Thanks for that information. Not having a source of muster roll information other than Gerde's website, without paying for a subscription to something like Footnotes.com. And I've given up long ago on trying to go to the Archives in Little Rock and pouring my poor eyes out over a microfilm reader all day, I wasn't aware of his promotion prior to his returning back to Arkansas.
Now, I know you said that he had orders to return to Arkansas, But the date of his order is pretty close to when his original enlistment was to end. Also I believe that Fagan had already returned to Arkansas. Do you think that Fagan had anything to do with Crawfords return to Arkansas and his recieving a new command. After all, Crawford being the Lt. Colonel of the 1st Arkansas would probably have been promoted to full Colonel shortly after Fagan's departure, as if Fagan ever really commanded any unit he organized for very long, but that's another matter.
Or do you think that Hindman and Rector screaming for every experienced officer from Arkansas they could get their hands on to return to Arkansas and rebuild the Trans Mississippi, was the main reason for his return? I know that it probably was a combination of all of these factors, But having just been promoted from Captain to Lt. Colonel of the premier 1st Arknasas Infantry and trade that for an unknown position (a pig in a poke), even if it was back in Arkansas, had to be a difficult decision.