On 18 May 1862 Elihu enlisted in Clark County, Arkansas as a private (at age 22) in Company H, 33rd Arkansas Infantry, Confederate States of America with his two brothers Jeremiah and Solomon Morphew. All three left their company on sick leave at Monroe, Louisiana on 4 August 1863 and failed to report back. And they were officially listed as deserters in the Feb. 1864 muster rolls.

On 16 April 1864 Elihu and Jeremiah Morphew were on furlough (more likely not) “and with two neighbor boys, Hampton Leitze, and Josuah Kirby, doing some clearing on some land they hoped to be able to farm....On a nice spring day, they were at work when a party of bushwackers appeared, beat, robbed, and shot all four, and their women folk had to bury all in the same grave in Mount Zion Cemetery at New Hope, Arkansas.” (from “Morphew History,” by Arlie C. Morphew, 1970, page 17.)

I believe these men were targeted by pro-Confederate partisans, possibly men who knew them. NARA lists a Joshua Kirby in the 4th AR Cav., U.S. Jeremiah galvanized into that unit in Nov. 1863 and two other Morphew brothers, John and Gaynor, joined as well. And I doubt there was a robbery, more likely just a grudge killing for choosing the wrong side. And at the time of this incident, the 4th AR Cav. was heavily involved in warfare, so I doubt these men had an official leave of absence. Not judging them, crops had to be planted to feed their families and evidently, their families were not popular with some of the neighbors.

Does anyone know any history of organized Confederate partisans in Clark County?