My question of whether or not Co "D" 1st Ark. Inf was possible a militia company or not is based on the observation that most of the men were first enlisted for 12 month service on May 1, 1861, 5 days before Arkansas seceeded. As we know that gathering of men and the organization of a company for enlistment actual occures some time prior to their "Official" enlistment date.

We know that Donaldson McGregor was the Commanding officer of the 24th Ark Militia Regiment from Arkansas newspaper and several other sources. We know that he becomes the Captain of this Company for Confederate service. The organization of this company had to have occurred at least by April 1862 (I believe actually between April 15th to May 1st 1862 because of Lincoln proclamiation) to be enlisted on May 1st. But under what autherization was McGregor gathering these men? The state of Arkansas was still a state of the United States of America when these men enlisted, The 3rd State Convention had not yet voted on the matter of secession and Mr. Lincoln had made his famous called for 75,000 men to put down the rebellion and had issued a quote for the state of Arkansas to provide.

Yes I will admit that the writting was pretty much "on the wall" in late April '61, as the old timers would say, that Arkansas was probably going to seceed. But who could have been 100% certain what the secession convention would have done. McGregor had no authority from the Confederate States to raise such a company for their service that I know of. I am unsure if Fagan had any such authority. IF Donaldson McGregor WAS raising a company for Confederate service then he was doing it outside the authority of his commission as an Officer of the State Militia.

The thing is that I do not believe that given the political climate of Jefferson County, a strong pro secession county, that all these men who enlisted May 1st, 1861 were "New" enlistments with no prior militia service. I believe that they were going to war on the side of the Confederacy, one way or another, whether the State of Arkansas seceeded or not. The question is How long before that May 1st enlistment date were they around? Were they organized immediately after the Arsenal incident from the diehards? Certainly McGregor would have had the ability to pick and choose from the existing militia companies who he wanted to be in that select company.