34th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
| 34th Arkansas Infantry (Confederate) | |
|---|---|
Arkansas state flag
|
|
| Active | 1862 to 1865 |
| Country | Confederate States of America |
| Allegiance |
CSA .svg){kind=small}
|
| Branch | Infantry |
| Engagements | |
| Arkansas Confederate Infantry Regiments | |
|---|---|
| Previous | Next |
| 33rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment | 35th Arkansas Infantry Regiment |
The 34th Arkansas Infantry (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment was originally designated by the state military board as the 2nd Regiment, Northwest Division, District of Arkansas. The unit spent its entire existence in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi.
Immediately following the Battle of Pea Ridge, General P. G. T. Beauregard, acting for General Albert S. Johnston, ordered General Earl Van Dorn to bring his Army of the West to Corinth, Mississippi, to join Johnston's force for an attack on the Union Army at Shiloh, Tennessee. Additionally General Van Dorn moved all the supplies he could, including the machinery and stores at the Little Rock Arsenal, to northern Mississippi with him, and left few men behind. However, due to bad roads Van Dorn failed to reach Corinth until a week after the Battle of Shiloh.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the Battle of Pea Ridge, Northwest Arkansas was ravaged by the Union Army invaders until General Curtis moved his army southeast to Batesville, Arkansas, in May 1862. Arkansas Governor Henry Massey Rector issued an address on May 5, 1862, calling for the formation of 30 new infantry companies and 20 new cavalry companies. Most of the state's militia regiments had conducted their final recorded militia muster during the last week of February and the first week of March 1862. Rector indicated that if there were insufficient volunteers to fill these new companies, a draft would be made upon the militia regiments and brigades. As a further enticement, Rector also indicated that these regiments were for home defense and that they would not be transferred to Confederate service without their consent. During the spring and summer following this order, many former militiamen joined one of the newly formed regiments. It may be that the militiamen decided it was better to enlist and remain together than to wait for forced conscription under new Confederate Conscription laws, which were being strictly enforced during the summer of 1862.
...
Wikipedia