records of armies

[3rdARboy]

Where can I find records of the ANV and AoT to find out what gear was issued or used in those armies, for example: which cartridge boxes were specific to AoT and which were specific to ANV? I looked in the Research Articles forum and nothing there helped me. Forgive me if I missed something there. Thanks.
Lane Reeder
Co. E, 3rd Arkansas Inf.
Texas Brigade

https://www.texas-brigade.com

[markj]

Re: records of armies

Hi,

You have just asked, what is for many people, the "$64,000 Question." Due to incomplete records, we will never get a complete picture of what was issued to many Confederate units.

That being said, there are a variety of sources at the National Archives. Obvious places to look would be in Record Group 94, incorporating surviving Confederate regimental books. I've had reasonably good luck while looking through the books for "Brown's Brigade" (AoT). Sufficient information is carried in some company inventories to provide a general sense of what was used (Austrian, Belgian, and Enfield rifle-muskets were issued to units within Brown's Brigade). The "Supplement to the Official Records" (published by Broadfoot Press) could be potentially useful regarding CS accoutrements (in one case I found a statement itemizing the accoutrements lost by a soldier in the 48th Tennessee while on prisoner escort duty). Extant unit inspection reports might also be helpful.

Another possibility might lie in the NARA Confederate "Citizen's and Business Directory" since it sometimes carries correspondence and documentation from CS government contractors who provided accoutrements. Finally, the "Compiled Service Records" for Confederate units could be of help to you. Here are two articles that may assist you further:

http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/winter_1995_civil_war_arms_and_equipment_5.html

http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/summer_1995_the_little_regiment_appendix_a.html

Also don't forget state-level resources but going this route is often a crap-shoot. Sorry to say, in too many cases the only descriptions we will ever have of accoutrements in CS units will be on the order of "Cartridge box, Elongated ball, .58 caliber" or just "cap box."

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[Yellowhammer]

Re: records of armies

Lane,

By doing research in the National Archives and some state archives, you can often find out what a certain unit was issued at a certain time. However, those issuances are going to be very general: X number of cartridge boxes, x number jackets, etc... issued during a certain date range.

Determining what a particular unit was carrying at a particular time requires deeper research. You must examine personal letters and diaries, regimental histories, and extant original artifacts. Sometimes, when you are very lucky, you can find a QM return and a letter or extant original for the same period and can make a solid assessment.

However, even when you find period references to clothing and equipment, it is often obtuse and unstandardized. For example, what is a "cartridge box for Minie rifle?" This is further complicated by the fact that many of the descriptive terms we used were coined by modern collectors and historians rather than period sources. "Richmond Depot Type II jacket," "Clarksville Scabbard," and "Dog River Saber" are examples of these.

For this reason, most serious living historians opt for a generic approach. Using a cap box as an example, unmarked, black, full-front cap boxes with a lead or brass finial can be found in all theaters at almost all points in the war. As such, this is a safe choice.

[Charles Heath]

Re: records of armies

Go to the 3rd Ark Bibliography here:

http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/ACWUnits.html

You may be surprised to learn that a couple of books have been written about the 3rd Arkansas Infantry, in addition to the OR information you already have. What you might want to do is order the books and read them. The USAMHI doesn't carry books, but will make copies of their materials for a fee. The info is on their webpage. Photographs, letters, and journals may be available.

If you haven't already spoken to 3rd Arkansas historian Wayne Hutzell, please do. His contact information is online. This should take about 2 hours by phone, and will save tens of thousands of dollars.

If you haven't already spoken to ANV acoutrement guru Butch Myers, pleae do. His contact information is online. This should take about 5 hours online, and will save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This link will help you learn about Arksanas regiments:

http://users.aristotle.net/~tomezell/AR_regts.htm

This sublink is closer to what you want:

http://users.aristotle.net/~tomezell/AR_infy.htm

You will have to scroll down a few units to find the right 3rd Arkansas. Note the name of the man preparing the info for this website. His contact information is online, and he is a frequent contributor to the A-C and OTB Forums. For those who do not know much about the 3rd Ark. Inf., here is a brief blurb from the above website:

"The 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment was organized by companies in Lynchburg, VA on July 5, 1861 and mustered into Confederate service for the duration of the War. When Dr. W.H. Tebbs and Van H. Manning, a lawyer at Hamburg, Ashley county, organized two companies in early 1861 and marched them to Vicksburg, where they offered them to the Confederate States at Montgomery, Alabama, the Confederate secretary of war refused to accept them. The two officers then went to Montgomery, and by persistent entreaty, succeeded at length in securing their admission to the Confederate Army "for the war". Manning knew Congressman Albert Rust, then the Congressional representative for his district in southern Arkansas, obtained the assistance of his influence, and when Rust decided to enter the military service of the Confederacy, persuaded him to return to his home at Champagnolle, raise eight more companies, and follow on to some rendezvous where together they could organize a regiment for the service "during the war." Rust did so, and joined Manning at Lynchburg, where the regiment was organized , really the "first" regiment from Arkansas, as regular troops of the Confederacy, enlisted for the duration of the war. The officers of the regiment on organization were: Col. Albert Rust; Lt. Col. Seth M. Barton; Maj. Van H. Manning; Adjutant Henry A. Butler; and Surgeon Joseph Brown of Union county. Co. A, Cpt. W.H. Tebbs of Ashley county; Co. B, Cpt. Capers of Ashley county; Co. C, Cpt. T.M. Whittington of Drew County; Co. D, Cpt. Douglas of Desha county; Co. E, Cpt. R.S. Taylor of Desha county; Co. F, the "Hot Springs Hornets", Cpt. Thrasher of Hot Springs county; Co. G, Cpt Reedy of Union county; Co. H, Cpt. Reed of Desha county; Co. I, the "Tulip Rifles", Cpt. J.H. Alexander of Dallas county; and Co. K, the "Arkansas Travelers", Cpt. Wilson Wilkins, of Ashley county. Company L, commanded by Cpt. J. D. Christian of Ashley County, was not present at the muster in Lynchburg, but joined the regiment three weeks later. Colonels Rust and Barton being later promoted to brigadier generals, Major Manning became colonel of the regiment, Cpt. R.S. Taylor became lieutenant colonel, and Cpt W. Wilkins major, subsequently succeeded by Major Smith.
The regiment was ordered to the mountains of West Virginia, where it performed arduous and discouraging service in the campaign on the Gauley and Cheat rivers. This was followed by hard marching under Stonewall Jackson (whom Col Rust later described as "an impracticable old schoolmaster who said grace before he ate and prayed before going to bed") in the Valley Campaign. The regiment was engaged in the battles of Greenbrier and Allegheny. Under General Jackson at Winchester, in January, 1862, the 3rd Arkansas marched to Bath and Romney, returned to Winchester, and was ordered thence to Fredericksburg and assigned to the brigade of Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes. Colonel Rust was promoted to brigadier general about this time, and was transferred to a command in the western armies. Van Manning was promoted to the colonel of the regiment succeeding Col. Rust.

The 3rd Arkansas was engaged in the battles of White Oak Swamp, June 3, 1862, in J.G. Walker's brigade, on July 1, 1862 participated in the battle of Malvern Hill, and was at Sharpsburg on September 17, 1862 where Col. Manning was seriously wounded. At Fredericksburg again in December, 1862, the 3rd Arkansas was assigned to Hood's Texas Brigade, with which it remained until the end of the war. Here the regiment was additionally augmented by the incorporation of Bronaugh's 2nd Arkansas Infantry Battalion of five Arkansas companies.

The regiment was not engaged at Chancellorsville, being engaged instead with Longstreet's Corpa at Suffolk. The 3rd Arkansas participated in the battle of Gettysburg with Longstreet's Corps, fighting in and in the vicinity of the "Devil's Den", and went with that corps to Tennessee in September, 1863 where it fought at Chickamauga (where the gallant Major Reedy was mortally wounded), Chattanooga, Wauhatchie, and in the siege of Knoxville, TN. Returning to the Army of Northern Virginia in the spring of 1864, the regiment fought with the Texas Brigade at the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, marching at the double-quick several miles that morning to save the Confederate line and subsequently throw Grant's forces back. Here Col. Manning was shot through the thigh and captured, being detained a prisoner of war until July, 1865. The regiment moved on to continue the fight at Spotsylvania, and on to Cold Harbor. The regiment was at Deep Run on August 6, 1864; at Petersburg during the siege by Grant, at High Bridge and Farmville in 1865, and surrendered at Appomattox Court House with General Lee on April 9, 1865. At Appomattox, only 144 men remained to stack their arms instead of the nearly 1,500 mustered throughout the war.

Officers: Col Albert Rust. Field Officers: Lt. Col. Seth M. Barton, Maj. J. Hickson Capers, Maj (later Lt. Col.) Vannoy Manning, Maj. John W. Reedy, Maj. Samuel W. Smith, Maj. (later Lt. Col.) Robert S. Taylor, Lt. Col. William H. Tebbs, Maj. William K. Wilkins.

References: Calvin L. Collier, They'll Do to Tie To! - The Story of the Third Regiment, Arkansas Infantry, C.S.A. (Complete regimental history and muster rolls); Douglas C. Jones, The Barefoot Brigade (fiction); Mauriel Joslyn, "For Ninety Nine Years or the War" Gettysburg Magazine issue 14, published by Morningside Books in Dayton, Ohio (an article on the 3rd Arkansas at Gettysburg); Col. Harold B. Simpson, Hood's Texas Brigade: A Compendium (has some statistics, numbers etc. as well as a complete roster of the 3rd Arkansas with more detail than Collier's roster. This is out of print, but worth it if you can find it.)"

God bless you, Tom.

This is the Gerdes and Howerton information. It includes a partial roster for Co. E, 3rd Ark. and may prove to be of value:

http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/3rdcoe.html

The reason this proves to be of value is these men may be on one or more WebGen pages, and a quick http://www.google.com search reveals a mother load of information relating to the 3rd Ark. is available online in the form of diaries, letters, journals, et al. If you have any questions or comments or if you would like to have more information about the Civil War and Pension Records of the men who served in these Companies, contact Jeri Helms Fultz.

At one time, Scott McKay had a fine piece on the CSR microfilms on the Official 10th TX website (maybe). I don't know if it is still there, but it was very nice.

I hope this helps, and when you call people, have a pad and pencil ready to take notes. This is the good stuff!

;)

Charles Heath