Introduction, Causes, And Beginning Civil War in Arkansas I Introduction, Causes, And Beginning

The Civil War 1861-1865 Began at Fort Sumter and ended at Appomattox Court House. United States vs. Confederate States Abraham Lincoln vs. Jefferson Davis More than 600,000 deaths due to the Civil War.

The Civil War (Cont.) Cost the U.S.A. $6.19 billion. Cost the C.S.A. $4 billion. Destroyed property valued at $5 billion. Gave freedom to 4 million slaves. It still affects this country today.

Long Term Causes Economic Differences- North-Industry South-Agriculture Beliefs about the role of government- North-Strong central government South-States’ Rights Slavery- North-Opposed South-Supported

Yellow=Free Light Green=Slave

Talk of Secession People in the South were beginning to discuss leaving the Union. This made Arkansas very unstable. There was a long standing division between slave and nonslave areas. People new that to secede would mean war, but they believed it would be a short, two month war with a Southern victory.

Party Changes in AR The national Whig party had broken apart over the issue of slavery. This left Arkansas Whigs without a home. Also the Democratic “Family” that had ruled the state’s government was the weakest it had ever been. In 1860 the first governor of the state of Arkansas not to be supported by the family was elected.

Thomas Hindman Hindman moved to Helena, AR, from Mississippi in the 1850s. He was at first an ally to the “Family”. He broke away from them in the late 1850s and gave his support to Henry Rector who was running for governor against the “Family’s” candidate Richard H. Johnson. Rector won.

National Politics At this same time the entire country was focused on the Presidential race. The Democratic Party had split and nominated two candidates-Stephen A. Douglas and John C. Breckinridge. The new Republican Party had recently formed and was against the extension of slavery into new lands. The Republican Candidate was Abraham Lincoln. Breckinridge supported state’s rights and Douglas supported slavery.

Lincoln was believed to support abolition and wasn’t even put on the ballot in the South. Former Whigs in Tennessee nominated John Bell, a Constitutionalist, for president. In the election of 1860, Arkansas voted along what was left of party lines. Breckinridge-28,783 votes. Bell-20,094 votes. Douglas-5,227 No votes in Arkansas went for Lincoln.

Lincoln Wins Lincoln won a clear victory with 180 electoral votes. Breckinridge carried Arkansas and 10 other slave states but only received 72 electoral votes.

The Question of Secession Would the Southern states have to secede from the Union to keep their slaves? The Southern doctrine of states’ rights was their means to justify secession. Most Arkansans wanted to wait and see what would happen with this new president before deciding. Governor Rector warned Arkansans they might soon have to make a decision, “the Union without slavery, or slavery without the Union.

Stay or Leave Even after South Carolina and three other states had left the Union, Arkansas was reluctant to act. South and eastern Arkansans demanded quick action to secede. North and western Arkansans pleaded for caution and patience. January 15, 1861 the General Assembly called for a vote of the people. They voted to have a secession convention to decide.

Meanwhile… While Arkansas was still deciding the seven states that had seceded formed the Confederate States of America. They elected Jefferson Davis their president. Some Arkansans got tired of waiting. A group of armed extremists took over the U.S. Army Arsenal in Little Rock. The commander there surrendered to avoid bloodshed.

The Convention Met for two weeks of debate and turned down the chance to secede by a vote of thirty-nine to thirty-five. Soon after this vote, South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter. In response for this Lincoln called for troops. In Arkansas Governor Rector refused Lincolns request for volunteers. The question was now if it comes to war, which side are we on?

Arkansas Decides to Secede David Walker called the convention back into session on May 6, 1861. After a few hours of discussion all but five men voted to secede. Walker called for a second ballot in effort to make the vote unanimous. Only one man, Isaac Murphy refused to change his vote to stay in the Union. Ladies threw bouquets of flowers at him from the balcony for his courage.

Rushing Off to War Young men who feared the war would be over before they could join rushed to enlist in the Confederate and Union armies. In almost all Arkansas towns military companies formed, chose officers, and picked fancy names. Some units had uniforms, others wore homespun. The men brought their own weapons.

Support for the War Women sewed bright flags and made uniforms. They urged men on. If a man was to slow to sign up, a woman would send him a petticoat, a symbol he wasn’t a real man. Before it was all over, 60,000 Arkansans would serve. This was more than 1/3 of the adult white male population in Arkansas.

Units in Arkansas The state had… 36 infantry regiments. 15 cavalry regiments. 13 artillery regiments. Most of these would end up serving outside of the state.

Part of the Confederate Army The Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment joined the Army of Northern Virginia in 1862. As the war continued volunteers quit coming and the confederacy began drafting soldiers. Sixteen Arkansans reached the rank of general in the Confederate army. The most famous general was Patrick Cleburne, who was said to be the best division commander in the Western Theater.

Fighting for the Union Not all men from AR fought for the C.S.A. 8,289 white Arkansans served in the Union Army. This was more than any other Confederate state except Tennessee. One of these men, William Ellis, was the first Arkansan to win a Medal of Honor. More than 5,500 African American Arkansans also joined the Union forces.

First Fighting The divided state of Missouri would set the stage of the first major battle for Arkansas. Confederate supporters called for help. Arkansas responded along with Texas. Along with the troops from Missouri, they formed a fighting force of 12,000 men. These amateur armies met the Union army of 5,400 at a place called Wilson’s Creek.

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek The Battle of Wilson’s Creek took place on August 10, 1861. The battle lasted all morning. The total casualties-number of men killed, wounded, or missing-were 1,300 on the northern side and 1,200 on the southern side. Wilson’s Creek was an early example of an indecisive battle. The Union had left, but the Confederates were to weak to follow up on their victory. Missouri was still controlled by Unionist.