My gggrandfather, Joshua C. Merritt, was enrolled into the Union Army at Batesville, Independence Co, January 1, 1864 in Company A of the 4th Regiment of Arkansas Infantry commanded by Captain Taylor Baxter. He served as a nurse in the hospital at Batesville, and during that time he had a stroke. He was discharged at Devall’s Bluff in July 1864 because of “disease of the head”. All this info was recorded by him in his handwriting.

In 1883 he applied for a disability pension which was rejected. NARA has no record of his service, but I have his pension files from NARA, and according to one of the records the reason for rejection was that the 4th Arkansas Infantry was never officially in the service to the United States and there are no records on file in the Adjutant General’s Office for such a regiment. Another record contends that the 4th Arkansas Infantry was a state organization, and so he was ineligible for a federal pension.

There is a handwritten note from persons unknown in the files that states that “on page 250 of the Adjutant General’s report, State of Arkansas, the organization was never mustered in.” He also states that “on page 247 of that same report is found a John C. Merritt in Captain T. A. Baxter’s Co, and that probably is the claimant.” But the claim was still rejected because the regiment was never mustered in.

In the records there is also a lot of confusion between the 4th Arkansas Infantry and the 4th Arkansas Mounted Infantry, which later became the 4th Arkansas Calvary.

According to Couchgenweb, “The 4th Arkansas Infantry was organized at Batesville and Fort Smith, AR, January to May, 1864. Organization not completed, regiment transferred to Second Arkansas Infantry 28 October 1864. Service in north central and northwest Arkansas. Total enlistments: 165.”

I'm not sure what "organization not completed" means. But there are 165 enlistments.

Can anyone shed any light on this organization? There must be a record somewhere of Joshua C. Merritt or John C. Merritt having served, and I would like to find it.

Thank you for any help.

Raymond Merritt