The unit, originally known as the 17th (Rector's) Infantry Regiment was organized at Fort Smith, Arkansas, November 17, 1861.(Sikakis, Stewart, Compendium of the Confederate Armies, Florida and Arkansas Facts on File, 1992, ISBN 0-8160-2288-7, page 101) Col. Frank A. Rector would later commanded the 35th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. The regiment was composed of eight companies mostly from Sebastian County and the surrounding area. (Howerton, Bryan, "17th Arkansas Regiment, No. 1", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 10 February 2007, 1:37 pm, Accessed 2 August 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=14724)
The 17th was composed of volunteer companies from the following counties:( Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, 17th (GRIFFITH'S) ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT, Accessed 28 January 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/17thf&s.html )
*Company A —Sebastian County.
*Company B —Sebastian County.
*Company C —Sebastian County.
*Company D —Washington County.
*Company E —Washington County.
*Company F —Sebastian County.
*Company G —Madison County.
*Company H —Hempstead County. (Hempstead Rifles Number 2)(Originally in 3rd Regiment, Arkansas State Troops)
The regiment's first major action was the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862, where, from some accounts, Rector's regiment did not acquit itself well. A Missouri (Confederate) artillery battery allegedly found the regiment's colors layng on the field, and for a time refused to return the flag to Rector, saying that a regiment that would abandon its colors in battle had no right to carry them after the battle.(Howerton, Bryan, "17th Arkansas Regiment, No. 1", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 10 February 2007, 1:37 pm, Accessed 2 August 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=14724)
Another account of the 17th Arkansas's Conduct at the Battle of Pea Ridge was given in 1895 in a letter from former Captain Ben B. Chism to Mrs. Harlow Bishop of Junction City, Texas:
"The 17th Arks. Infty [sic] Regt. was organized at Cross Hollows, Arks. in Washington County I believe in Fall of 1861. Frank Rector was elected Col. John Griffith Lt. Col. Matheson Major. The Regt. went into Winter quarters at Bentonville, Arks. and left there a short time before the battle of Elk Horn (Pea Ridge) in which battle the Regt. participated on both 7th & 8th March 1862. You had [a] brother either killed or wounded in this battle.
The Regt. was hard pressed and retired [on the] 8th for want of ammunition, it seemed the Confederate Army had pretty well all left the battlefield before the 17th retreated. The enemy pressed us hard. I remember this incident we had little or no ammunition, and were retreating slowly when an artillery officer galloped up to Col. Griffith who was commanding (Col. Rector, owing to a severe cold could not be heard to give a command) and said to him, "For God's sake, save my battery!". Three or four pieces of artillery were coming down a hill side Col. Griffith answered, "Captain, I have no ammunition, but I can use the bayonet!". The command was given "By [?] Regiment into line, guard against cavalry". In this position we stood in line, until the Federal Cavalry had flanked us pretty well on the left, getting into our rear, at this juncture a Missouri (Confd.) Regt. passed near to us, making its way after our retreating army.
When it was found the enemy was in or nearly in our rear, the command was given to move, and we started at a double quick, but we could not follow the army. my recollection is we moved North pursued by the Federal Cavalry. we were cut off from the main army and the pursuit of us by the enemies' cavalry continued till late in the evening. When traveling in the mountains we [returned to?] the army. At this time Genl. Pike was seen making his way from the direction of the battlefield accompanied by two or three aids [sic]. He was hailed by Col. Griffith and asked what should [be] done. Genl. Van Dorn had retreated to the Northeast and we were making our way in a South or Southwestern direction [here Chism inserts 'North or Northeast' as an apparent afterthought/correction]. Genl. Pike told Col. Griffith to disband his Regt. and let them go in squads of five or six men and make their way to Van Buren, [to] fall in with the Army there. This was [the] cause of the 17th Ark. breakup, for not more than half of the Regt. reported at Van Buren to go on East of the Miss. river, the Regt. numbering some 200 went with Genl. Van Dorn to Corinth, Miss. reaching that point some time in April 62. Here the Regt. was reorganized, John Griffith elected Col., Joseph Dodson Lt. Col., B.P. Jett Major.(Chism, Ben B. "Letter to Mrs. Harlow Bishop, Junction City, Texas, from Paris, Ark., May 28, 1895", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted by Kenneth Byrd on 10 February 2007, 3:23 pm, Accessed 2 August 2011, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=14728 )"
What ever the truth behind the regiment's retreat and break up following the Battle of Pea Ridge, by early May 1862, portions of Companies A,B,C, and G were still in Arkansas with Colonel Rector, and the remaining companies were at Corinth, Mississippi, with the Army of the West. Lieutenant Colonel John Griffith commanded a battalion-sized 17th Arkansas at the battle of Corinth, and this portion of the regiment would go on to form the famous 11th/17th Consolidated Mounted infantry.
Meanwhile, back in Arkansas, Governor Rector issued an address on March 5, 1862 calling for the formation of 30 new infantry companies and 20 new cavalry companies. Most of the states' militia regiments had conducted their final recorded militia muster during the last week of February and the first week of March 1862. Rector indicated that if there were insufficient volunteers to fill these new companies, a draft would be made upon the militia regiments and brigades. As a further enticement, Rector also indicated that these regiments were for home defense and that they would not be transferred to Confederate Service without their consent. (The Rebellion record: a diary of American events, with documents ..., Volume 5 edited by Frank Moore, Page 11. Accessed May 3, 2011, http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA11&dq=Arkansas+State+Military+board&ei=rg7ATb36IIb20gHvu9WOBQ&ct=result&id=1bB2AAAAMAAJ#v=onepage&q=Arkansas%20State%20Military%20board&f=false) During the spring and summer following this final muster, many former militiamen joined one of the newly formed Volunteer Regiments. It may be that the militiamen decided it was better to enlist and remain together than to wait for forced conscription under new Confederate Conscription laws, which were being strictly enforced during the summer of 1862. Rector's much reduced former regiment, the remaining portions of Companies A, B, C, and G, were reinforced with troops, many of whom were came from the from the 58th Regiment Arkansas Militia regiment of Franklin County, the 15th Regiment Arkansas Militia of Pope County, and the 10th Militia Regiment of Johnson County.
Colonel Rector's new reinforced regiment, in accordance with Governor Rector's plan of maintaining the organization as a regiment of state troops, was innitiall initially organized at Fort Smith as the "1st Regiment, Northwest Division, Trans-Mississippi Department" with 1037 men. Also called Rector's War Regiment, 1st Arkansas Volunteers. The reorganized regiment consisted of the following companies:
Co. A -- Sebastian County (included men from Griffith's 17th Arkansas)
Co. B -- Sebastian County
Co. C -- Sebastian County
Co. D -- Sebastian County
Co. E -- Franklin County (Men from the 58th Regiment Militia of Franklin County)
Co. F -- Benton County (this is the new Co. F)
Co. G -- Crawford County
Co. H -- Pope County (men from 15th Arkansas Militia Regiment of Pope County)
Co. I -- Johnson County (men from 10th Arkansas militia of Johnson County)
Co. K -- Madison County (men from 16th, 17th and Stirman's Battalion)
Two other new regiments were raised under this plan, Brooks' 2nd Arkansas and Adams' 3rd Arkansas. These Regiments participated in the Battle of Prarie Grove under these state designations. When finnaly inducted into State Serive, these regimets would become, Rector's 34th, and Brook's 35th Arkansas Infantry. Adams 3rd Arkansas, after breaking under fire at the Battle of Pea Ridge and being ordered broken up, never assumed its intended Confederate designation of 36th Arkansas Infantry and that designation eventually went to McRae's old 28th Arkansas Infantry in the reorganizaiton of the army following Prarie Grove.
For reasons that I still do not understand, the regiment was then re-designated as the 22nd Arkansas Infantry (not to be confused with an earlier 22nd Arkansas, which was redesignated as the 20th Arkansas). I am not sure of the date of this redisgnation from the 35th to the 22nd Arkansas
The 35th/22nd Arkansas Infantry saw action at Helena on July 4, 1863, Little Rock on September 10, 1863 and Jenkins’ Ferry on April 30, 1864.
I am not sure if the regiment was involved in Price's Missouri Raid in 1864.
It was consolidated into 4 companies after the Little Rock campaign, and finally surrendered at Marshall, Texas, in May 1865.
There is a 22nd Arkansas Flag at the Old State House Museum, but I believe some think that this is a post war flag possibly created for a reunion?