Arkansas Militia and the Mexican–American War

Many of the remaining regular army troops were transferred to posts along the Sabine River, positioned to either prevent a Mexican invasion or to assist the Texas revolution as directed.

[2] On June 28, 1836, 13 days after the state was admitted to the Union, General Edmund P. Gains (U.S. Army) called upon the Governor to furnish one regiment for the defense of the western frontier.

[9] An additional Volunteer Company, raised in Randolph County, commanded by Captain John Kavanaught, stopped in Little Rock long enough to participate in the inauguration of the new state's first elected Governor, James S. Conway.

[18] The Volunteer Companies for what was intended to become the 2nd Regiment of Arkansas Mounted Gunmen were ordered to rendezvous at either Fayetteville, or Fort Coffee, Indian Territory.

Like their brothers in the 1st Regiment, the members of Evans Battalion spent the winter of 1836–1837 conducting patrols and Indian Territory and occasionally escorting supplies to other army posts further south along the Sabine River.

[26] However, in addition to the compulsory service for all able bodied free white males, the law also authorized the raising of Volunteer Militia Companies for up to five years at a time.

[33] Commissioned officers were required to report to the local parade ground, with a rifle or musket, two days before the annual regimental muster for the purpose of receiving additional training to prepare them to drill their soldiers.

[47] Yet this "fever" apparently did not include the entire state because an editorial in the same paper, just a few months later bemoaned the fact that some counties had yet to organized their militia regiments.

William F. Pope, an early settler in Little Rock, recorded in his memoirs that Pike's forty-man artillery company sent a "special agent" to New York City to obtain the following uniforms: A full set of black broad-cloth, the coat cut swallow tail and faced with red.

[51]On one particular occasion Pikes Artillery Company was reviewed by the Quarter Master General of the Army, Thomas S. Jesup, who complimented them on their appearance and precision of drill.

Tribal groups would be organized in their home area and would begin the journey up the Arkansas River, usually by steamer, as far as water conditions would allow and would then continue overland through the state until they reached Indian Territory.

"[69] On December 1, 1835, the Gazette editor reported that "emigrants and fighting men, in considerable numbers, are passing through town, almost daily..."[70] With the successful conclusion of the Texas Revolution in 1836, a nine-year period of uneasy peace followed.

Although the war caused the army to be increased somewhat in size, the United States has always had a reluctance to maintain a large standing military, thus the call for volunteers.

[72] On May 15, 1846, Secretary of War W. L. Marcy wrote to Arkansas Governor Thomas S. Drew requesting one regiment of cavalry or mounted gunmen and one battalion of infantry.

The war drew volunteers from every strata of society, including two of the most famous Arkansans of the period, former governor Archibald Yell, who was serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Albert Pike, a prominent Little Rock lawyer.

Yell made no attempt to train the men, although Pike and Captain John Preston (commander of the Phillips County volunteers) drilled their companies.

"[80] Josiah Gregg, who accompanied the Arkansas troops as an interpreter and scout and who later gained fame as author of Commerce of the Prairies, found Yell to be a "clever, pleasant, sociable fellow, but decidedly out of his element" as a military commander.

The expedition heard rumors that 7,500 Mexicans were massed at the Rio Grande to challenge the Americans, but this proved false, and General Wool crossed the border uncontested.

During the march to Santa Rosa, Lieutenant Colonel William S. Harney, an army regular who had been placed in command of some of the most ill-trained Arkansas volunteers, disgustedly asked to be transferred to his old regiment.

[86] The capture of the Arkansas patrol, as well as the growing number of small clashes, convinced the Americans that the Mexicans were preparing to mount a major offensive.

Soon the Mexican camp at Encarnacion was spotted and General Zachary Taylor, overall commander of the campaign in northern Mexico, ordered a withdrawal to more defensible positions at Angostura.

As the sun rose the following morning it became clear that Santa Anna had been busy during the night and planned a massive assault, relying on superior numbers to drive a wedge through the American defenses.

Suddenly, Mexican cavalry aimed toward the American left intent upon pushing through and capturing General Wool's precious supply train camped at Hacienda Buena Vista.

William F. Pope, who lived in Little Rock at the time, later wrote in his memoirs that one young man from Colonel Roane's forces was greeted by his father who said: "I hear you all fought like hell at Buena Vista".

"[92] In addition to the regiment supplied for service in Mexico, the Secretary of War also called for the state to provide a battalion to replace U.S. Army units stationed along the frontier.

[94] This infantry battalion was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Gray and was formed from troops from the following areas:[95] Late in 1846, the United States recruited ten regiments of regulars to launch a mission against Vera Cruz and inland to Mexico City.

Captain Allen Wood of Carroll County raised a company of Arkansans for the Twelfth Infantry and joined the forces of General Winfield Scott in the summer of 1847.

One other company was recruited, that of Captain Stephen Enyart, whose northwest Arkansas troops served at Meir, Mexico, guarding supply wagons.

He atoned for his error with his life; but other brave men died with him, who were not in fault...."[96] Naturally, Colonel Roane and many of Yell's fervent supporters resented Pike's attitude.

[97] Fourteen years after the Mexican–American War, both John S. Roane and Albert Pike would again find themselves leading troops in battle, this time as General Officers.