10th Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 10th Arkansas Infantry ( 1861 – 1865 ) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War from the state of Arkansas . The unit is also known as A . R . Witt ' s Infantry , C . M . Cargile ' s Infantry , E . L . Vaughan ' s Infantry , Thomas D . Merrick ' s Infantry , S . S . Ford ' s Infantry , Obed Patty ' s Infantry , George A . Merrick ' s Infantry , Zebulon Venable ' s Infantry and Robert C . Bertrand ' s Infantry in contemporary accounts . After being captured at the Siege of Port Hudson , the unit reorganized as a mounted infantry unit , and was known as the 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment or Witt ' s Arkansas Cavalry . Organization . The 10th Arkansas Infantry Regiment was mustered into Confederate Service in July 1861 at Springfield in Conway County . Its members were drawn from the counties of Cleburne , Van Buren , Conway , and Perry . The unit comprised the following volunteer companies : The unit was originally commanded by Colonel T . D . Merrick , who had formerly held the rank of Major General of the Arkansas Militia and who carried Governor Rector ' s demand for the surrender of the Little Rock Arsenal to its commander in February , 1861 . The regiment was armed with weapons which the state confiscated when the Federal Arsenal at Little Rock was seized by Arkanssas 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 9th and 10th Arkansas , Kelly ' s 9th Arkansas Battalion , and the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry were all issued flintlock Hall breechloading rifles from the Arsenal . Battles . The 10th Arkansas moved to Union City , Tennessee , where 150 men died from the effects of measles . The Regiment was assigned to General Bowen ' s Brigade , consisting of the 9th and 10th Arkansas , 5th Missouri and 10th Mississippi Infantry Regiments before they were moved to Kentucky . They remained at Bowling Green , Kentucky , until the evacuation of that place when they were placed to guard the rear on the retreat . They were then placed in General Hardee ' s Corps and marched to Corinth , Mississippi . Here the 9th Arkansas was put in Breckenridge ' s Reserve Corps and marched to Shiloh . In the Battle of Shiloh , the 10th Arkansas lost about 160 men . After the Battle of Shiloh , the regiment , as part of the Army of Mississippi , withdrew to Corinth , Mississippi , where they reorganized . 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 . The 10th Arkansas was reduced to eight companies in April 1862 by transferring the personnel of Company F to Company C and dividing Company I among all the other companies . Formal charges related to the disorganized condition of his regiment were brought against Colonel Merrick . He resigned and on May 27 , 1862 and Captain A . R . Witt of Company A , was promoted to colonel and became commander of the regiment . In October , 1862 , the regiment contained 249 effectives . The regiment moved near Vicksburg , Mississippi where they stayed some time on the Yazoo River , at Camp Price . Then they were moved to Vicksburg , where they stayed a short while . They were placed in a brigade commanded by General Jeff Thompson , and moved to Louisiana , above New Orleans , where they spent the winter of 1862 – 63 guarding the New Orleans , Jackson and Great Northern Railway . By the early spring of 1863 , the 10th Arkansas was sent again to Baton Rouge where they were to prepare defenses against the approaching General N . P . Banks . This they did by felling large numbers of trees to block the roadways leading to Baton Rouge , digging trenches and mounting siege guns around the city . By the first of March , 1863 , the 10th Arkansas Infantry was at Port Hudson , Louisiana above New Orleans and during March 7 – 27 as part of a force under General Franklin Gardner , they were in operations against Federal forces at Port Hudson . After a series of engagements lasting into July , 1863 , the 10th Arkansas Infantry , was surrendered with the garrison by General Gardner to Union General N . P . Banks . The 10th apparently continued to have internal problems during the siege of Port Hudson . Certain officers of the 10th Arkansas apparently influenced some enlisted men to desert and refuse to alternate duties with their fellow companies . By July 7 , just two days before the garrison capitulated , there was practically open mutiny . On July 9 , 1863 the garrison surrendered and the 10th Arkansas became prisoners of war . The men were paroled until exchanged , with the officers were imprisoned at Johnson ' s Island , Ohio , in Lake Erie . The unit was eventually exchanged and returned to Arkansas . Col . A . R . Witt reorganized the unit , including some newly recruited members to form Witt ' s Arkansas Cavalry . The Regiment was assigned to the following higher commands while it served east of the Mississippi River : Like almost all Civil War units , the regiment was frequently known by an alternate designation derived from the name of the unit ' s commanding officer . The regiment participated in the following engagements during its career as an infantry regiment east of the Mississippi River : Witt ' s 10th Arkansas Cavalry . Witt ' s Arkansas Cavalry , commanded by Colonel A . R . Witt , was composed primarily of men who had served with the Tenth Arkansas Infantry , been captured at Port Hudson , Louisiana , and after being exchanged , returned to Arkansas . Though the veterans of the 10th Arkansas Infantry were the backbone of the new unit , Colonel Witt also conducted extensive recruiting outside the immediate area of Springfield and Conway County . Most of the men in companies C , D , and G were raised in nearby Clinton [ Van Buren County ] ; nine of the unit ' s twenty - one company grade officers were from that town as well . A few recruits were also found in Batesville , Searcy , Carrollton , Jacksonport , and Austin . Some were veterans of other regiments . On numerous occasions , the unit served behind Federal lines . A Federal report indicated that it often employed female sympathizers to spy on Federal installations and troop movements , reporting the information obtained back to the command . One of these spies was reported to be operating in Little Rock in mid - November , 1864 . The unit served unattached throughout its career , with the exception of Price ' s Missouri Expedition in late 1864 . During this time it was attached to Major General Fagan ' s division of Arkansas Troops . The unit took part in the following engagements as a mounted force in the Department of the Tran - Mississippi : Unlike most of the units which accompanied Price after the Missouri expedition , Witt ' s Cavalry did not retreat all the way to northeastern Texas . The command remained , instead , in Arkansas , probably in order to continue its spying operations . The 3rd Arkansas ( United States ) Cavalry met and " scattered " Witt ' s command in a skirmish near Lewisburg , Arkansas , on February 12 , 1865 . Surrender . In the reorganization of the Trans - Mississippi Department following Price ' s Missouri Expedition , the 10th Arkansas was assigned to the command of Brigadier General M . Jeff Thompson , commander of the Military Sub - District of Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri . Thompson formally surrendered his command at Chalk Bluff , Arkansas on May 11 , 1865 , and agreed to have his men assemble at Wittsburg and Jacksonport , Arkansas to lay down their arms and receive their paroles . At the time , Thompson ' s command was widely dispersed throughout northeast Arkansas , mainly for reasons of available forage . Colonel Witt , who had continued to operate in the vicinity of Quitman , wrote to Major General Reynolds , commander of Union forces in the Department of Arkansas , on May 18 , 1865 , stating his intention to surrender and help restore order in the area . Colonel Witt and the survivors of the 10th Arkansas Mounted Infantry surrendered and were paroled at Jacksonport on June 5 , 1865 . Most of the men on the Jacksonport parole lists actually served in the 10th Arkansas regiment , but some were attached to various companies simply for the purpose of surrendering . A few may never have seen any service and marched to Jacksonport to receive a parole , which provided former Confederates with some degree of protection from arrest or capture .