"Ideally, an infantry regiment would initially muster ten companies of about 100 men each, for a total of 1000 men. However, relatively few Arkansas regiments managed to achieve that level"

In the Hindman Telegraphs in August of 1862 Gen. Hindman instructed the reorganization of Dawson's 19th Arkansas as 10 companies of 75 men each plus Officers. Dawson' regiment at that time was a heavily over strenght regiment with some companies at that time (according to the letters of George Woosley) having as many as 115 men in Woosley's company "F".

I have kind of always thought of this as being a unique order partaining only to the reorganization of Dawson's 19th Arkansas and Portlock's 24th Arkansas at Camp White Sulphur Springs, due to the lack of recruits in that region, even with the Conscription Act, due to the heavy drain on the manpower in the area because of earlier volunteers into 1861 regiments.

However, I am now wondering if the 75 man company muster order was not more general in nature throughtout the entire Trans-Mississippi Department in order to raise more regiments? This would seem to answer the question of why most regiment usually only muster 800 men in strenght.