January 7, 1862 - An Early Account of Arkansas Feds

Boston Mountains of Arkansas

The story of the Arkansas or "Mountain Feds" is an important part of the Civil War history of Arkansas.

These men and their families opposed secession and took up arms to support the Union in increasing numbers throughout the war. Many enlisted in regular Federal regiments, while others fought on their own, forming guerrilla bands that came down from the mountains to raid and create havoc.

The following account appeared in the San Francisco Bulletin on January 7, 1862, 150 years ago today:

Col. John S. Phelps
Phelps' Regiment, Missouri Infantry

The State of Arkansas is not as far gone in Secession as has been supposed. The papers say there are 1,700 secretly organized, armed and equipped Union menin the state. A few days ago, a member of her Legislature and 40 citizens made their appearance at Rollo. The member and 35 of his companions immediately enlisted in Col. John S. Phelps' Missouri Regiment, which is in camp at that palce. They brought with them a pamphlet copy of Gov. Hector's message, which was forwarded to Gen. Halleck, at headquarters in this city [i.e. St. Louis]. The Governor says there is more treason to the South lurking in Arkansas than one can well conceive, gives the people a lambasting for their want of zeal and patriotism, and charges that many of the newspapers covertly favor Union and reconstruction. The whole number of Arkansians in the military service, of the oligarchy, is 16,800; and about 6,000 more are enlisted, but are not yet furnished with equipments and arms. The State has expended over $1,000,000 for war purposes since the war began. The State war bonds have sadly depreciated, and the financial condition of the State is admitted by the Governor to be gloomy indeed. He also complains that the Generals commanding the State forces are refractory and are often at cross purposes to himself and the Military Board.

The report was filed by the Bulletin's correspondent in St. Louis, Missouri, on December 10, 1861.

Massard Prairie, Part Two

This is part two of a series on the Battle of Massard Prairie, Arkansas.

By July of 1864, the Federal troops at Fort Smith were suffering from a critical shortage of hay for their livestock. To alleviate the situation, Gen. John Thayer sent large detachments of troops out onto the surrounding prairies. The primary responsibility of these units was to guard herds of cows and horses sent out to graze and to protect haycutting parties contracted to bring in as much fodder as possible.

Confederate scouts soon reported to Gen. Cooper that large detachments of Federal troops had taken up positions at several locations around Fort Smith. The presence of a battalion of the 6th Kansas Cavalry was noted at Massard Prairie and a second detachment of "Arkansas Feds" (Union soldiers from Arkansas) was reported camped a few miles south of town.

Deciding to move on the latter group, Cooper ordered Brig. Gen. R.M. Gano to assemble a force of roughly and launch an attack. The plan called for the Confederates to divide into three groups. Lt. Col. Jack McCurtain would take position on the Devil's Backbone, a prominent ridge south of Fort Smith, and prepare an ambush. His force consisted of a battalion from the Choctaw Nation that would soon become the 3rd Choctaw Cavalry. A second party, composed of men from the 2nd Choctaw Cavalry, commanded by Col. S.N. Folsom would advance to the outlying camp and try to trick the "Arkansas Feds" into pursuing them.

If Folsom was successful, the Union troops would follow him into the ambush at Devil's Backbone. The rest of the force, composed of around 500 soldiers from the Gano's Texas Brigade, would then swing in behind the Federals and pin them against McCurtain's men on the ridge.

When the strike force assembled on the afternoon of July 26, 1864, however, Gano quickly realized that the strategy was not likely to work. The force that assembled was smaller than expected, so he used discretion to alter the plan. Instead of trying to draw out the Arkansas Union troops, Gano decided instead to combine his force with Folsom's and attack the camp of the 6th Kansas Cavalry at dawn the next morning.

Our series on the Battle of Massard Prairie will continue in the next post. Until then, you can read more by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com/massardprairie. Also please consider purchasing my new book, The Battle of Massard Prairie, now available by following the link. Profits from the book are being donated to historic preservation efforts in Arkansas.

Arkansas Feds at Massard Prairie

After Union troops occupied Fort Smith at the time of the Battle of Devil's Backbone in 1863, the Confederate forces in the region experienced a severe phase of demoralization. Hundreds of men (many of them probably more loyal to their region than to either cause) switched sides, slipping away from the Confederate army and joining the Union army that now occupied Fort Smith.

Many of these men were used to form the basis of what was expected to be a new Union regiment, the 4th Arkansas U.S. Infantry.

The 4th, however, never reached full regimental strength. During the most successful period of its formation, it achieved enlistments of 173 men (including officers and a surgeon). This was a sufficient force to form about three companies.

The men were placed in a training camp on Massard Prairie during the spring of 1864. They occupied three company-sized campsites in the woods seen here. The area then was an open grove of trees watered by a small stream.

These men were called "Arkansas Feds" by the troops of both sides. Confederate troops, obviously, had little use for them. Northern soldiers, meanwhile, were often suspicious of their loyalties. The men of the 4th became so irate at their treatment by their own (Union) army, in fact, that they sent a protest letter to the Little Rock Unconditional Union in July of 1864.

The letter provided revealing insights into the mindset of the "Arkansas Feds" in the last year of the war. After express their outrage at being mistreated by their Northern comrades, even though they had joined and were serving in the Union army while their own families were unprotected and subjected to bushwhacker raids, they continued:

Under these circumstances we came to lay our all on the altar of our country, many of us having competent estates. We never owned slaves, no! We never bought one, sold one, held an interest in as much as old Shylock’s pound of human flesh. We come with clean hands, we are Union soldiers, and like the Romans of old, we call on the army and the community to award us the honor and distinction due to American soldiers as long as we are faithful.