Confederate Supply in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1862

Supply for both the USA and CSA in the Trans-Mississippi area was tough, as it was disconnected from the major cities separated by the Mississippi River. To set the scene, Prior to the war, most of the Trans-Mississippi was agrarian-industrial buildings and transportation were limited."¹ The labor in the surrounding area was in bad condition for the past few seasons. Labor shortages and weather restricted the tending of food crops.¹ Doughnuts and the flooding of the Mississippi were common to the destruction of fields, and were the reason for the poor harvesting.¹ By September 1862, the Confederacy was millions of dollars in debt and was in desperate need of resources to fuel the army.¹ The CSA quickly ran low on funds and became “reluctant to accept it in payment for their products.”¹ This led to economic problems such as inflation and a rise in competition from those who could offer a better payment.¹

The lack of transportation was a notable difficulty for both armies, having to move troops frequently. Without a large industrial market, the Confederacy used home manufacturers and imports for supplies. Medicine, ammunition, and weapons were commonly bought through imports.² The blockade along the coastline of the Trans-Mississippi was highly effective at the beginning of the war, but not so much along the Gulf coast and the Atlantic.² Starting in 1862, supply depots were established making the transportation of supplies (food, weapons, medicine, etc.) easier from the Rio Grande to the cities along the Mississippi River, which then traveled east, to places such as Arkansas.²

West of the Mississippi was controlled by the Trans-Mississippi Department with Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith as commanding general.¹ The supplies were an important piece of the puzzle to prepare and solidify Confederate victories. It is said that prior to Kirby Smith, the army in this region was low on resources and “poorly armed, clothes, paid, and sometimes poorly fed.”¹ General Holmes’ army barely survived the winter with numerous deaths due to no tents and not enough clothing to go around. They had a poor diet and were living off of “poor beef and corn-bread.”¹ Being in this western frontier, there were Indian territories nearby, it was the most neglected and in the worst condition.¹ Supplies headed for the territories were seized by Major Generals Earl Van Dorn and Thomas C. Hindman.¹ By the fall of 1862, there was an increase in requested items such as shoes, clothes, and thread; there also was the surprising addition of alcohol.² There was previously a heavy reliance on wagon trains, but they were notoriously slow.¹

A main route for supplies was Wire Road, also known as Telegraph Road; it ran from Springfield, Missouri to Fort Smith, Arkansas.³ The road made it possible for wagons, men, and horses to move supplies in the west. Fort Smith was significant during the war, it was a supply depot used by the CSA until they abandoned it to the Union on September 1, 1863.³ It was through Telegraph Road that Hindman received weapons, ammunition, shoes, blankets, camping equipment, and medicine.⁴ While his men were passing through towns, he bought more supplies and destroyed any leftover cotton, making it useless for the Yankees.⁴ Hindman and his men requested “salt, leather, shoes, and accouterments” manufactured in large quantities.⁴ These items were often manufactured 75 miles South of Little Rock near Arkadelphia.⁴ One of Hindman's goals was to make the region self-sustaining, He price-controlled goods and enforced a rule that Confederate currency was accepted for transactions. Anyone caught refusing Confederate cash or charging over the controlled price, was arrested. He also explored the market of lead mines and ore smelting.⁵ “I gave considerable aid to persons skilled in the manufacture of cotton and wool cards, spinning-wheels and looms, and caused wool to be brought from Texas and exchanged at cost and carriage for army supplies. This resulted in a development of home industry and production never before equaled, and which was an essential element of my success in the creation and maintenance of an army.”⁴

The men making up the army east of the Mississippi River struggled to find warm clothes, shelter, and their next meal at times. After Kirby Smith and Hindman advocated for the area, things started to look up for the Rebels.

¹ Windham, William T. “The Problem of Supply in the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy.” The Journal of Southern History27, no. 2 (1961): 149–68. https://doi.org/10.2307/2205275.

² Runda, Nathan J. “Last to Surrender: The Confederate Trans-Mississippi Army, 1862-1865,” M.A. thesis, (Ball State University, 2020).

³ Hess, Earl J., Richard W. Hatcher, and William Garrett Piston. Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove: A battlefield guide, with a section on Wire Road. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. 

⁴ Reports of Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman, C. S. Army”, May 31-November 3, 1862, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XIII, 29-34.

⁵ “Community and Conflict " Archive " Thomas C. Hindman.” Community and Conflict: The Impact of the Civil War in the Ozarks. https://ozarkscivilwar.org/archives/4748.