1st Arkansas Light Artillery
| 1st Arkansas Light Artillery (Confederate) | |
|---|---|
Arkansas state flag
|
|
| Active | September 27, 1860–May 4, 1865 |
| Country |
 Confederate States of America
|
| Allegiance |
 Arkansas
|
| Branch |
 Confederate States Army
|
| Role | Artillery |
| Size | Battery |
| Nickname(s) | Fort Smith Artillery |
| Engagements | |
| Battle honours | Southern Cross of Honor to Private John Campbell for the Battle of Murfreesboro |
| Disbanded | May 4, 1865 |
| Website | First Arkansas Light Artillery (Rivers’ Battery) |
| Commanders | |
| 1860-1861 | Captain John G. Reid |
| 1861-1862 | Captain David Provence |
| 1862-1863 | Captain John T. Humphreys |
| 1863-1865 | Captain John W. Rivers |
The 1st Arkansas Light Artillery, originally known as the Fort Smith Artillery (1861), was a Confederate artillery battery that served during the American Civil War. The unit was actually a pre-war volunteer militia company which was activated as part of the Arkansas State Troops and mustered out of state service following the Battle of Wilson's Creek. The unit immediately re-organized and re-enlisted for Confederate service. The unit spent the majority of the war in the western theater, fighting as part of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The unit is also known as Reid's Battery, Provence's Battery, Humphreys' Battery and finally Rivers' Battery,.
Captain John G. Reid was elected as commander of a volunteer militia company of the 51st Militia Regiment, Sebastian County, Arkansas, on September 27, 1860. The battery was originally identified simply as the "Independent Artillery" but was later styled the "Fort Smith Battery" or the "Fort Smith Artillery". Commissions were issued to the following officers on October 2, 1860:
The unit was inducted into state service for 90 days' service as part of Brigadier General Nicholas Bartlett Pearce's 1st Division (brigade), Army of Arkansas, in June 1861. The battery officers at the time of entry into state service were:
The Fort Smith Battery was well drilled. Captain William E. Woodruff, Jr., who commanded the Pulaski Light Artillery, is said to have watched the drill of Captain Reid's Battery in order to recall the correct procedures for artillery drill. In keeping with the practice in the Confederate Army of referring to an artillery battery by the name of its current commander, the First Arkansas Light Artillery was variously known as Provence's Battery, Humphreys' Battery and Rivers' Battery. The Compiled Service Records of the men are filed under "Rivers' Battery" on Microfilm Roll #41.
Two of the guns belonging to the battery were themselves somewhat famous. During the Mexican-American War, Captain Braxton Bragg had commanded a battery of 6 pounder howitzers. While the battery was under heavy fire during the Battle of Buena Vista, on February 23, 1847, General Zachary Taylor road up to Captain Bragg's guns. When Bragg asked the General what he should do, the general allegedly replied, "A little more grape, Captain Bragg." This event first raised the young captain to national prominence. The very guns were lying in the Little Rock Arsenal when it was seized by the Arkansas State Militia before the state seceded. Two of the guns were issued to the Crawford Artillery, a battery organized in Crawford County by James T. Stewart. The Crawford Artillery was eventually converted to infantry, and two of Bragg's guns were passed to the Fort Smith Artillery.
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Wikipedia