4th Regiment , Arkansas State Troops 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 . Organization . 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 : Battles . 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 . Disbanded . Following the battle , the regiment , with the rest of the Arkansas troops , was marched back to Arkansas and given the opportunity to vote on the issue of being transferred into Confederate service . The regiment , along with the rest of the 1st Division voted to disband rather than be transferred to Confederate service . Many veterans of the regiments joined other Confederate units later in the war . Flag . Many of the original companies raised for the war received handmade flags which were presented to them in elaborate ceremonies in their hometown before marching off to war . In the first year of the war , many of these homemade banners were " 1st National Flag " pattern , meaning that they were patterned after the first national flag authorized for the new Confederate Government . The new Confederate Banner , often referred to as the " Stars and Bars " , consisted of " a red field , with a white space extending horizontally through the center , equal in width to one third the width of the flag , and red spaces above and below to the same width as the white , the union blue extending blue extending down through the white space and stopping in the lower red space , in the center of the union , a circle of white stars corresponding in number with the States of the Confederacy . " The white stripe was a convenient place for the flag makers to embellish the flag with some motto or inscription . One of these " 1st National " pattern flags was given to the Joe Wright Guards , which became Company H , 4th Regiment , Arkansas State Troops . The flag was made by Ms . Josephine Wright and Ms . Jane Bailey . The flag is 36 " by 72 " and has the words GO AND THE LORD BE WITH THEE " painted on the white stripe . The flag was alleged chosen for the colors of the 4th Regiment . After the 4th Regiment was disbanded , many of the former members of the Joe Wright Guards joined Company D , of the new 16th Arkansas Infantry Regiment , and according to the Memoirs of Captain J . B . Bailey , the flag was chosen as the regimental colors of the 16th . The flag was carried by the 16th Arkansas during the Battle of Iuka and the Battle of Hatchie ' s Bridge during the Iuka - Corinth Campaign . The flag was retired when the 16th Arkansas was issued a new Van Dorn Pattern Battle Flag . The 16th Arkansas was captured during the Siege of Port Hudson , but the old set of colors was smuggled out and returned to the family of Ms . Wright . The flag remained in the family until 1981 , when it was donated to the Atlanta Civil War Museum , but current location of the flag is unknown .