Arkansas troops were heavily engaged in the hotly-contested battle at Murfreesboro. Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, commanding a division in Hardee's Corps, wrote an interesting after-action report, in which he cited the extreme bravery of the various regimental color bearers. In one instance, Lieut. Col. John E. Murray, 5th Arkansas Infantry, picked up his regiment's colors from a fallen color bearer, and "bore the colors of his regiment through the hottest of the fight, and through his own bright example encouraged his men to despise danger." Cleburne recommended many of the surviving color bearers for promotion.