The 2nd Arkansas Light Artillery (1860–1865) was a Confederate Army artillery battery which served during the American Civil War. The battery spent the majority of the war serving in Confederate forces east of the Mississippi River. The battery is also referred to as the Clark County Artillery, Robert's Arkansas Battery and Wiggins Arkansas Battery.
Organization The battery was recruited and organized in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, by Captain Franklin Roberts, a local watch maker. On December 29, 1860, militia commissions were issued to the officers of a "Volunteer Light Artillery Company" in the 28th Regiment, Arkansas State Militia. Arkansas had yet to secede from the Union so these new organizations were formed under the Arkansas Militia Law which authorized each county to form four volunteer companies, in addition to its infantry regiment. The original battery officers were:Arkansas Military Department Records, Spanish American War, List of Commissioned Officers of the Militia 1827–1862, Arkansas History Commission, Microfilm Roll 38-8, Page 504
Captain Franklin Roberts 1st Lieutenant James K. Jones 2nd Lieutenant Charles Blackhead 3rd Lieutenant Richard T. Tisdale
On March 29, 1861, Colonel William M. Bruce, commander of the 28th Regiment, Arkansas State Militia, wrote to Arkansas Governor Henry Rector to report the election of officers in his regiment and to request a fife and drum set for the Clark County Artillery under Captain Frank Roberts.150 Years Ago Today, William M. Bruce, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to Governor Henry M. Rector, Kie Oldham papers, Arkansas History Commission, Accessed 16 August 2013, http://www.ark-ives.com/doc-a-day/?date=3/29/2011 Adjutant General Burgevin wrote to Captain Roberts informing him of the availability of a pair of 6-pounder guns and mini rifles for his unit. is assume that this letter was written following the seizure of the Federal Arsenal at Little Rock by state militia forces.
The battery was made up mostly of Clark County men, with a few from Hot Springs County. The battery was enrolled in Confederate service at Little Rock, Arkansas, on July 15, 1863 On July 15, 1861, Confederate Brigadier General William J. Hardee arrived in Little Rock to assume unified Confederate command in the state. The following day the state Military Board signed an "Article of Transfer", which provided that all state forces (excepting the militia), would be transferred on a voluntary basis to the command of the Confederate States of America.The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; Series 1 – Volume 3, Page 609, Accessed January 11, 2011, https://dlxs2.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moawar;cc=moawar;g=moagrp;xc=1;q1=hardee;q2=Wilson%20s%20Creek;q3=Gratiot;rgn=full%20text;idno=waro0003;didno=waro0003;view=image;seq=0623 All weapons, ammunition, and supplies were also to be transferred.Huff, "Military Board", p. 79. The "Clarke County Artillery, Commanded by Captain Roberts" was included in the articles of transfer.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 3., Book, 1881, Page 609; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154606/m1/617/?q=Roberts : accessed August 19, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas. The batteries enlistment documents indicate that they were enrolled into Confederate service by Adjutant General Edmond Burgevin. The battery officers when transferred to Confederate service were:
Captain Franklin Roberts 1st Lieutenant Peter E. Greene 2nd Lieutenant William C. Adams 3rd Lieutenant W. T. Crouch
The new unit was initially sent to the depot at Pitman's Ferry, near Pocahontas, Arkansas.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 3., Book, 1881; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154606/m1/697/?q=Arkansas Battery : accessed February 13, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. The unit is included in Brigadier General William Hardee's return of troops assigned to the Upper District of Arkansas, dated August 31, 1861, and is listed as included two officers and 85 enlisted men.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 3., Book, 1881, Page 690; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154606/m1/697/?q=Arkansas Troops : accessed August 19, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas.
Apparently the Battery had either never received the guns promised by Adjutant General Edmond Burgevin, or the guns had been condemned by General Hardee as unserviceable. Hardee's new command was drilled and disciplined until the last of August, when Hardee's brigade marched by land to Point Pleasant, Missouri, on the Missouri River, and then traveled by steamboat to the Confederate stronghold at Columbus, Kentucky. Unlike the rest of Hardee's Brigade, Roberts Company remained at Pittman's Ferry, apparently without guns and was designated as an independent infantry company. General Hardee eventually ordered Roberts' company to join him in Kentucky as infantryUnited States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 3., Book, 1881; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154606/m1/243/?q=Roberts : accessed September 13, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas. but Colonel Solon Borland, placed a hold on the unit opting to instead keep them at the depot, and arm them with the discarded cannon to defend against a possible Union attack from Missouri into northeast Arkansas.From, Fight and Survive! A History of Jackson County, Arkansas, in the Civil War, by Lady Elizabeth Watson, Reprinted in the Stream of History, the Jackson County Historical Society Newport. Arkansas, VOLUME XXXI 1997 NUMBERS 1–4, Page 45-50, Accessed May 6, 2011, http://cdm15320.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p15320coll1&CISOPTR=144&CISOBOX=1&REC=1 On November 5, 1861, Col Borland reported:The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 3, page 266
Colonel Borland, mentioned the unit again on November 10, 1861, in a report to General Polk:Odom, Danny "Re: Wiggins' Battery", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 9/13/2013, Accessed 13 Sept 2013, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?page=1;md=read;id=28607
The battery remained on duty in northeast Arkansas for two months, then was sent for service in east of the Mississippi River.
Service The unit moved from Pittman's Ferry to Kentucky where and joined Major General William J. Hardee's Army of Central Kentucky.United States. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 7., Book, 1882; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154610/m1/858/?q=Army of Mississippi : accessed June 27, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. After the losses of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February 1862, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston withdrew his forces into western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and Alabama to reorganize. Then retreated through western Tennessee to northern Mississippi. The unit's muster roll for the period January 1, 1862, to February 28, 1862, stated:NARA M317. Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Arkansas units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier. Roll: 0042, Military Unit: Thrall's Battery, Light Artillery AND Wiggins' Battery, Light Artillery, A-C. Accessed at Fold 3, 16 August 2013, http://www.fold3.com/image/198855697/?terms=wiggins Battery#20/198841783/
On March 29, 1862, the Army of Central Kentucky was merged into the Army of Mississippi in preparation for the Battle of Shiloh.
During the Battle of Shiloh, a.k.a. Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, Sunday, April 6, 1862 – Monday, April 7, 1862, the battery, armed with two 6-pounder smoothbores and two 12-pounder howitzers,. was listed as unattached. The unit became involved in the largest concentration of artillery in North American up to that time.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 10, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1884, page 472; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154613/m1/480/?q=Roberts Arkansas Battery : accessed August 16, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas. By the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, 1862, men of Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions had established and held a position nicknamed the Hornet's Nest.Cunningham, O. Edward. Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862. Edited by Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith. New York: Savas Beatie, 2007. , pp. 241–42. The Confederates assaulted the position for several hours rather than simply bypassing it, and they suffered heavy casualties during these assaults.Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. . p. 227, cites 12. See Also, Daniel, Larry J. Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. p. 214, It was not until the Confederates, led by Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles, assembled over 50 cannons, including Robert's Arkansas Battery, into a position known as "Ruggles's Battery"Historians disagree on the number of artillery pieces the Confederates massed against the Hornets Nest. Cunningham, p. 290, can account for 51. Daniel, p. 229, argues for 53. Eicher, p. 228 and Sword, Wiley. Shiloh: Bloody April. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992. . First published 1974 by Morrow. p. 326, report the traditional count of 62, which was originally established by battlefield historian D.W. Reed. to blast the line at close range that they were able to surround the position, and the Hornet's Nest fell after holding out for seven hours.Nevin, David, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Road to Shiloh: Early Battles in the West. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983. . pp. 121–29, 136–39; See also Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. , map 36; Daniel, pp. 207–14; See Also Woodworth, Steven E. Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861–1865. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. . pp. 179–85; See Also Eicher, p. 227. Sword, p. 306, lists 2,320 captured; Eicher, p. 228, 2,200; Daniel, p. 214, 2,400.