The 4th Arkansas was originally assigned to McCulloch's Brigade in northwest Arkansas in late August 1861, and served in the Indian Territory, September–October 1861. The regiment fought at Leetown area of the battlefield during Pea Ridge on March 7–8, 1862, under the command of
Colonel Evander McNair. When General
Ben McCulloch was killed at the
Battle of Pea Ridge and Colonel Louis Hebert captured, Colonel McNair took command of the brigade. From June 6 to June 30, 1862, the 4th Arkansas Regiment was in camp near Tupelo, Mississippi, along with other Arkansas regiments. Dozens of Arkansas soldiers died of disease in the camp hospital during this period, and many more were discharged for disability. In early May 1862 the Confederate forces underwent an army-wide reorganization due to the passage of the Conscription Act by the Confederate Congress in April 1862. All twelve-month regiments had to re-muster and enlist for two additional years or the duration of the war; a new election of officers was ordered; and men who were exempted from service by age or other reasons under the Conscription Act were allowed to take a discharge and go home. Officers who did not choose to stand for re-election were also offered a discharge. The reorganization was accomplished among all the Arkansas regiments in and around Corinth, Mississippi, following the Battle of Shiloh. During the
Kentucky Campaign, McNair's brigade was assigned to Churchill's division, under the overall command of General
Kirby Smith. During the
Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on December 31, 1862, McNair's brigade took part in the brilliant charge of McCown's division, which, aided by the Divisions of Withers and Cheatham, drove the Federal right a distance of between , bending it back upon the center, until the line was at right angles to its original position. nine soldiers of the regiment were recognized for courage and good conduct on the field for the Battle of Murfreesboro In June, 1863, McNair's Brigade was reassigned to Walker's (later French's) Division of the Army of the Department of Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana, under the overall command of General
Joseph E. Johnston who was assigned the mission of organizing a force to attempt to relieve General Pemberton's besieged army at Vicksburg. Johnston had been gathering troops at Jackson, intending to relieve pressure on Lt. Gen.
John C. Pemberton's beleaguered garrison. Johnston cautiously advanced his 30,000 soldiers toward the rear of Grant's army surrounding Vicksburg. In response, Grant ordered Sherman to deal with Johnston's threat. By July 1, 1863, Johnston's force was in position along the
Big Black River. Sherman used the newly arrived
IX Corps to counter this threat. On July 5, the day after the surrender of Vicksburg was made official; Sherman was free to move against Johnston. Johnston hastily withdrew his force across the
Big Black River and
Champion's Hill battlefields with Sherman in pursuit. Sherman had with him the IX Corps,
XV Corps,
XIII Corps, and a detachment of the
XVI Corps. On July 10 the Union Army had taken up position around Jackson. The heaviest fighting in the
Siege of Jackson came on July 11 during an unsuccessful Union attack, which resulted in heavy casualties. Instead of risking entrapment, Johnston chose to evacuate the state capital and withdrew on July 16. Sherman's forces occupied the city the following day. The consolidated 4th/31st/4th Arkansas lost twenty-four percent of the 385 soldiers engaged at Chickamauga. Sherman organized an expedition of 20,000 men to move into central Mississippi to break up Confederate rail communications and other infrastructure near Meridian Mississippi, and solidify Union control of the Mississippi River. The Meridian campaign was a "dress rehearsal" for the style of war against infrastructure that Sherman, as well as some of these very troops, would later practice in Georgia. To counter the threat, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered troops to the area from other localities, including McNair's Brigade. The Confederate commander in the area, Lieutenant General
Leonidas Polk, consolidated a number of commands in and around
Morton, Mississippi, but failed to stop Sherman's moves. Meridian was essentially destroy by Sherman and most of Polks forces were transferred to the Army of Tennessee in time to oppose Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. Through the summer and fall of 1864 the 4th Arkansas and the rest of their brigade, now under the command of Brigadier General
Daniel Harris Reynolds, participated in the
Atlanta campaign through
Georgia as a part of the force attempting to stop
Sherman. After the fall of Atlanta, the 4th Arkansas along with the rest of the army, now under the command of General
John Bell Hood, moved back to
Tennessee, where they fought at the
Battle of Franklin and the
Battle of Nashville. The unit is entitled to the following Campaign Participation Credits: •
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, June 27, 1864. • Battle of Moore's Hill, Georgia, July 28, 1862. •
Battle of Peachtree Creek, Georgia, July 20, 1864. •
Siege of Atlanta, Georgia, July 22, 1864. •
Battle of Lovejoy's Station, Georgia, August 20, 1864. •
Franklin–Nashville Campaign September 18–December 27, 1864. • Battle of Moon's Station, Georgia, October 3, 1864. •
Battle of Spring Hill, Tennessee, November 29, 1864. •
Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864. •
Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, December 15–16, 1864. • Battle of Sugar Creek, Tennessee, December 26, 1864. •
Carolinas campaign, February to April 1865. •
Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, March 19–21, 1865. After the
Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, the Arkansas regiments of Reynolds' Brigade marched via Bainbridge, Alabama, Tuscumbia, Iuka and Corinth to Tupelo, Mississippi, where they went into camp on January 10, 1865. They departed Tupelo on January 30 and marched to West Point, Mississippi. From West Point they traveled by rail to Selma, Alabama. From Selma they traveled by steamboat to Montgomery, then by rail to Columbus, Georgia. From Columbus they marched via Macon and Milledgeville to Mayfield, Georgia. From Mayfield they traveled by rail to Augusta, Georgia. From there they marched to Newberry, South Carolina. On March 19, 1865, they fought their last major engagement at the
Battle of Bentonville,
North Carolina. They then marched to
Smithfield, North Carolina, where the entire brigade was consolidated into a single understrength regiment, the 1st Consolidated Mounted Rifles on April 9, 1865. == Consolidation and surrender ==