the fierce fighting there at "Bloody Hill," the 3rd Regiment suffered 109 losses out of 500 men. Co. B, the Hempstead Rifles, lost 4 killed and 13 wounded.
Their three-month enlistments expiring, the Arkansas state troops were marched back to Arkansas and disbanded September 19, 1861. Many of the men, including those in the Hempstead Rifles, enlisted in the Confederate Army shortly thereafter. The "Hempstead Rifles Number 2" went on to form the nucleus of Company H, 17th Arkansas Infantry, which saw action at Pea Ridge, the battle of Corinth, and siege of Port Hudson. Other members of the Hempstead Rifles served in a range of other units, such as former Captain William P. Hart who went on to command the 2nd Arkansas Field Battery.
More on the Hempstead Rifles here: http://couchgenweb.com/civilwar/hemprifl.html
Here's a clearer version of the photo:
http://www.civilwarvirtualmuseum.org/1861-1862/pea-ridge/hempstead-rifles-flag.php
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