5th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry (Confederate)

United States     U.S. Military      Arkansas      Arkansas Military      Arkansas in the Civil War      5th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry

Brief History
5th Cavalry Regiment was organized during the early spring of 1863. Later it was reorganized as Morgan's Arkansas Cavalry Regiment.

Joseph H. Crute, Jr, CONFEDERATE ARKANSAS TROOPS, "Units of the Confederate States Army", http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/regiments.cfm (accessed October 8, 2010). The Desha Rangers was an independent cavalry troop, organized by Captain William S. Malcomb in rural Desha county, Arkansas, December 13, 1862. The Rangers continued to recruit (and conscript) heavily in Desha and Arkansas counties throughout the first half of 1863. A large number of the Rangers had previously served in the Desha County Militia in late 1861. Though the Desha Rangers were enlisted as an independent company, they were often temporarily attached to various cavalry regiments, depending upon the needs of the army. For a time they were attached to the 5th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment as Company M; and later were attached to Carlton’s Arkansas Cavalry Regiment as Company H. The records of the Trans-Mississippi Army are very sketchy from late 1864 to the surrender in 1865; therefore it is difficult to track the activities of the Desha Rangers with any degree of certainty during this period. It appears that they ended the war still attached to Carlton’s Cavalry Regiment. Source: EDWARD G. GERDES, Arkansas Civil War Regiments, Rosters and Muster Rolls, http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/deshargr.html. 11/8/2010. © 2001 by EDWARD G. GERDES all rights reserved. This information may be used by libraries and genealogical societies, however, commercial use of this information is strictly prohibited without prior permission. If copied, this copyright notice must appear with the information.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.