Confederate Organization in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1862
On May 31st, 1862, Thomas C. Hindman was promoted to Major General(Maj. Gen.) of the Trans-Mississippi Army. Further in command was Lt. Gen.1 Theophilus H. Holmes, commanding the whole Trans-Mississippi war department for the confederates.3 Maj. Gen. Hindman had previously moved to Arkansas in 1856.1 After the election of Lincoln, Hindman joined confederate forces and devoted himself to a confederate victory.1 On December 3rd, Hindman departed Fort Smith with 11,000 men and marched for Blunt's army.3
Hindman’s army was composed of three divisions led by Brigadier General(Brig. Gen.) Francis A. Shoup, Brig. Gen. Daniel M. Frost, and Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke.3 The divisions were of unequal distribution and consisted of one cavalry division and two infantry divisions.3 Each division is further divided into two to three brigades.3 Prior to the Battle of Cane Hill, the Trans-Mississippi army consisted of roughly 15,000 men, excluding the Native American forces. Marmaduke’s Division was made up of about 3,100 Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas cavalrymen organized into three brigades of varying size.3 Shoup’s Division was a force of roughly 5,100 Arkansas infantry, both volunteers and conscripts, organized into two large brigades of roughly equal size.3 Frost’s Division, about 5,800 strong, was composed of a large Missouri infantry brigade and a smaller Arkansas infantry brigade.3 After desertions, deaths, battle injuries, and ability to properly arm their soldiers, around 11,000 men remained to fight in the battle of Prairie Grove.3 Interestingly enough, Maj. Gen. Blunt highly overestimated Maj. Gen. Hindman’s Amy by reporting “The rebel forces, under Generals Hindman, Marmaduke, Parsons, and Frost, numbered 25,000” on December 8th, 1862.2
Shoup’s division consisted of two brigades.3 The first led by Brig. Gen. James F. Fagan consisted of the following four regiments, one battalion, and one battery.3 The 34th Arkansas Infantry Regiment was led by Col. William H. Brooks.3 The division also included the 35th Arkansas Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. James P. King.3 Following this regiment comes the 37th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, which was led by both Col. Joseph C. Pleasants and Lt. Col. John A. Geoghegan.3 The final regiment was the 39th Arkansas Infantry Regiment with Col. Alexander T. Hawthorn as their leader.3 Leading the only battalion, the Arkansas Sharpshooter Battalion, in this division was Maj. Robert E. Chew.3 The final addition was Blocher’s Arkansas Battery commanded by Capt. William D. Blocher.
The other Brigade was fashioned and led by Brig. Gen. Dandridge McRae.3 This brigade consisted of four regiments and one battery.3 The 26th Arkansas Infantry Regiment was commanded by Col. Asa S. Morgan.3 Following the 26th was the 36th Arkansas Infantry Regiment with Lt. Col. John E. Glenn as their commanding leader.3 The brigade also consisted of the 30th Arkansas Infantry Regiment with Lt. Col. Robert A. Hart at the head.3 The final regiment was the 32nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment led by Lt. Col. Charles L. Young.3 Commanding the only battery, known as Woodruff’s Arkansas Battery, was Capt. John G. Marshall.3
The next division, commonly known as Frost's division, consisted of three brigades.3 The first brigade led by Brig. Gen. Mosby M. Parsons which would further consist of four regiments, two battalions, and one battery.3 The brigade consists of the following: the 7th Missouri Infantry Battalion(Lt. Col. Charles S. Mitchell), the 10th Missouri Infantry Regiment(Col. Alexander E. Steen), the 11th Missouri Infantry Regiment(Col. DeWitt C. Hunter), the 12th Missouri Infantry Regiment(Lt. Col. Willis M. Ponder), the 16th Missouri Infantry Regiment(Col. Josiah H. Caldwell), the Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion(Maj. Lebbeus A. Pindall), and Tilden’s Missouri Battery(Capt. Charles B. Tilden).3
Also included in Frost’s division was Shaver’s Brigade led by Col. Robert G. Shaver consisting of four regiments and one battery.3 The following made up this division: Adams’ Arkansas Infantry Regiment/the 3rd Regt. Northwest Division(Col. Charles W. Adams), 27th Arkansas Infantry Regiment(Col. James R. Shaler) *regiment was not present at the battle of Prairie Grove*, 33rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment(Col. Hiram L. Grinsted), Shaver’s/Adams’ 38th Arkansas Infantry Regiment(Lt. Col. William C. Adams), and lastly Roberts’ Missouri Battery(Capt. Westly Roberts).3
Last, but not least, Frost’s final brigade was Roane’s brigade, which had five regiments and two batteries.3 The order of this brigade follows: the 22nd Texas Cavalry Regiment(Maj. Robert D. Stone), the 31st Texas Cavalry Regiment(Lt. Col. George W. Guess), the 34th Texas Cavalry Regiment(Col. Almerine M. Alexander), the 9th Missouri Infantry Regiment(Col. John B. Clark, Jr.), Reid’s Arkansas Battery(Capt. John G. Reid), and Shoup’s Arkansas Battery(Capt. John C. Shoup).3
The cavalry division was led by Marmaduke which consisted of three brigades.3 The first was commanded by Col. Joseph O. Shelby. His division consisted of three regiments, one battalion, one battery and one band listed as: the 5th Missouri Cavalry Regiment(Lt. Col. B. Frank Gordon), the 6th Missouri Cavalry Regiment(Col. Gideon W. Thompson), the 12th Missouri Cavalry Regiment(Col. Beal G. Jeans), the 10th Missouri Cavalry Battalion(Maj. Benjamin Elliott), Bledsoe’s Missouri Battery(Capt. Joseph Bledsoe), and Quantrill’s Band(Lt. William Gregg).3
The two other brigades in Marmaduke’s division were much smaller, only having three regiments, one battalion, and one battery combined.3 In Carroll’s/Monroe’s Brigade led by both Col. Charles A. Carroll and Lt. Col. James C. Monroe was the 4th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment(Maj. Lee J. Thomson) and the 6thArkansas Cavalry Regiment(Lt. Col. James C. Monroe, Lt. Col. James A. Johnson).3 MacDonald’s Brigade commanded by Col. Emmett MacDonald was made up of the 11th Missouri Cavalry Battalion(Lt. Col. Merritt L. Young), the 1st Texas Partisan Rangers Regiment(Lt. Col. R. Phillip Crump), and West’s Arkansas Battery(Capt. Henry C. West).3
While Hindman was successful in making recruitments, the organization was far from consistent. Hindman’s army is well known for having varying names of regiments and batteries. For example, when searching for regiments under each commander’s name, more commonly rather than not results will appear as the “36th/38th Arkansas Infantry Regiment”. This confusion could be credited to Hindman’s common actions to make decisions without communicating with his superiors and his commanders under him. This lack of communication within the line of authority makes it difficult to find the specific numbers of each division along with their proper titles.
1Alexander, Peter Wellington. “Community and Conflict " Archive " Thomas C. Hindman.” Community and Conflict RSS, 2023. https://ozarkscivilwar.org/archives/4748.
2Reports of General James G. Blunt. “DECEMBER 7, 1862—Battle of Prairie Grove, Fayetteville, or Illinois Creek, Ark.” Essay. In Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, 22:69. Washington: War Department, War Records Office, 1897.
3Shea, William L. Fields of blood the Prairie Grove Campaign. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013.