3rd Arkansas

3rd Arkansas: A Brief History

Company A, the "Arkansas Travelers," was organized in Ashley County, Arkansas in the Spring of 1861 and was the only Arkansas regiment to serve in the Army of Northern Virginia. Trained by cadets of the Virginia Military Institute they were temporarily placed under the command of Stonewall Jackson but served the greater part of the war in John Bell Hood's Texas Brigade.

The 3rd Arkansas took part in nearly all of the most significant battles of the war: the Seven Days battles, Antietam, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. Of the 147 men who served in company A of regiment, only twenty remained by the army's surrender at Appomattox.

Uniforms and Equipment

Creating an authentic Civil War impression requires that one look and feel the part. The authenticity of our uniforms and equipment is an essential component of our impression. To that end, we utilize only the materials available in the 1860's to create reproduction attire rather than mere costumes.

Creating an authentic impression cannot be done overnight. It requires time, careful research, experience, and investment. New recruits are provided with loaner gear and guidance while they begin the process of acquiring their own gear.

Over time, you will be a campaigner, able to walk into an event carrying everything you need on your back, and leave camp leaving nothing behind but footprints and ashes

Enlist Now in The Arkansas Travelers!

For members of the 3rd Arkansas, Civil War reenacting consists of more than staging mock battles. Company A of the 3rd Arkansas portrays an infantry company on active campaign between September 1862 and July 1863.

Soldiers on campaign would have camped with only what they could carry in their haversack, bedroll, or knapsack.

The 3rd Arkansas takes pride in our attention to detail in everything from uniforms and equipment to music and provisions, striving to recreate a realistic impression of the daily life of a soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia.

If you would like to recreate history and experience the life of a common Civil War soldier, the 3rd Arkansas welcomes you. As a unit, we attend three to five events each year, though some of us attend more. We encourage members of the company to participate in school days prior to events to provide living history lessons to students residing near an event.

Visiting reenactors from other clubs or units are always welcome to fall in with us. While most of the events we attend are in Northern California, we occasionally attend reenactments in other parts of the state being hosted by other Civil War organizations.

We urge anyone with a passion for history to join us for an event and experience history as few have.

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