WAR VETERAN TELLS OF CALL TO ARMS Jim E. Stanley Relates How the "Old Fifth Arkansas" was Organized On or about the first day of January, 1859, I landed at Des Arc, Ark., from the good steamboat, "Return." Charles Jackson, who now lives at or near Lonoke, Ark., was with me on the trip from Memphis, Tenn. We were schoolmates in my early school days in "Old Tennessee." Des Arc was a nice town and was a great trading and shipping point many years before I came to the state. White river was navigable for steamers all the year, many miles above Des Arc. There was a regular line of Memphis and White river boats. The Arkansas and Memphis steamers made regular trips. The Red, Black and St. Francis rivers were traversed by nice steamboats a great part of each year. We had no railroads in Arkansas at that time. Our mail overland was carried on stages and on the backs of "mustang ponies." Hanger & Gaines and Chidester & Reside owned and operated two stage lines - the Little Rock and Batesville and Des Arc and Fort Smith. There were other lines south of Little Rock, but I did not get so far south until after the war. I used a short "haul" of six miles once on a stage and they relieved me of 60 cents; that was my first and last stage coach ride. The agent of the routes north was Uncle Charley Mills of Little Rock. I knew him well. He was jolly, fat, and a good fellow. In the fall of 1859 I made a few trips from Old Austin to Pine Bluff, four days for the round trip of 75 miles. My first intermediate office was Old Brownsville, next was Gumwood on Wabbaseka bayou. Mr. Hudgin was postmaster. The next office was Pastoria, and thence five miles to Pine Bluff. I could have carried on any trip all the mail in my coat pocket. I used to go by old Dr. Cantrell's and leave the "Brownsville Echo." He lived in the Rich Woods. There were only two newspapers in Prairie county before the war. The "Des Arc Citizen," a weekly, which was published at Des Arc by John C. Morrill. I suppose it contained about as much as one page of our Gazette, nevertheless it was good and up to date, and we were all glad to get it once a week. In the month of May, 1861, when war clouds hung heavy over our Southland, a call for volunteers was made on the little village of Austin and vicinity, and by June 10, we had responded with 87 men and boys, enrolled by Capt. James Blakney of Austin. For some cause, Captain Blakney could not go to the front with us, so the good old people advised us to take A. J. Gingles as our captain. We accepted him and chose Howard M. Gist as first lieutenant, B. F. Murrell, second lieutenant, and Hugh Ross, as third. Hugh Robinson, a private in the company was a natural soldier. It did not take him long to teach us the manual of arms from Hardee's tactics. Armed with sticks for guns, "The Austin Rifles" drilled two or three days each week on the old square at Austin, until we were ordered away. Hugh Robison was finally elected our captain at Corinth, Miss., in 1862, and was killed in battle at Perryville, Ky., in 1862. On the 14th of June, 1861, we received orders to go to Brownsville. Capt. R. S. Gant had made up a company at Brownsville and on the night of the 14th of June, our two companies were lined up in the courthouse and were sworn in as State soldiers for one year only. On the 15th of June, 186l, we hiked to Des Arc, and into camp a short distance below town, near the bank of the limpid White river. A bayou ran between our camps and the town, and a long bridge spanned the bayou. On the bridge stood a new soldier with a counter sign in his head and a club in his hand. Tarkington, Jackson and Oldham sold good "booze" in the town at 10 cents a quart and five cents a drink, and private soldiers were not allowed to smell of it. But the White river was not under blockade then and canoes came around the bend and there was whiskey in Camp Brown. It was necessary to keep the guards around the camp at night. We had no guns, so we used clubs and sticks instead. I don't forget a little joke on the boys that came on us at Camp Brown. I was not on guard that night. All seemed to be quiet on the banks of the beautiful White river until 9 or 10 o'clock. I think it was Capta'n Sweats artillery company on a steamer, seeing our camps, they gave us a one-gun salute and at that time we had no guards around Camp Brown! Poor old Captain Gingles and Captain Gant came to our rescue and said: "Why boys, that was Captain Sweats' battery giving us a salute." The village blacksmith made many Arkansas toothpicks for the bays and Mr. Vaum, the tinner, made our canteens. In a few days we had orders to leave our first camps. We marched to the landing and were met by many ladies who gave to each one of us a New Testament. Amid many cheers and the waving of flags, we boarded the steamer "New Moon" and left Des Arc. Many never returned. The "New Moon" was too large for Black river. We went up to Pocahontas on the "I. J. Cadott"; from Pocahontas we made our way on the Webfoot line to Gainesville, and five miles south to a fine spring. It was not long before we had ten companies there, and the Old Original Fifth Arkansas Regiment was organized. David C. Cross was colonel: Captain Sweeney [Bradley Co] was lieutenant colonel, and Pope was major. Company "A," Will H. Frader, captain (Rector Grays), St. Francis county. Company "B" L. R. Fiske, captain (Walker Grays), Taylor Creek, St. Francis county. Company "C" P. V. Green, captain (Sweeney Rifles), Warren, Bradley County. Company "D" W. G. Bohanan, captain (Gainesville Rifles), Greene county Company "E" Captain White (Gainesville Guards), Greene county Company "F" Hank Smith, captain (Harrisburg Rifles), Poinsett county. Company "G", R. S. Gant, captain (Brownsville Rifles), Prairie county Company "H" Poindexter Dunn, captain (Linden Dead Shots), St. Francis county Company "I" A. J. Gingles, captain (Austin Rifles), Prairie county Company "K" Lou Featherston, captain (Arkansas Toothpicks, Clarendon, Monroe county. In a short time after the Old Fifth Arkansas was organized, we marched to Pocahontas and stayed a few days in camp. While there we were informed that we might have to leave the state. As we were state troops, it was not proposed to take us out of the state against our wishes. We were ordered into line and the proposition was given to us as follows: "Those who do not want to go out of the state will step a few paces to the front and stand for enrollment and will be allowed to return home." I don't remember how many left us, nearly half of the Brownsville Rifles stepped out, but that company was recruited almost to its former number of men, but the Linden Dead Shots walked out enmass. We were then "A Bob Tail Regiment," but old Greene county came forward with another company, "H" from Scatterville, Capt. G. P. Kirkendall. We spent the remainder of the summer at Pitman's Ferry on the Current river, 20 miles north of Pocahontas. At Pocahontas that old Arkansas brigade was formed and commanded awhile by Gen. W. J. Hardee, then Tom C. Hindman, Shaver, Marmaduke, Pat Cleburne and Gen. J. R. Lidell and I don't remember how many others. We were spliced together so much that by the time we fought the Chickamaugua battle we were almost strangers under General Walthal of Mississippi. The regiments composing the old original brigade as well as I can remember now, were as follows: Tom. C. Hindman, legion, twelve or fourteen hundred men. It became the Second. Regiment: the Fifth Regiment, D. C. Cross; the Sixth Regiment, Ben Lyon; the Seventh Regiment, R. G. Shaver; the Eighth Regiment, Colonel Patterson. Old comrades and fragments of a once grand army, a few of you may read this little history I have written from memories of 48 to 52 years ago; what I have told you about I was there. Many of them, yes, three-fourths of those boys who formed those companies, regiments and brigades, have passed away; they have answered the last roll called here. I will not take you out on our trip from the state, this time, as I have written enough for the present. Should any old cramrades see these lines and remember me, I will be glad to hear from them. If I feel well enough sometime, I will write again. It might be interesting to old comrades, but to no one else, I suppose. Respectfully, Jim E. Stanley private Co. I Fifth Arkansas Confederate Volunteers, Levy, Ark. --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.

Jann - Thanks so much for posting this. I am always fascinated by first-person accounts of histoical interest. Should you come across Pvt. Stanley's writings about "our trip from the state", please post it as I would very much like to read it. Thanks again for all the info you post. Bert Mullins