" . . . The regiment fought at Pea Ridge, March 7-8, 1862, where Colonel Mitchell was captured. After the battle, the regiment, along with the rest of Major-General Van Dorn’s “Army of the West”, was transferred to Mississippi. On May 8, 1862, the regiment’s twelve-month enlistment was extended for two years. This action outraged the independent mountaineers of the 14th Arkansas, most of whom refused to accept the order and deserted in droves. The regiment’s roster shrank from nearly 1,000 men to less than 300 in a period of about two months. . . . "