1st Arkansas Cavalry Regiment ( Dobbin ' s ) The 1st ( Dobbin ' s ) Regiment Arkansas Cavalry ( 1861 – 1865 ) was a Confederate Army cavalry regiment during the American Civil War . Organization . The nucleus of what became Dobbin ' s regiment was Maj . Francis Marion Chrisman ' s battalion of four companies , organized on September 28 , 1862 . Chrisman ' s battalion was assigned to Parson ' s Cavalry Brigade , 1st Corps , Trans - Mississippi Department , from September to December 1862 ; after which it was reported as an unattached command in the District of Arkansas , until about January 1863 , when it was increased to a regiment and designated as the 1st ( Dobbin ' s ) Regiment Arkansas Cavalry . The additional companies which were joined with Chrisman ' s four companies were five " partisan ranger " companies and one " spy " company . " Corley ' s Spies " ( which became Company A , Capt . Samuel Corley commanding ) was not a group of secret agents ; rather , they were expert scouts who knew the bayous , forests , roads and trails of eastern Arkansas like the back of their hands . They were skilled at moving around undetected by the Yankees . I once found some correspondence regarding the resignation of Corley ' s first lieutenant , which revealed that " Corley ' s Spies " had served briefly in the Indian Territory in Albert Pike ' s command . When the regiment was organized , Captain Corley was promoted to major . He was one of those larger - than - life characters whose life would make a great book and movie . He was a preacher who talked about Christian love and forgiveness on Sunday , and fought Yankees like the devil during the week . He was killed in action at Fourche Bayou on September 10 , 1863 . The component companies ( and original captains ) of Dobbin ' s regiment were as follows : Company F was consolidated with Company A on January 3 , 1864 . Companiess D & H were consolidated with Company E on January 3 , 1864 . The orgional regimental staff officers were : The unit is difficult to research because not only was it a loosely - organized regiment , but most of the typical paperwork generated by a regiment in the field is missing from the record . Only a handful of muster rolls , and almost no quartermaster or commissary reports , are known to exist . Battles . When organized , Dobbins ' regiment was listed as an unattached command in the District of Arkansas until May 1863 . From June through September 1863 it was assigned to the Arkansas Cavalry Brigade of General Walker ' s Division , and in November 1863 was listed in Dobbin ' s Cavalry Brigade , District of Arkansas . Its major engagements were the Battle of Helena ( July 4 , 1863 ) , the Battle of Little Rock ( September 10 , 1863 ) and the Battle of Pine Bluff ( October 25 , 1863 ) . But for most of its existence , Dobbin ' s regiment was engaged in numerous scouts , raids and skirmishes throughout eastern and northeastern Arkansas . The companies frequently operated independently . Colonel Dobbins was court - martialed and dismissed from the service on November 23 , 1863 . The court martial resulted from Colonel Dobbins ' refusal to accept orders from General John S . Marmaduke because Marmaduke had kill Brigadier General L . M . Walker in a duel just before the Battle of Little Rock . The official records indicate that the regiment was broken up about January 3 , 1864 , and elements of the regiment were attached to , but not formally consolidated with , Col . Thomas J . Morgan ' s regiment . Dobbins Arkansas Cavalry was engaged in the following battles : Flag . The flag of Dobbins Arkansas Cavalry was captured by Indiana troops at Tulip , Arkansas in October 1863 . Colonel Powell Clayton with three hundred and fifty men the 1st Indiana Cavalry and four pieces of light artillery , and by making a circuitous route , and marching ninety miles in thirty - three hours , succeeded in surprising and completely routing Colonel Dobbin ' s cavalry brigade at Tulip , Arkansas , capturing one stand of colors , all his camp and garrison equipage , quartermaster and commissary stores , medical supplies , transportation , etc . The captured flag was returned to Arkansas in 1962 by the Governor of Indiana , and is currently located in the collections of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock , Arkansas . This cotton flag measures 53 " x 72 " with a dark blue field with a red " upright " cross . The cross is 6 " wide . There are 13 white , 5 - pointed , 3 " stars on the crossbars . The leading edge has been doubled back to form a sleeve , 2 " wide when flat with pairs of ties at each end for securing the flag to its staff . Trans - Mississippi Pattern Battle Flag of Dobbins 1st Arkansas Cavalry Regiment . The flag is sometimes referred to as a Polk Pattern flag after the flag used by General Leonidas Polk ' s Corps east of the Mississippi River , but Dobbins ' unit never served in Polk ' s Corps and Dobbins ' flag is slightly different from the Polk Pattern . The late Howard Madaus deemed Dobbins ' flag a " Trans - Mississippi pattern " unique to that theater . One other flag of the same style exists in the Iowa collections captured at Helena in July 1863 . Surrender . At the end of the war , most of the former companies of Dobbins regiment were paroled ( still with the designation 1st Arkansas Cavalry ) at Wittsburg , Arkansas , on May 25 , 1865 . Two of the companies were paroled at Jacksonport on June 5 , 1865 . Colonel Dobbins , was paroled at Galveston , Texas , on July 13 , 1865 , where he signed his parole as colonel commanding 1st Brigade Arkansas Cavalry . Colonel Dobbin emigrated to Brazil after the war .