Into The Mouth of The Cannon By Robert E. Reynolds
Diary of Alfred J Smith- http://www.chattahoocheehillshistoricalsociety.org/Collections/Journals/CivilWarDiary-AlfredJeffersonSmith.pdf
ROWLAND B. SMITH CIVIL WAR LETTERS-UALR
Where I was And What I saw During the Late War By Elihu C. Bechkam, Sergeant Co. “K”, 21st Ark.
http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39854/m1/76/
Stirpes, Volume 37, Number 3, September 1997
NARA
Box 1 -Entry 100-Orders & circulars Dept #2-Army of the West-subordinate commanders
Van Dorn’s Special Orders #54-#118 for 4/18/62-6/11/62-Box 1 Entry 100”
Earl Van Dorn Circulars
Earl Van Dorn Special Orders for 4/18-6/19 [#s 54-118]
Papers of Thomas Snead, compiled 1874 - 1899, documenting the period 1861 - 1865
ARC Identifier:1564380 HMS/MLR #: PI101 113
Ch II Vol 179 Van Dorn Papers-letters & telegrams sent Jan-June 62
Ch II Vol 208 Special Orders May 1862-Dec 1863 for Army of the West, Dist of the Tenn, & Price’s Div
Ch II Vol 210 Van Dorn’s Command, Special Orders Jan-May 1862
Ch II Vol 211 Gen Orders, Army of the West & Price’s Div 4/62-12/63
RG 109 Snead Papers, Entry 113-Box 59, 60 & 62
Earl Van Dorn Papers- Library of Congress
Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part II: The Civil War and the Confederacy,
• (657) Maury, Dabney Herndon, 1822-1900. A.L.S.
• (849) Rust, Albert, 1818-1870. Printed D.s.; Memphis, 28 Apr 1862. 1s.(2p.)-Morning report
Museum of the Confederacy-Van Dorn’s letter book
Compiled Service Records
Supplement to the Official Records
Official Records
Personal disclaimer: These notes were made for my own personal use. As such, I took liberties with abbreviations and paraphrasing. The sources cited should be consulted for complete records, formatting, etc. Unless noted, all of the below entries were from 1862.
McCarver says-I was commanded to take post at Pittman’s Ferry on the Current River, where, and at Pocahontas we remained till the following April when we crossed the Ms River, landing at Memphis. And reporting to Gen Price, whence we were ordered to Fort Pillow. Here the troops under me command, less my own Regiment were turned over to Gen Rust. Soon I was ordered with my own command and the Montgomery fleet of gunboats to drop down to Fort Randolph and take post there. We did not remain there long. Soon we were ordered to Corinth reaching there only a few days before the Farmington fight.
The day before the fight I learned my wife and daughters were at Grand Junction. I resigned and with my family returned to Pine Bluff
4/7 Capt J Adams post cdr Memphis-reports arrival of 2 regts of Ark volunteers of Van Dorn’s command:
-Col Smead cdg -762 agg of which 560 are fit for duty-armed w/dble barrel shotguns and inferior rifles.
-Col Carroll's regt - 817 agg armed with Enfields.
-They are in camp here awaiting arrival of remainder of Van Dorn's command.
4/8-- Memphis -Requisition for Ordnance & Ordnance Stores for the use of Col D W Carroll’s Regt Ark Vols-776 of each item of inf accoutrements rec’d from Capt Stockton - Col Carroll certifies that there are 776 nco’s & privates under my command mustered into the service of the C.S.A
4/9 Des Arc, S O #46-Gen Rust is assigned to the command of a brigade which will consist of Ark reg’ts & Bns currently garrisoned at Devall's Bluff and of such others as may hereafter be added to them.
4/9 Devall’s Bluff-King’s reg’t was organized & left immediately for Memphis
4/9-McCarver's reg't landed at Memphis on the 9th, where we met some of the wounded from Shiloh...
We marched through Memphis to the Memphis & Charleston Depot & just before the train started, we were ordered to take up the march back, boarded a steamer, & away we went up the Miss. River. Just at dark, we landed at Fort Pillow, 50 miles above Memphis, on the Tenn. side.....
…arriving that night-muddiest fort ever and bad water
We left Fort Pillow the 19th & went to Randolph the same day & stayed there until the 24th
We were sent to Island #10 but the Federals got it first so we fell back to Ft Pillow. We picked up survivors of Island #10 floating down the river on logs
4/10 Des Arc, [S O #47]
-Col McCarver’s reg’t of Ark Inf will transfer at once to the steamer Gen Price... on reaching Memphis, he and Col Lemoyne to report to Rust
-The Co’s of Inf as follows: Reinhard, Byers, Sloan, Hufstedler, Morgan and Oates are to go.... to Memphis under Capt Turnbull......
-to report to Rust who will organize them into a reg’t with Co’s of Adams, Rodgers, McCray, and Adair
-Election to be deferred till all Co’s present. Meanwhile the six Company Bn will be under Capt Turnbull
4/11 King's Regt [organized at Devall's Bluff] arrived Memphis 4/11, & leaves 4/12 for Ft Pillow, arriving 4/13.
Left for return to Memphis 4/26, arriving 4/27 & 5/1 leave for Corinth
4/11 Co D arrives Memphis
4/12 Memphis, Price to Van Dorn: I have forwarded Col Little’s Bgde to Corinth & Gen Rust’s command to Fort Pillow, by order of Gen Beauregard. I think it extremely desirable that the remainder of the command should arrive here as soon as possible.
4/12 Co D [22ND Ark] leaves for Ft Pillow
4/13 Co D [22ND Ark] arrives Ft Pillow
4/15 Ft Pillow--James tenders resignation-appd Col King cdg and Rust cdg bgde
4/13 Rust sent to Ft Pillow with 3 regts & 1 Bn-Poorly armed & equipped
4/13 arrive Ft Pillow-weather very wet with severe mud. All the regt got sick- 20th Ark
4/13-Col Carroll’s requisition for ordnance equipments-says he has 776 enlisted-appd by order Gen Villepigue
4/13 Fort Pillow, Gen Villepigue to Gen Beauregard-Gen Rust has arrived here, and, being my senior, will have to supersede me in the command. He has no orders to show. Please let me know if it is done by your direction.
4/14 Fort Pillow, Gen Rust to Gen Beauregard: By order, I am here with three Regts and a Bn of my Bgde. An attack by the gunboats and of the enemy's land forces in our rear imminent. Many of my men unarmed totally. Others indifferently-The force is inadequate if it was well armed. Can arms be forwarded immediately?
4/19 McCarver’s Ark left [Fort Pillow] to Ft Randolph
4/23 Corinth-Beauregard to Van Dorn at Memphis -Information about Hamburg true. Send on your troops rapidly. Btry horses, too, if possible. Rust must bold himself ready to move, if required.
4/23 Memphis, Van Dorn to Rust-hold your Bgde ready to move in this direction
4/23 Morning report 2nd Bgde, 2nd Div, Fort Pickering “[near Memphis]”-Gen Churchill cdg-J W Butler AAG
…
…
McCarver’s regt On dtchd service
4/24 S.O. #64 Memphis
IV. Col McCarver's reg’t of Ark Volunteers is hereby transferred from Churchill to Rust's Bgde
XII. Gen Rust’s Bgde ....consists of the reg’ts of Colonel’s Carroll, King, Smead, McCarver and Lemoyne. Maj Clark to assign a btry
4/24 -McCarver's reg't went, by water, from Ft Randolph to Memphis; from there to Corinth on the 25th.......
4/24 Corinth, Beauregard to Gen A. Rust, at Fort Pillow-Come down to Memphis with your bgde, except one Regt, to be kept at Randolph, as before directed. Five days' cooked subsistence, 100 rounds ammunition when you leave Memphis.
4/24 Memphis, Maury to Gen Rust, Fort Pillow-You will please send Maj Miller’s Bn to this point without delay.
4/24 Rust’s command leaves Ft Pillow for Memphis except for 1 reg’t left at Randolph
The 18th Ark suffered very heavy losses from a measles epidemic while at Fort Pillow. Many of the men were sent to Overton Hospital at Memphis
4/25-Van Dorn to Beauregard-I have sent for Gen Rust
4/25 McCarver’s Ark arrives Corinth
4/26 King’s Ark Regt left Ft Pillow for return to Memphis arriving there April 27th.
4/27 HQ Army of the West, Memphis-Maury to Gen Rust, Ft Pickering [Memphis]-The Gen cdg desires that you will move your command to Corinth tomorrow evening.
4/27-Jones elected LtCol of 8th [1st] Ark Bn
4/27 Van Dorn at Memphis to Beauregard-…Do you want the Regt of Rust’s Bgde to remain above?
4/27 S.O. #67 Memphis HQ Army of the West,
I. Immediately on arrival here the troops of Hebert's & Rust's Bgdes will prepare to move on to Corinth. They will at once encamp near Fort Pickering, draw their rations for ten days, & prepare cooked rations for 5 days. They will draw such ammunition & other supplies from the ordnance & QM's depts as they may require, & apply to the chief QM for transportation, reporting the exact number of officers & men & of officers' horses for whom they require transportation.
-The Co’s of Captains Franklin, Love, & Wood are added to Major Miller’s Bn. An election to be held for LtCol
-Turnbull’s Ark reg’t will at once be organized & election of officers held.
4/28 Morning report of Rust's Bgde Returned for correction-MM Kimmel AAG
Present Present Present
For Duty Sick & extra duty
unit Officers Men Officers Men Total Agg
17th Regt Ark 18 90 13 216 306 337
Carroll Regt Ark 32 299 8 112 416 456
Smead Regt Ark 28 373 8 97 470 506
King's Regt Ark 32 385 8 173 558 598
4th Bn Ark 15 162 1 26 188 214
Jones' Bn Ark 23 97 5 81 178 206
Total 148 1406 43 705 2116 2317
4/29 Gen Orders # 17- Memphis- Following is the organization of the Army of the West:
…
Jones' Div
1st Bgde Rust
[18th] Ak
[22d] Ak
[19th] Ak
Jones' Ak Bn
Lemoynes' Ak Bn
McCarver's Ak Bn
bty
April 29, 1862
S Jones Div
Rust's Bgde Agg pres
Carroll Ak 411
King Ak 575
Snead Ak 488
McCarver 18th Bn 198
Lemoyne 17th Bn 397
Jones Ak Bn 341
bty w/arty bgde
2460
4/29 left for Corinth [20/22nd Ark]-5/1 arrive Corinth
Organization of the Army of the West, commanded by Major-Gen Earl Van Dorn, at Corinth, Miss., May 4, 1862.
JONES' DIVISION. Major-General SAMUEL JONES, commanding.
RUST'S BRIGADE. Brig. General ALBERT RUST, commanding.
Aggregate Present. Present and absent.
17th Battalion Arkansas Infantry [Lemoyne] 387 627
18th Battalion Arkansas Infantry [McCarver] 198 275
Carroll's regiment Arkansas Infantry 411 764
Jones' battalion Arkansas Infantry 341 602
King's regiment Arkansas Infantry 575 728
Smead's regiment Arkansas Infantry 488 745
Light battery artillery ---- ----
2,400 3,741
5/10 S.O. #80
-Capt. Morgan’s Inf Co now attached to McCarver’s reg’t is permanently transferred to McCray’s Bn Inf
-Lt Col Turnbull‘s Bn is temp detached from Churchill’s Bgde & assigned to duty with Col M L Clark’s Arty Bgde
-Capt Franklin’s Co of Jones’ Bn, Rust Bgde assigned to duty with Turnbull’s Bn
-Co C of Jones 8th [1st] Ark Bn transferred to 11th Ark Bn in order to increase 11th [Turnbull] Bn to regt [30th Ark]-Col -Greer –leave of absence
5/12 Our Company has suffered frightful since we got to Memphis. [Carroll’s 18th Ark, Rust’s Bgde]
5/13 -Lucas/Lowe’s Mo btry to Corinth. On arrival ordered to report to Rust’s bgde/Jones’ Div & later to Cabell’s bgde. From Corinth to Baldwyn where all arty organized into a bgde under LtCol J. P. Major
5/27 S.O #100 HQ A of the West, Camp C. Clark
X. Gen Albert Rust is relieved from duty with this army, & will report at Little Rock for orders to Gen Hindman, who has been placed in command of the TM Dist.