3rd Arkansas Cavalry Regiment


The 3d Arkansas Cavalry Regiment was a Confederate Army Cavalry regiment during the American Civil War.

Organization

The 3d Arkansas Cavalry Regiment was organized June 10, 1861, as 1st Arkansas Cavalry Battalion. Mustered into state service as the 1st Arkansas Mounted Volunteer Regiment. Mustered into Confederate Service for one year on July 29, 1862. Redesignated as the 3d Arkansas Cavalry on January 15, 1862. Received the attachment of Companies E,F, and H of Williamson's Arkansas Infantry Battalion. Reorganized for two years on May 26, 1862. For a time it was stationed at Pocahontas, Arkansas, where at least some of the men were recruited. The field officers were Colonels Solon Borland, Samuel G. Earle, and Amson W. Hobson; Lieutenant Colonels Benjamin F. Danley, James M. Gee, and M. J. Henderson; and Majors William H. Blackwell, J. F. Earle, and David F. Shall. The unit was formed from the following Volunteer companies:
The regiment was armed with weapons which the state confiscated when the Federal Arsenal at Little Rock was seized by Arkansas State Militia troops in February 1861. Disposition of the weapons found in the Arsenal is somewhat sketchy, but from various records it can be surmised that the 9th and 10th Arkansas, Kelly's 9th Arkansas Battalion, and the 3d Arkansas Cavalry were issued flintlock Hall's Rifles from the Arsenal.

Battles

When the 3d Arkansas Cavalry was transferred from Arkansas to Mississippi in 1862, only 395 effectives crossed the Mississippi River. The regiment was dismounted when it fought at the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi, then was remounted and assigned to General Armstrong's and T. Harrison's Brigade. The 3d Arkansas Cavalry served under Major-General “Fighting Joe” Wheeler in the Confederate Army of Mississippi for much of the war. The unit was involved in the following engagements:

Surrender

The 3d Arkansas Cavalry surrendered with the Army of Tennessee at Durham Station, Orange County, North Carolina, April 26, 1865.