The 47th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army Mounted Infantry regiment during the American Civil War. While 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 47th Arkansas Cavalry when a numerical designation is used.National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, Confederate Arkansas Troops, 47th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Crandall's). Retrieved 3 December 2011 The unit is most often referred to as Crandell's Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, after its commander Colonel Lee Crandell.
Organization 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.Sellmeyer, Deryl P.: "Jo Shelby's Iron Brigade", Pelican Publishing Company, 2007, , p. 184 McCray's efforts led to the recruitment of at least three new regiments, the 45th, 46th and 47th Arkansas Infantry Regiments. These 40-series regiments consisted mostly of teenagers, conscripts, and absentees from existing units, all organized around a small cadre of veterans detailed from infantry regiments expected to be idle during the fall and winter.Howerton, Bryan R.: "Re: Wm. H. Fisher, Crandall's 47 Cav. CSA", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 23 October 2008, Accessed 1 January 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?read=19041
The decreasing availability of fodder for horses in 1864 led the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department to prohibit the raising of additional mounted regiments in Arkansas. However, when General Sterling Price received authorization to conduct a campaign in Missouri, some of the new regiments were mounted to accompany him. The 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, and 48th officially became mounted infantry regiments. They were rarely referred to in reports and orders by their numbers, and Price referred to them as McGehee's Cavalry, Crabtree's Cavalry, etc. This later resulted in their being known as the 44th Cavalry, 46th Cavalry, etc.Howerton, Bryan R.: "Re: 46th Ark. Cavalry = 46th Ark. Mounted Infantry", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 9 November 2002, Accessed 1 January 2012, http://history-sites.com/mb/cw/arcwmb/archive_index.cgi?noframes;read=23921
No muster rolls of the 47th Arkansas Mounted Infantry are known to survive. Except a few prisoner of war records, the regiment's existing records consist of only paroles of the soldiers who surrendered at Jacksonport, Arkansas, on June 5, 1865, supplemented by the pension records of some of its veterans.Howerton, Bryan R.: "In Response To: 45th Arkansas Cavalry (Jo Bennett)", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 16 April 2004, Accessed 1 January 2012, http://history-sites.com/mb/cw/arcwmb/archive_index.cgi?noframes;read=7086
Officer appointments in the 40-series regiments date from June to August 1864, so it is assumed that the regiments were mustered into service about the same time at various points in northeast Arkansas. The list of regimental officers follows:Howerton, Bryan R.: "47th (Crandall's) Arkansas Cavalry Regiment", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Accessed 2 January 2012, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/47thf&s.htmlNational Archives (General Services Administration). Washington. D. C. Microcopy 317. Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from Arkansas. Rolls 29 and 30. National Archives (General Services Administration), Washington. D. C. Jacksonport (Ark.) Parole Lists, June 5, 1865. Rolls 21-44 Crandall, Lee S. – Colonel Davis, R.M. – Lieutenant Colonel Graves, T.D. – Surgeon Nanna, W.S. – Major Hewitt, E. – Captain Adjutant Brady, S.H. – Surgeon Walker, C.M. – Assistant Surgeon Clayton, R. – Commissary Mayberry, Randolph P. – Commissary Sergeant Based on the parole records from Jacksonport, and a few prisoner of war records the follow is known about the companies:Howerton, Bryan, "Re: 47th Arkansas Mounted Infantry", The Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, posted 28 November 2017, Accessed 4 December 2017, http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?page=1;md=read;id=31934 Company A – Commanded by Capt. Lilburn T. Cox, Company B – Commanded by Capt John Wilson,Odom, Danny, "Re: 47th Arkansas Mounted Infantry", The Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, posted 28 November 2017, Accessed 4 December 2017, http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?page=1;md=read;id=31932 Company C – Commanded by Capt. William Montgomery Mayo, Company D – Commanded by Capt. John Wilson, Company E – Commanded by Capt. William O. Purssell, Company F – Commander is unknown, Company G – Commanded by Capt. David M. Burks (possibly Burns), Company H – Commanded by Capt. James F. Lawler, Company I – Commanded by Capt. James Martin Lay, Company K – Originally commanded by a Captain Blakeney, commanded at the surrender by 2nd Lt J W Wills.
There are additional company commanders mentioned in various records, including Capt. Charles Mason, Capt. McCoy, and Capt. Williams.
Lee Salmon Crandall (1832–1926) was born in South Berlin, New York. As a young man he moved to Louisiana, where he married and made his home. Crandall entered the Confederate Army as captain of Company I, 8th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, and he led his company in the first Battle of Manassas. He was with General Stonewall Jackson through the Valley Campaign in Virginia, and was wounded in the wrist at the Battle of Cross Keys. He was promoted to major, and later was ordered to report to Major General Sterling Price at Little Rock, Arkansas. He was captured during Price's Missouri raid and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner at Johnson's Island, Ohio.
Service The 47th Arkansas Mounted Infantry was assigned to Colonel Thomas H. McCray's brigade and operated as part of General Shelby's division in northeast Arkansas in the summer of 1864. The regiments organized by Colonel McCray were apparently ready for operations by July 25, 1864, when Brigadier General Shelby ordered McCray's Brigade to move south and attack the railroad near Brownsville, in current day Lonoke County, 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 41, In Four Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1893; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145054/m1/1025/?q=McCray : accessed March 29, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 41, In Four Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, Etc., Book, 1893; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145054/m1/521/?q=McCray : accessed March 29, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 41, In Four Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1893; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145053/m1/45/?q=McCray : accessed March 29, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. These attacks were to cut off supplies to the Union army under General Steele in Little Rock, which was dependent on supplies sent up the Arkansas River and down the railroad from Duvall's Bluff, 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 41, In Four Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, Etc., Book, 1893; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145054/m1/248/?q=McCray : accessed March 29, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. In response to Colonel McCray's movements, Union Brigadier General Joseph R. West conducted an expedition from Little Rock to the Little Red River, August 7–14, 1864 in attempt to destroy McCray's forces. Wests forces encountered some of McCray's men at Hickory Plains, Arkansas, on August 7, 1864, and captured seven prisoners.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 41, In Four Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1893; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145053/m1/239/?q=McCray : accessed March 29, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. Nevertheless, Shelby reported that McCray had succeeded in tearing up track and burned several railroad bridges.
In late August 1864, Colonel McCray and his brigade accompanied General Shelby in a raid against Union hay cutting operations west of DeValls Bluff in Prairie County, Arkansas.Christ, Mark K. "Action at Ashley's Station", The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, The Central Arkansas Library System, Accessed 29 March 2013, http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1139 The purpose was to draw Union forces east of Little Rock, to provide a diversion while General Price crossed the Arkansas River west of the city.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 41, In Four Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1893; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145053/m1/667/?q=McCray : accessed March 29, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. McCray's brigade was the reserve for Shelby's attack on Ashley's Station and four other hay cutting stations west of DeValls Bluff, during which Shelby captured Colonel Greenville M. Mitchell and over 500 men of the 54th Illinois Infantry Regiment.Thunder Across the Arkansas Prairie: Shelby's Opening Salvo in the 1864 Invasion of Missouri by Scott A. Porter, Arkansas Historical Quarterly 66(1):43-56 Spr 2007 Price crossed the Arkansas River near Dardanelle on September 7, 1864, on his way to link with General Shelby at Batesville to prepare for his raid on Missouri.Report of Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, C. S. Army. August 29–December 2, 1864. Price's Missouri Expedition. Accessed 29 March 2012, http://www.civilwarhome.com/price.htm