15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment ( Johnson ' s ) The 15th ( Gee ' s / Johnson ' s ) Arkansas Infantry ( 1861 – 1864 ) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War . The regiment was raised in January 1862 under Colonel James M . Gee . It served in Kentucky and was surrendered at Fort Donelson in February 1862 . Reorganized following its parole and exchange under Colonel Benjamin W . Johnson , the regiment served in Louisiana and was again surrendered at Port Hudson in July 1863 . Reorganized again following its second parole and exchange , the regiment was finally merged in September 1864 with several other Arkansas regiments into the 3rd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment . Conflicting Designations . There were two other Confederate infantry regiments which received the designation " 15th Arkansas " . The first , which was originally commanded by Colonel ( later Major General ) Patrick Cleburne , was known as the 15th ( Josey ' s ) Arkansas Infantry Regiment and the other , originally commanded by Colonel ( later Brigadier General ) Dandridge McRea , was known as the 15th ( Northwest ) Arkansas Infantry Regiment . Organization . The 15th ( Johnson ' s ) Arkansas Infantry Regiment was organized at Camden , Arkansas , on January 2 , 1862 , with the following regimental officers : The regiment was originally composed of six volunteer companies from Columbia , Hempstead , Lafayette , Ouachita , and Union counties . The original company commanders were : Before its completion as a regiment , the six original companies were sent to defend Fort Henry on the Tennessee River . They were then transferred to the garrison at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River , some distant . Battles . In mid - December , 1861 , the regiment was ordered to Memphis . Some of the companies began marching eastward from Camden in early January , and at Gaines ' Landing on the Mississippi River , took a steamer to Memphis . One company was ordered to Little Rock , then went on to Memphis . The regiment camped for a few days at Memphis , and was then ordered to Fort Heiman , a new fort being constructed on the Tennessee River , arriving around January 28 . On February 5 , the regiment moved across the river to Fort Henry . Forts Henry and Donelson . The regiment participated in the defense of Fort Henry , and when it was obvious that the fort would be captured , it was hurriedly ordered to march to Fort Donelson to defend that position against the coming Federal attack , leaving behind much of their extra clothing and other gear . This would make their coming winter months much more difficult . At Fort Donelson , the regiment manned the heavy artillery until they burst or were dismounted , and then led a sortie in the snow and sleet against the Federal trenches which were in the process of being constructed in their front . They took the first line of works , suffering great loss , at least one - fourth of the command . Captain Frank Jordan was among the killed , and Adjutant Ben W . Johnson among the wounded . Fort Donelson fell on February 16 , 1862 . Men and officers were made prisoners by the " unconditional surrender " . The men were sent to Camp Butler , the officers to Fort Warren . Lieut . - Col . John C . Wright made his escape , returned to Arkansas , was elected Colonel of cavalry in the service under General Thomas C . Hindman , who was organizing the Trans - Mississippi Department , and commanded Crawford ' s Brigade at the Battle of Marks ' Mills . Gee ' s regiment had 7 killed and 17 wounded out of a total of 270 men during the siege of Fort Donelson . In late September , 1862 , the survivors were released and sent to Vicksburg to be exchanged . The death rate in the regiment during its imprisonment was considerable . The reports of the company commanders show : Reorganization . The soldiers of the regiment were declared exchanged in September 1862 , and the regiment was reorganized at Jackson , Mississippi , on October 16 , 1862 and assigned to Beall ' s Brigade , Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana . At the reorganization in 1862 , four Arkansas companies which had originally been assigned to the 40th Tennessee Infantry Regiment were added to the unit to give the legally required ten companies for a regiment . The companies were reorganized as follows : The following regimental officers were elected : Port Hudson . The reorganized regiment was sent south to Louisiana to resist Major General Banks , and fought in many minor engagements , including Cross Landing , Greenfield , Plum ' s Store , and with the First Alabama and Thirteenth Mississippi , engaged at Keller ' s Lane a largely superior force , which they routed , taking many prisoners and valuable stores . The regiment was called into the fortifications of Port Hudson , when attacked by the army and navy of the United States . The unit fought at Plains Store , the first engagement of the siege . Captain Reed , of Company G , was killed on May 29 , 1863 ; Captain Hubbard , of Company D , was also killed . Within a day or two , Captain Stevenson died from wounds received . Capt . E . Wilson died from concussion of the brain , caused by being struck with a shell . This regiment sustained the highest number of casualties of any unit defending the post , eighty - one percent . The regiment started the siege of Port Hudson with 484 men , and came out with only 92 . Fort Desperate . Fort Desperate was the name given to the Confederate position sitting at the top of an exposed ridge on the northeastern corner of the Port Hudson defensive line . It was primarily defended by the men of Johnson ' s 15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment . On May 21 , just before the garrison was placed under siege and a Union attack appeared imminent , the Confederate forces were reorganized and Colonel Johnson ' s unit was assigned to Colonel I . G . W . Steedman , who was given command of the entire left wing of the defenses . Colonel Johnson was ordered to move his men from their position at the center of the lines to a new position farther to the left , just six days before a massive Union attack took place . When he was given this order , no defensive fortifications existed at the location , and a frantic effort began to construct earthworks in anticipation of a coming assault . The men built a formidable parapet surrounding their camp on three sides , with an exterior trench running alongside it , to create a fortification known as a lunette . The ground dropped off steeply all around the wall , giving the fort a natural advantage . The timber was cut outside the wall , and the tangle of tree branches and brush covering the ground made the uphill approach very slow , difficult , and dangerous . Throughout the siege , work continued on the fortifications , mostly at night . Improvements were made , and damage caused by the continuous Union artillery bombardment was repaired . In the defense of Fort Desperate , the 15th Arkansas was joined by two gun detachments of Company B , First Mississippi Artillery Regiment , with their two twelve - pounder guns and about twenty - five men . These two guns were Johnson ' s only artillery . At the beginning of the battle , Johnson had a total of 262 enlisted men and 31 officers . At certain times small detachments of several other units were also under Johnson ' s command , and were used as a reserve , seeing little action . The men of the 15th Arkansas were at the front without relief throughout the siege . This vital section of the Confederate line was never breached by Union forces , despite constant bombardment and repeated attacks by vastly larger forces . On July 9 , 1863 , after a 48 - day siege , the longest in American history , Port Hudson surrendered . Following the surrender the enlisted men were paroled but the officers were sent to various Northern prison camps , including Johnson ' s Island , Ohio . Consolidation . After being exchanged following the fall of Port Hudson , the survivors of the regiment were consolidated with the remains of Hardy ’ s Arkansas Infantry and the 20th Arkansas to form the 3rd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment under the command of Col . H . G . P . Williams . Surrender . The 3rd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment was surrendered with the Department of the Trans - Mississippi , General Kirby Smith commanding , on May 26 , 1865 . When the Trans - Mississippi Department surrendered , all of the Arkansas infantry regiments were encamped in and around Marshall , Texas ( war - ravaged Arkansas no longer able to subsist the army ) . The regiments were ordered to report to Shreveport , Louisiana , to be paroled . None of them did so . Some soldiers went to Shreveport on their own to be paroled , but in general the regiments simply disbanded without formally surrendering .