The Brown's Arkansas Artillery Battery (1862–1863) was a Confederate Army artillery battery during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Newton Artillery. The battery operated in the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi for its entire existence.
Organization When General Thomas C. Hindman arrived in Arkansas in late May, 1862 to assume command of the new Trans-Mississippi District, he found almost nothing to command. He quickly began organizing new regiments, but his most pressing need was for arms for the new forces he was organizing, including the artillery. One of his first acts was to order General Albert Pike, commanding the Indian Territory, to return Woodruff's Battery, also known as the Weaver Light Artillery to Arkansas. Louis W. Brown first had been elected Second Lieutenant in Capitan William E. Woodruff's militia battery, then known as the Totten Light ArtilleryHowerton, Bryan R. "Pulaski Light Artillery", Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Page, Pulaski Light Artillery, Accessed January 30, 2011, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/pla-hist.html on December 20, 1860,OLD-LINE DEMOCRAT, LITTLE ROCK, October 18, 1860, p. 3, c. 2–3, Accessed February 2, 2011, The National Archives Publication Number: M317, Publication Title: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Arkansas, Content Source: NARA, National Archives Catalog ID: 586957, Record Group: 109, State: Arkansas, Short Description: NARA M317. Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Arkansas units, Roll: 0131, Military Unit: Thirteenth Infantry, S-Y AND Thirteenth Militia, Accessed 23 February 2013, http://www.fold3.com/image/#223417771 and he was still serving as a lieutenant in Woodruff's battery at the time of this transfer. Woodruff's Battery was utilized to provide the officer cadre for several new batteries in the summer of 1862. Brown was promoted to captain and ordered to command a battery to be organized from details from the infantry regiments of Brigadier General James H. McBride's brigade.Howerton, Bryan R. "Re: Brown's battery", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 30 March 2005, Accessed 21 December 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=9964
William J. Leonard was appointed Jr 1st Lieutenant of Captain Brown's Artillery Company by Special Order No. 69, effective July 17, 1862. Another former member of Woodruff's battery, Sergeant Henry HalliburtonThe National Archives Publication Number: M317, Publication Title: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Arkansas, Content Source: NARA, National Archives Catalog ID: 586957, Record Group: 109, State: Arkansas Short Description: NARA M317. Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Arkansas units, Roll: 0040, Military Unit: Marshall's Battery, Light Artillery AND Owen's Battery, Light Artillery Accessed 23 February 2013, http://www.fold3.com/image/#198847573 was promoted to serve as Second Lieutenant of Captain Brown's battery.Hoerton, Bryan R. "Brown's Battery", Arakansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 2/11/2011, Accessed 24 February 2013, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=23311The National Archives Publication Number: M317, Publication Title: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Arkansas, Content Source: NARA, National Archives Catalog ID: 586957 National Archives Catalog Title: Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Confederate Organizations, compiled 1903 - 1927, documenting the period 1861 - 1865, Record Group: 109, State: Arkansas, Roll: 0255, Military Unit: Miscellaneous, Arkansas, A-I
Little is known of this battery, except that it was named the "Newton Artillery" in honor of Col. Robert C. Newton.Howerton, Bryan R. "Re: Brown's battery", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 30 March 2005, Accessed 21 December 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=9954 No muster rolls have ever been located. Historians have assembled a roster of thirty four unit members by examining the muster rolls of the regiments which detailed men to the battery.Hoerton, Bryan R. "Brown's Battery", Arakansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 2/11/2011, Accessed 24 February 2013, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=23311 Most of the thirty-four names which appear in the National Archives records under Brown's Arkansas Battery also can be found in the 27th Arkansas Regiment. Six each came from Companies "G" and "I"; another five were assigned from Company "F". Others appear to be from Companies "A", "B", "C", "E", "H" and "K".Pitts, Allen, "Re: Brown's battery", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 23 October 2006, Accessed 21 December 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=13795 Several Missouri men from Co B, Matlock's Ark Regiment, joined the battery. They previously had been members of Jeffers' Mo Independent Cavalry Company, the Swamp Rangers. One of them, Joseph Coker, later wrote a short paper, which is part of the Thomas Ewing Family Papers, Library of Congress.Thomas Ewing Family Papers, Library of Congress, Accessed 4 March 2013, http://memory.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2005/ms005009.pdf Cooker traces some of his experiences during the war, including a little on his service in Brown's Battery.McGhee, Jim "Re: Brown's battery", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 30 March 2005, Accessed 21 December 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=9958 The transfer of men from the 26th Arkansas to Brown's Battery was made permanent "by order of Gen. Hindman" as of August 12, 1862. This was also the date that transfers of men to other batteries (Hart's, etc.) were made permanent. It is also, coincidentally, the date of a reorganization of regiments in Arkansas in which new elections of officers were held, and some companies were shifted around, consolidated, etc.Howerton, Bryan R. "Attn: Bob Meeks, re Artillery Transfers", Arkansas in the Civil War Message Board, Posted 2 May 2007, Accessed 21 December 2012, http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=15501
Service By October 18, 1862, Brown's Arkansas Battery, with four iron 6-pounder guns was located at Pittman's Ferry, in Randolph County, Arkansas, with Colonel Colton Green's Missouri Cavalry Regiment.
In early November, the battery was assigned to a small brigade of Missouri Cavalry, including the 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Colonel John Q. Burbridge. Under Burbridge's command, the battery fought at the Battle of Clark's Mill on November 7, 1862 in Douglas County, Missouri. Battery Member Joseph Coker described the battery's participation in the Battle of Clark's Mill.Thomas Ewing Family Papers, Library of Congress, Accessed 4 March 2013, http://memory.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2005/ms005009.pdf
General Thomas C. Hindman congratulated Burnbridge's command on their achievement;
By December 1862, the battery, now apparently reduced to two guns, was assigned to Colonel Joseph C. Porter's Missouri Cavalry Brigade during General John S. Marmaduke's December 1862 through January 1863 expedition through southern Missouri.United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 22, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1888; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154600/m1/209/?q=Brown's : accessed February 24, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. This movement was two-pronged. Col. Porter led one column, comprising his Missouri Cavalry Brigade, out of Pocahontas, Arkansas, to assault Union posts around Hartville, Missouri. When he neared Hartville on January 9, he sent a detachment forward to reconnoiter. It succeeded in capturing the small militia garrison. The same day, Porter moved toward Marshfield. On January 10, some of Porter's men raided other Union installations in the area before making contact with Marmaduke's column east of Marshfield. Marmaduke had received reports of Union troops approaching to surround him and prepared for a confrontation. Early on the morning of January 11 the Confederates under Porter made contact with Union Col. Samuel Merrill 's scouts and skirmishing commenced. Merrill marched his force directly to Hartville where it took a strong defensive position on covered, high ground west of the courthouse. Shelby and Porter's brigades attempted to dislodge Merrill's force, but it was too strongly positioned. Over a four-hour period several Confederate assaults were made, each being repulsed in turn. Eventually Merrill withdrew most of his force. Both sides claimed victory in the Battle of Hartville. Marmaduke was compelled to make a rapid retreat into Arkansas and then an arduous trek to winter camp.Goman, Frederick W., Up From Arkansas: Marmaduke's First Missouri Raid Including the Battles of Springfield and Hartville, 1999Historical Society of Wright County, Missouri, The Civil War Battle of Hartville and Related Events, 1997Mudd, Joseph A., With Porter In North Missouri, 1904Robinett, Paul M., Marmaduke's Expedition into Missouri: The Battles of Springfield and Hartville, January, 1863, Missouri Historical Review, January 1964