4th Regiment, Arkansas State Troops

4th Regiment, Arkansas State Troops
Flag of the Joe Wright Guards
Active	1861
Country	Confederate States of America
Allegiance	CSA
Branch	Infantry
Engagements	American Civil War Battle of Wilson's Creek
Disbanded	August 1861

American Civil War

The 4th Infantry, Arkansas State Troops (1861) was an Arkansas State infantry regiment that served during the American Civil War. After being raised in mid-1861, the regiment was assigned to the command of Brigadier General Nicholas Bartlett Pearce, who was the commander of the 1st Division, Provisional Army of Arkansas. The regiment is referred to as the "4th Regiment Arkansas Volunteers", or "Walker's Regiment" in contemporary accounts; it was disbanded shortly after the Battle of Wilson's Creek in August 1861. Another Arkansas unit also had the designation 4th Arkansas, the 4th Arkansas Infantry Regiment which formed after the Battle of Wilson's Creek, and spent most of its service in the Confederate Army of Tennessee. There is no connection between the two units.

At the beginning of the war, the Arkansas Succession Convention created the Provisional Army of Arkansas. The Provisional Army was to consist of two divisions, the 1st Division in the western part of the state was to be commanded by Brigadier General Pearce, and the 2nd Division in the eastern half of the state, commanded by Major General James Yell. The intent of the Secession Convention was to transfer these state troop regiments into Confederate service as quickly as possible, to avoid the cost of paying for a large state army. The troops of the eastern division were transferred to the command of Brigadier General Hardee in July 1861, but the troops of the western division under Brigadier General Pearce were not transferred to Confederate service before they became engaged in the Battle of Wilson's Creek. The unit was composed of the following volunteer companies:

The regimental officers were:

The 1st Division (Brigade) Arkansas State Troops, along with Brigadier-General Ben McCulloch’s Confederate brigade, marched north into Missouri, where they linked up with Major General Sterling Price’s Missouri State Guard. The combined force then moved towards Springfield, Missouri. Under the command of Colonel James D. Walker, the 4th Regiment, Arkansas State Troops was present at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri on August 10, 1861, but was not engaged. On the morning of August 10, 1861, while encamped along Wilson’s Creek, just south of Springfield, Missouri the Southern army was attacked by a Union force under Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon. The ensuing battle was one of the largest and most desperately fought engagements in the western theater.