Christopher Columbus Roark enlisted in Co. D, 17th Battalion Arkansas Cavalry, at Bellefonte, Arkansas, on March 10, 1863, for three years or the war. The company muster-in roll states that he provided his own horse, valued at $175, and eguipment (saddle, etc.), valued at $25. He was 20 years old, a native of Tennessee, currently residing in Carroll County, Arkansas. There are no later records of Harrell's 17th Arkansas Battalion.

There is no record of a John Roark serving in any Arkansas regiment. If he was born in 1816, he would have been exempt from service.

The "J. P." Roark listed in the CWSS System is actually Isaac P. Roark, a Washington County man who served in the 1st Battalion Arkansas Cavalry, and later in the 34th Arkansas Infantry. This man was born c1838 in Tennessee.