Arkansas 48th Cavalry Regiment
HISTORICAL NOTES:
The 48th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) (1864–1865) was authorized by the State Military Board as an infantry regiment, The unit was mounted for Price's Missouri Expedition and was officially designated as mounted infantry. Due to its mounted status, the unit is sometimes referred to as the 48th Arkansas Cavalry when a numerical designation is used.
The 48th Arkansas Mounted Infantry is the least well documented of the Arkansas Confederate regiments raised in 1864. In May 1864, General J. O. Shelby occupied Northeast Arkansas, well behind Union Army lines. In early June 1864, General Shelby commissioned Colonel Thomas Hamilton McCray, among others to begin raising regiments in Northeast Arkansas. By June 13, Shelby reported to General Sterling Price that McCray's efforts were bearing fruit.
The work of recruiting goes bravely on. Colonel McCray will have a brigade and Dobbin, Coffee, Freeman and Coleman will have regiments.
It is unknown who was the commander of the 48th Arkansas or which counties the regiment was recruited from. There are no surviving muster rolls for the regiment; in fact the only documentation that exists for the unit is a list of prisoners captured on October 24, 1864, at Mound City, Kansas, during Price's Raid. Since General Sterling Price generally referred to his units by the name of the unit commander, the reports from Price's raid rarely contain the numerical designation of the unit. Because the names of the other 40 series regimental commanders are known, some historians have speculated that the 48th may have been the numerical designation of Colonel Charles H. Carlton's regiment. Like the other 40 series regiments, Carlton's regiment was raised in the summer of 1864. The only numerical designation known to be associated with the Carlton's regiment is the 28th Arkansas Cavalry. Another 40 series regiment, Colonel James H. McGhee's 44th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) was also previously known as the 29th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment. Another possibility for the identity of the 48th is a former infantry unit which was mounted for Price's Raid, Colonel James W. Rogan's 30th Arkansas Infantry Regiment.
The decreasing availability of fodder for horses in 1864 led the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department to issue an order proscribing the raising of additional mounted regiments in Arkansas. However, when General Sterling Price received authorization to conduct a campaign in Missouri that fall, several of the new regiments were mounted in order to accompany him. As a result, the 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, and 48th were officially mounted infantry regiments instead of cavalry regiments. They were rarely referred to in contemporary reports and orders by numerical designation. Price referred to them as McGehee's Cavalry, Crabtree's Cavalry, etc., which eventually resulted in their later being referred to as 44th Cavalry, 46th Cavalry, etc. The 40-series regiments consisted mostly of conscripts, and absentees from existing units, organized around a small cadre of veterans detailed from infantry regiments, which were expected to be idle during the fall and winter of 1864. Officer Appointments in the 40-series regiments date from the June to August 1864 time frame, so it is assumed that the regiments were mustered into service about the same time at various points in northeast Arkansas.
ROSTERS:
The roster of this regiment contains the names of 14 men. Additionally 3 men are listed on the roster of the Arkansas 48th Infantry Regiment
Arkansas 48th Cavalry Regiment
The 48th Arkansas Mounted Infantry is the least well documented of the Arkansas Confederate regiments raised in 1864. In May 1864, General J. O. Shelby occupied Northeast Arkansas, well behind Union Army lines. In early June 1864, General Shelby commissioned Colonel Thomas Hamilton McCray, among others to begin raising regiments in Northeast Arkansas. By June 13, Shelby reported to General Sterling Price that McCray's efforts were bearing fruit.
The work of recruiting goes bravely on. Colonel McCray will have a brigade and Dobbin, Coffee, Freeman and Coleman will have regiments.
It is unknown who was the commander of the 48th Arkansas or which counties the regiment was recruited from. There are no surviving muster rolls for the regiment; in fact the only documentation that exists for the unit is a list of prisoners captured on October 24, 1864, at Mound City, Kansas, during Price's Raid. Since General Sterling Price generally referred to his units by the name of the unit commander, the reports from Price's raid rarely contain the numerical designation of the unit. Because the names of the other 40 series regimental commanders are known, some historians have speculated that the 48th may have been the numerical designation of Colonel Charles H. Carlton's regiment. Like the other 40 series regiments, Carlton's regiment was raised in the summer of 1864. The only numerical designation known to be associated with the Carlton's regiment is the 28th Arkansas Cavalry. Another 40 series regiment, Colonel James H. McGhee's 44th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) was also previously known as the 29th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment. Another possibility for the identity of the 48th is a former infantry unit which was mounted for Price's Raid, Colonel James W. Rogan's 30th Arkansas Infantry Regiment.
The decreasing availability of fodder for horses in 1864 led the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department to issue an order proscribing the raising of additional mounted regiments in Arkansas. However, when General Sterling Price received authorization to conduct a campaign in Missouri that fall, several of the new regiments were mounted in order to accompany him. As a result, the 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, and 48th were officially mounted infantry regiments instead of cavalry regiments. They were rarely referred to in contemporary reports and orders by numerical designation. Price referred to them as McGehee's Cavalry, Crabtree's Cavalry, etc., which eventually resulted in their later being referred to as 44th Cavalry, 46th Cavalry, etc. The 40-series regiments consisted mostly of conscripts, and absentees from existing units, organized around a small cadre of veterans detailed from infantry regiments, which were expected to be idle during the fall and winter of 1864. Officer Appointments in the 40-series regiments date from the June to August 1864 time frame, so it is assumed that the regiments were mustered into service about the same time at various points in northeast Arkansas.
Arkansas 48th Cavalry Regiment
Arkansas 48th Infantry Regiment
BIBLIOGRAPHY:REFERENCES: Crute - Units of the Confederate States Army
Sifakis - Compendium of the Confederate Armies