6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment 6th Arkansas Infantry ( June 10 , 1861 – April 26 , 1865 ) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War . Organized mainly from volunteer companies , including several prewar volunteer militia units , raised in the southern half of Arkansas , the regiment was among the first transferred to Confederate Service . It served virtually the entire war in Confederate forces east of the Mississippi River . After the unit sustained heavy casualties during the Battle of Shiloh and Bragg ' s Kentucky Campaign , the unit spent most of the rest of the war field consolidated with the 7th Arkansas Infantry Regiment , to form the 6th / 7th Arkansas Infantry Regiment . Organization . The 6th Infantry was mustered into state service in Little Rock , Arkansas on June 10 , 1861 , a little less than a month after the state first began raising infantry regiments . The 6th Arkansas , also known as the 6th Arkansas , State Troops and the 6th Arkansas Volunteer Infantry , was made up of volunteer companies from the following counties : The regiment ' s first commander was Colonel Richard Lyon . The other regimental officers were : 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 5th , 6th , 7th , and 8th Arkansas Infantry Regiments , mustered in June , 1861 , were issued M1816 / M1822 . 69 caliber flintlocks . They retained these weapons until April , 1862 when they were able to exchange them for better weapons scavenged from the battlefield at Shiloh . The unit began with mixed uniforms , but by the end of 1861 given matching uniforms from the Little Rock supply depot . Prior to that , though , they were marched to Pocahontas , Arkansas where they were to be attached to the 2nd Division of the Provisional Army of Arkansas under command of Major General James Yell . While there , the measles broke out in the camp , and many of their soldiers died . When the units were offered the opportunity to vote on whether to accept transfer from state service to Confederate service , one full company , the B company , which originated in Calhoun County , declined to re - enlist . A few other soldiers from other companies also declined extended enlistments . The remainder of the regiment was mustered into Confederate service on July 26 , 1861 at Pittman ' s Ferry , Arkansas . The 6th Arkansas , along with the 2nd , 5th , 7th , and 8th Arkansas Infantry units was initially assigned to a brigade under the command of Brigadier General William J . Hardee . Battles . The 6th Arkansas saw no action in the coming months , only taking part in a small raid into Missouri . By October 1861 , the regiment , along with the rest of General Hardee ' s division had been sent to Columbus , Kentucky to become the Army of Central Kentucky . When Colonel Lyon was killed during a river crossing , they fell under the command of Alexander T . Hawthorn . Gordon N . Peay of Company A was promoted to replace Hawthorn as lieutenant colonel . They experienced their first real combat while supporting Terry ' s Texas Rangers near Woodsonville , Kentucky . On March 29 , 1862 , the Army of Central Kentucky was merged into the Army of Mississippi in preparation for the Battle of Shiloh . General Albert Sidney Johnston ordered the army to consolidate in northern Mississippi . The regiment saw its first true battle action during the Battle of Shiloh , where it performed extremely well . The 6th Arkansas was decisively engaged at Shiloh with the Confederate left wing , engaged against Sherman ' s Federal troops . The 6th Arkansas was able to re - arm itself with " Springfield rifles " ( probably . 58 cal . M1855 rifle muskets ) from Federal weapons left on the field at Shiloh . In early May 1862 , Confederate forces underwent an army - wide reorganization due to the passage of the Conscription Act by the Confederate Congress in April 1862 . All twelve - month regiments had to re - muster and enlist for two additional years or the duration of the war ; a new election of officers was ordered ; and men who were exempted from service by age or other reasons under the Conscription Act were allowed to take a discharge and go home . Officers who did not choose to stand for re - election were also offered a discharge . The reorganization was accomplished among all the Arkansas regiments in and around Corinth , Mississippi , following the Battle of Shiloh . During its reorganization , Colonel Hawthorn chose not to stand for re - election and Samuel G . Smith was elected to the colonelcy . Colonel Smith would later died as a prisoner in a Union hospital during the Atlanta Campaign . Sent to Chattanooga , Tennessee following the evacuation by Confederate forces of Corinth , Mississippi , the 6th Arkansas became a part of the Army of Mississippi under Major General Braxton Bragg and participated in the Kentucky Campaign . During the Battle of Perryville , the 7th Arkansas Infantry Regiment took devastating casualties , leaving the regiment all but ineffective . The 6th Arkansas had also suffered heavy casualties in that same battle , so the 7th Arkansas ' remaining soldiers were consolidated with the 6th Arkansas . The 6th and 7th Arkansas Infantry Regiments were combined December 22 , 1862 , and remained consolidated for the remainder of the war . The rolls of each company were , however , continued as though no consolidation had ever been made . The following consolidations also occurred among the companies of the 6th Arkansas : From December 31 , 1862 through January 2 , 1863 the 6th and 7th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiment was heavily engaged during the Battle of Murfreesboro , losing a total of 29 killed and 140 wounded . The unit was engaged in the Battle of Chickamauga and the Battles for Chattanooga . Colonel D . A . Gillespie was wounded at the battle of Battle of Chickamauga and died in a hospital on October 26 , 1862 . The combined regiment had 16 disabled at the Battle of Ringgold Gap , totaled 314 men and 265 arms in December , 1863 , and sustained 66 casualties at the Battle of Atlanta . The entire regiment was captured along with several other regiments during the Battle of Jonesboro , which was part of the Atlanta Campaign , but were released several weeks later in a prisoner exchange . Returning to the Army of Tennessee , in time to participate in the Franklin - Nashville Campaign . After the retreat from Tennessee , the regiment was moved to North Carolina where they took part in the final charge of the army during the Battle of Bentonville . The 6th - 7th Arkansas actively took part in the following battles , skirmishes and / or campaigns : Toward the end of the war , ten depleted Arkansas regiments , including the 7th Arkansas , were lumped together as the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry , April 9 , 1865 . Battle flags . At least six flags attributed to the 6th Arkansas Infantry or the 6th & 7th Consolidated Infantry Regiments are known to exist . The earliest flag known for the 6th Arkansas is a 1st pattern Hardee ( Buckner ) battle flag - 28 " x 38 " , no white border on three sides , and only a 2 " white border on the staff edge . ( See Battle Flags of the Confederate Army of Tennessee , p . 55 ) This flag is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington , DC ; accession no . 18342 . This flag ( according to its file card ) " was made by a soldier of the Sixth Arkansas , from remnants of blue and white shirts . " The blue field is extensively pieced . The second known flag of the 6th Arkansas is a 2nd pattern , Hardee battle flag , 31 " x 43 1 / 2 " , with white border all around and inscription " 6th Arks / Shiloh " on an elliptical central disc in black paint or ink . This flag presumably was used by the 6th Arkansas as its battle flag from sometime in early 1862 until the flag was too worn for further use . One third of the fly portion of the blue field is replaced , presumably a repair , but the date of the repair is uncertain . This flag is currently in the collection of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock . Dimensions : 31 . 5 " x 43 . 5 " ; blue wool bunting , white cotton , with black painted letters . A silk Confederate 1st national flag of the 6th Arkansas Infantry with battle honor " PERRYVILLE " attached by means of a rectangular applique on the reverse ; 55 " x 84 1 / 2 " ( exclusive of fringe ) , badly faded . It was captured when found in an abandoned railroad car at Macon , Georgia on 20 May 1865 by Sergt . John W . Deen , 17th Indiana Mounted . Infantry ; and is War Department capture no . 500 . According to a 1907 letter , this flag was only used at Perryville , then retired before Murfreesboro . It is currently in the collection of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock . A Confederate 2nd national flag of the combined 6th & 7th Arkansas Infantry . currently in the Missouri State archives in Columbia , Missouri . When examined in 1978 , it consisted of a 40 1 / 2 " x 76 1 / 2 " white bunting field with a red canton bearing an unedged 3 1 / 2 " wide St . Andrew ' s cross bearing thirteen white cotton stars , those on the arms 3 1 / 2 " across their points , the center 5 " across its points , applied to the reverse and cut away on the obverse ( reverse side accordingly 1 / 2 " larger in diameter . ) The white field bears the following inscriptions : ( upper - in outline scrolls ) " 6th and 7th / ARK / REG ' T " ( middle ) " God & Our Country " ; ( lower ) " SHILOH . PERRYVILLE . MURFREESBORO . " , all in red painted lettering . This flag dates no earlier than May 1863 and was probably a " parade " flag used briefly between May and June 1863 , however no firm history survives regarding it . This is a 2nd pattern Hardee battle flag , originally of the 7th Arkansas , but modified for the combined 6th & 7th Arkansas ; 30 " x 37 1 / 4 " ; captured at Jonesboro , Georgia on 1 September 1864 by Private Henry B . Mattingly , 10th Kentucky Infantry ; War Department capture no . 531 . This flag bears the embroidered battle honor " SHILOH " in the center of the elliptical disc , over embroidered " Down with the Tyrant " , and with " 7TH ARK . " above it in paint , with " 6TH & " added in front of it , both in black . Similarly , three battle honors , " PERRYVILLE . " " MURFREESBORO . " and " CHICKAMAUGA " painted in black on the white border . Also painted in white on blue field , " LIBERTY GAP " , " RINGGOLD GAP " , and " TUNNEL HILL , Tenn . " This is the flag that the combined 6th and 7th Arkansas carried from their consolidation in November , 1862 until its loss in September 1864 . This flag was captured , along with the regiment , when Govan ' s Arkansas Brigade was overrun and captured by a Federal charge on their position at Jonesboro , Georgia on September 1 , 1864 . Private Henry B . Mattingly of Co . B , 10th Kentucky Infantry ( U . S . ) won the Medal of Honor for the capture of this flag . This flag is in the collection of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock , Arkansas . Dimensions : 28 . 5 " x 37 . 5 " ; blue wool bunting , white cotton , silk embroidery , with blue , black , and white painted letters . This is a small ( 23 1 / 2 " x 28 1 / 8 " ) flag , most likely a camp color or flag marker , in the form of the 2nd pattern Hardee battle flag , with the Arkansas coat - of - arms painted on the elliptical disc and the designation " 6TH and 7TH ARK . REG . " painted on the upper border in black . It was acquired in 1976 by the National Park Service , and is on display at the Stone ' s River National Battlefield visitor ' s center in Murfreesboro , TN . Dimensions : 28 " x 38 " ; blue wool bunting , white cotton , with black painted letters . Final consolidation and surrender . By the close of the war many of the Arkansas regiments assigned to the Army of Tennessee had suffered heavy casualties , so the 1st , 2nd , 5th , 6th , 7th , 8th , 13th , 15th , 19th , 24th and the 3rd Confederate Infantry Regiments were consolidated into the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry . According to the Muster rolls of the 1st Arkansas Consolidated , an attempt was made to maintain unit cohesion by allowing each of the original regiments to form one or two complete companies for the new unit . The following list indicates the regiment of origin for the companies of the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment : Organized in Smithfield , North Carolina , the 1st Arkansas Consolidated was combat ready by April 9 , 1865 , the very day General Robert E . Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia . The regiment was surrendered with the rest of the Army of Tennessee on April 26 , 1865 , in Durham Station , North Carolina . Bibliography . Collier , Calvin L . First In – Last Out , the Capitol Guards , Arkansas Brigade . ( Little Rock , AR : Pioneer Press , 1961 ) . Thomasson , Bryan . " We Have Drunk From the Same Canteen : Company H , Sixth Arkansas Regiment ; the Camden City Guards . " Master ' s thesis , University of Arkansas , 1995 .