8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion
| 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion (Confederate) | |
|---|---|
Arkansas state flag
|
|
| Active | 1862 to 1865 |
| Country | Confederate States of America |
| Allegiance |
CSA .svg){kind=small}
|
| Branch | Infantry |
| Engagements | Siege of Port Hudson, |
The 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was sometimes referred to in contemporary sources as "(Jones’) First Arkansas Battalion” and "(Miller’s) 2nd Arkansas Battalion.”
The 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion was formally activated at Little Rock on April 9, 1862, and was initially composed of eight companies It was the intention of the State Military Board to add two more companies and form a full regiment, however, events across the Mississippi River necessitated the immediate activation of the unit as a battalion, and it was rushed over to Major-General Earl Van Dorn’s Army of the West at Corinth, Mississippi. Initially under the command of Major John Miller, Lieutenant-Colonel Batt L. Jones was soon appointed to command the battalion. The unit was initially composed of volunteer companies from the following counties:
The records of the 8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion are highly fragmentary. The battalion’s books and records were lost on two occasions—at the battle of Corinth and the surrender of Port Hudson—and as a result most information about this unit comes from other sources, such as brigade records, casualty and parole lists, promotion and discharge records filed with the Confederate War Department, postwar pension records and veterans’ reminiscences. The task of researching this battalion was made even more difficult by the fact that it was sometimes referred to in contemporary sources as (Jones’) “First Arkansas Battalion” and (Miller’s) “2nd Arkansas Battalion.”
On May 10, 1862, Capt. James J. Franklin’s “Peyton Rifles” of Little Rock, Company C, was transferred to the 25th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, where it became Company F of that regiment. The 8th Battalion’s companies D through H were subsequently re-lettered C through G. Since the “Peyton Rifles” only served with the battalion for a month, their history is not presented here, but instead is included in the history of the 25th Arkansas. With the loss of the Peyton Rifles the companies were re-lettered as follows:
...
Wikipedia