HISTORICAL NOTES:
Before Major General Van Dorn could make much progress at building his new "Army of the West", a Union invasion of Northwest Arkansas necissitated an activation of the state militia. On February 17, 1862, General McCulloch issued a proclamation from Fayetteville:
To Able-bodied Citizens Of Western Arkansas: The troops under General Price and myself are falling back before a superior force to the Boston Mountains. Thousands of Federal hirelings are within the line of your State, -whilst hundreds of men remain at home, notwithstanding their services are needed. Let every man turn out and form companies, and rally to meet the advancing enemy. Rally at once or it will be too late.
Brigadier General N. B. Burrow, commander of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Arkansas State Militia reacted by activating his entire brigade. According to pay records and muster rolls from the period, the following elements of the 3rd Brigade were activated in the face of the Union invasion of Northwest Arkansas:
5th Militia Regiment, 3rd Militia Brigade, Crawford County, on duty 21 February -17 March,
7th Militia Regiment, 3rd Militia Brigade, Franklin County, on duty 22 February -19 March,
10th Militia Regiment, 3rd Militia Brigade, Johnson County, on duty 20 February -19 March
51st Militia Regiment, 3rd Militia Brigade, Sebastian County, on duty 4 March - 19 March,
58th Militia Regiment, 3rd Militia Brigade, Logan County, on duty 22 February - 21 March,
62nd Militia Regiment, 3rd Militia Brigade, Johnson County, on duty 22 February - 1 March,
General Van Dorn received dispatches on February 22, from Generals McCullock and Price which indicated that General Price had rapidly fallen back from Springfield Missouri before a superior force of the enemy, and was endeavoring to form a junction with the division of General McCulloch in Boston Mountains, near Fayetteville. The State Military Board issued an order to Brigadier General George M. Holt, Commander of the 2nd Brigade of Arkansas Militia on February 26, to organize and put in camp each regiment in his militia brigade without delay. Brigadier General Burrow of the 3rd Militia Brigade, wrote from his headquarters at Van Buren to Governor Rector on March 2 informing the governor that he feared that only about 1,400 out of the 4,800 men enlisted in the brigade would report for duty. This estimate was based on the first returns from the units he had called out in response to Brigadier General McCulloch's call. Burrow indicated that reasons for this poor showing were that many had responded to General McCulloch's call by simply joining the existing volunteer regiments. Others had gone into hiding in the mountains in order to avoid militia duty. Finally some had joined the quartermaster department as teamsters and runners, and thus became exempt from militia duty, in order to escape combat.
HISTORICAL NOTES:
Historical Sketch And Roster - Arkansas Volumes
