1st Arkansas Infantry

1st Arkansas Infantry (Confederate)
1st Arkansas Volunteer Infantry Hardee Pattern
Active	April 1861–April 26, 1865
Country	Confederate States of America
Allegiance	CSA
Branch	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Engagements	American Civil War First Battle of Bull Run Battle of Shiloh Siege of Corinth Kentucky Campaign Battle of Perryville Battle of Murfreesboro Tullahoma Campaign Battle of Liberty Gap Chickamauga Campaign Battle of Chickamauga Chattanooga Campaign Battle of Missionary Ridge Battle of Ringgold Gap Atlanta Campaign Battle of Rocky Face Ridge Battle of Resaca Battle of New Hope Church Battle of Kennesaw Mountain Battle of Peachtree Creek Siege of Atlanta Battle of Jonesboro Franklin–Nashville Campaign Battle of Spring Hill Battle of Franklin Battle of Nashville Carolinas Campaign Battle of Bentonville
Battle honours	Southern Cross of Honor Lieutenant Colonel Donelson McGregor and fourteen others soldiers for the Battle of Murfreesboro
Disbanded	April 26, 1865 (1865-04-26)
Commanders
Colonel	James F. Fagan
Lieutenant Colonel	James C. Monroe
Major	John Baker Thompson
Adjutant General	Prof. Frank Bronaugh

American Civil War

The 1st Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment was raised in April 1861 by Colonel Thompson B. Flournoy. It moved first to Virginia, but transferred back to Tennessee and served the rest of the war in the western theater, seeing action in the Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia campaigns. Following its depletion in numbers, the regiment was consolidated several times with other Arkansas regiments, finally merging in 1865 into the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment. There were three regiments known as "1st Arkansas" during the war. The second unit with the designation of "1st Arkansas" was the 1st Infantry, Arkansas State Troops, which was mustered into Confederate service at Pitman's Ferry, Arkansas, on 23 July 1861, under the command of Colonel Patrick Cleburne; this unit was eventually redesignated as the 15th Arkansas Volunteer Infantry. The third unit bearing the title "1st Arkansas" was the 1st Arkansas Volunteer Infantry, which served with the Union Army.

The 1st Arkansas regiment began its organization in April 1861, before Arkansas had even seceded from the Union. The first Arkansas Secession Convention had convened in March and voted against secession. On 12 April, Confederate forces under General P. G. T. Beauregard bombarded Fort Sumter, forcing its capitulation. President Abraham Lincoln called upon the "militia of the several states" to provide 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion. Governor Henry Rector famously refused Lincoln's request for troops. Upon learning of Rector's refusal, Confederate Secretary of War, L.P. Walker, immediately wrote to Governor Rector on behalf of the Confederate Government at Montgomery and requested that the state provide a regiment for the Confederacy.