Governor Rector’s account shows Arkansas troops, claimed to be 22,000 in number, to have been at that time in a state of complete demoralization.[[124]] The Germans and the Irish, as well as their descendants, showing little inclination to enlist, the Governor ascribed their indifference to a want of opportunity for promotion in the service. If this was not the cause, then, he thought, authority should be given to draft a regiment of each race.[[125]]
More than a third of the voting population was in the field, and as late as October they had received no pay except Arkansas war bonds, the worthlessness of which occasioned much murmuring. This discontent was heightened somewhat by the poor equipment of the regiments, many soldiers being without blankets or shoes.[[126]] There were other symptoms of unrest within the State. On the charge of attempted insurrection two negro men and a girl were hanged in Monroe County.
All this occasioned much uneasiness, but the chief cause of alarm was the Union sentiment known to exist in the State. In October twenty-seven persons were brought to Little Rock as members of a secret Union organization in Van Buren County and placed in jail to await a civil trial. Many others also were taken about this time, and it was estimated that the “Peace and Constitutional Society” numbered 1,700 members in Arkansas.[[127]]
The activity of Federal armies in the West excited so much apprehension that Governor Rector on the 18th of February, by proclamation, called into immediate service every man in the State subject to military duty.[[128]] A Confederate force under Price was driven into Arkansas by General Curtis on the same day, and within a week the commandant at Pocahontas issued an appeal to every man “to turn out promptly, shoulder his musket, and drive the vandals from the State.” The Richmond Government being unable to assist Arkansas, she was forced to rely upon her own resources and such aid as might be obtained from Missouri, the Indian Territory and Texas.[[129]]
Disaster and a conviction of neglect led the Governor in May, in an address to the people, to express his indignation and threaten to secede from secession. He said:
If the arteries of the Confederate heart do not permeate beyond the east bank of the Mississippi, let southern Missourians, Arkansians, Texans and the great West know it and prepare for the future. Arkansas lost, abandoned, subjugated is not Arkansas as she entered the Confederate Government. Nor will she remain Arkansas, a Confederate State, desolated as a wilderness. Her children, fleeing from the wrath to come, will build them a new ark, and launch it on new waters, seeking a haven somewhere of equality, safety and rest.[[130]]
After the battle of Pea Ridge General Curtis moved to White River, and on May 1 occupied Batesville, where he witnessed many demonstrations of attachment to the Union. Judges of courts, clergymen and other leading citizens came forward and voluntarily took the oath of allegiance to the United States. A threatened advance of the Union forces upon Little Rock created the greatest excitement there, and the Governor by proclamation ordered the militia to repair immediately to its defence; but not finding himself sufficiently supported he fled.[[131]] The concentration at Corinth of all available Confederate strength was the cause of the weakness of Arkansas at this time. Ten regiments had also been withdrawn from the army of General Curtis to reënforce the Federal troops in Mississippi. This left him in no condition to march upon the State capital, and for the time it was saved. Twelve thousand poorly equipped men had assembled there in response to the appeal of Governor Rector.
After the occupation of Helena by Federal troops Mr. Lincoln appointed John S. Phelps, of Missouri, military governor.[[132]] On August 19, 1862, he left St. Louis for Helena; but as the contemplated movement was not then made his office was of little importance. From the Union refugees at that point two regiments of Arkansas men were organized. The fall of Vicksburg in July, 1863, however, enabled the Union army to assume offensive operations, and the summer had not greatly advanced before a strong column was moving on Little Rock, the capture of which, September 10, 1863, was a fatal blow to Confederate authority throughout the State.
Amidst all its distresses the northern section of Arkansas had maintained its loyalty. Recent reverses to Confederate arms encouraged desertion from their ranks, Union sympathizers became active, and movements begun by them were joined by numbers who now regarded the Confederate cause as lost. Many, however, fearing a restoration of that authority, hesitated to identify themselves with the more pronounced loyalists. A newspaper favorable to the General Government was established at the capital. Meetings were held, and resolutions pledging unconditional support of the Union cause adopted. Citizens, both white and black, were organized, and by December, 1863, eight regiments of Arkansas troops had enlisted in the Federal service.[[133]]
A still more encouraging symptom was the return of eminent persons who now came forward to advocate the Union cause. Prominent among these was Brigadier-General E. W. Gantt, of the Confederate army, recently a prisoner of war and pardoned under the Amnesty Proclamation of the President. Toward the close of 1863 he thus describes the feeling of the people: