AEKANSAS. 



imprisonment in the penitentiary. Persons 

 throughout the State were required to give in- 

 formation of delinquencies, and judges were 

 required to give the matter specially in charge to 

 grand juries at each term of the Circuit Court. 



The Governor was authorized to call out the 

 military force, and two millions of dollars in 

 bonds were ordered to be issued in sums of five 

 dollars and upwards. 



The first movement after the secession of the 

 State, was to get possession of the property of 

 the United States. The United States arsenal, 

 located at Little Rock, became the first object 

 for seizure. On the morning of February 5th, 

 that city was thrown into high excitement by 

 the unexpected arrival of a steamboat with a 

 body of troops from Helena, with the avowed 

 purpose of taking the arsenal. In a few hours 

 another boat arrived with more troops, and on 

 the next day others arrived, until a force of four 

 hundred men was collected. The City Council 

 was assembled, and on application to the Gov- 

 ernor, it was informed that the troops were 

 not there by his orders. The troops themselves 

 were of a different opinion, and came there, as 

 they thought, at his command; but whether so 

 or not, they were there to take the arsenal, and 

 they determined to accomplish that object be- 

 fore leaving. The Governor was then requested 

 to assume the responsibility of the movement, 

 and in the name of the State to demand the 

 arsenal of the officer in command of it. It was 

 believed that Captain Totten would surrender 

 to the authorities of the State rather than have 

 a collision, but would not to a body of men 

 disavowed by the Governor and acting in vio- 

 lation of law, and that as the troops were de- 

 termined on taking the arsenal at all hazards, 

 there would of course be a collision, and probably 

 much sacrifice of life. Consequently, the Gov- 

 ernor consented to act, and immediately made 

 a formal demand upon Capt. Totten. 



To the Governor's demand for the surrender 

 of the arsenal, Capt. Totten asked until three 

 o'clock the next day to consider the matter, 

 which was agreed to. At the time appointed, 

 Capt. Totten made known his readiness to 

 evacuate the arsenal, and, after the details were 

 finally agreed upon, it was arranged that, at 

 twelve o'clock the next day, the arsenal should 

 be delivered to the authorities of the State, 

 which was done. 



About the same time, the public property at 

 Fort Smith was seized in behalf of the State. 

 (See FOBTS.) 



On the 18th of May, Arkansas was admitted 

 as one of the Confederate States, and her dele- 

 gates took their seats in Congress. They were 

 R. W. Johnson, A. Rust, A. W. Garland, W. H. 

 Watkins, and W. F. Thomason. 



The military operations within the limits of 

 the State during the year were fruitless in 

 results. A difficulty early occurred between 

 the Governor and Legislature on one side, and 

 the State Convention on the other. It was 

 charged upon the latter body that they had 



overstepped their authority in an attempt to 

 regulate the military affairs of the State by the 

 appointment of a Military Board. The Gov- 

 ernor, in his message to the Legislature at its 

 session in November, said, that on the 10th of 

 May, Gen. McCulloch was put in command of 

 the Indian Territory west of Arkansas, and had 

 with him two regiments, one from Louisiana 

 and one from Arkansas. Before he could pre- 

 pare for any offensive operations, Gen. Lyon, 

 in pursuit of Jackson, approached near the 

 south boundary line of Missouri, and the Mili- 

 tary Board of Arkansas called out ten regi- 

 ments for defensive purposes. On the 21st of 

 June the Board despatched a messenger to 

 Richmond, proposing to transfer the entire 

 State force, with their arms, to the Confeder- 

 ate Government, making a condition precedent, 

 however, that the arms were to be used for the 

 protection of Arkansas. The Secretary of State 

 was willing to receive the men and arms, but 

 would make no promise as to their future dis- 

 position, and so the transfer was not then 

 effected. 



On the 4th of July the effort was again es- 

 sayed, one of the members of the Board visiting 

 Gen. Hardee, then recently appointed to the 

 command of the northern border of Arkansas, 

 and an agreement was made whereby a vote 

 should be taken among the Arkansas troops, 

 and if & majority of each company consented to 

 be transferred, those consenting were to be 

 turned over as a company ; if, however, a ma- 

 jority declined, the company was to be dis- 

 banded altogether. One company of General 

 Yell's division disbanded, and two or three 

 hundred others, "from various motives, re- 

 turned home." This was from the eastern di- 

 vision of the army. 



The western division, under Gen. Pearce, 

 however, was not so easily transferred. After 

 the battle of Springfield, the Military Board 

 despatched an agent to General Pearce to turn 

 over his troops to Gen. Hardee. The agent 

 proposed to submit the question of the transfer, 

 but Gen. Pearce became angry, and refused to 

 allow it to be done, following this insubordi- 

 nate conduct up by writing a most abusive let- 

 ter to the Board. Not content with this, Gen. 

 Pearce separated his troops from McCulloch's 

 command, and marched them back to Arkansas, 

 where they were informally disbanded and sent 

 home. Gov. Rector says, tlint without General 

 Pearce's command, " General McCulloch was left 

 too weak for any thing but passive inaction." 



As soon as Gen. Pearce's return to Arkansas 

 was known, the Military Board, fearing a dis- 

 bandment, directed him to suspend all action 

 in reference to the transfer, but the despatches 

 were received too late, and only "in time to 

 stay the waste of public property scattered in 

 all directions." 



His narrative showed that the Arkansas forces, 

 claimed to be twenty-two thousand in number, 

 were in a complete state of demoralization at 

 that time. 



