Arkansas Late in the Civil War: The 8th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, April 1864-July 1865

At the request of Union general Ulysses S. Grant, in 1864 Major General Frederick Steele stripped the Department of Arkansas of twelve thousand men—half its strength—to support an expedition in Louisiana. And while the depleted infantry remained largely in garrison, the 8th Missouri Cavalry and its counterparts were ordered to patrol central Arkansas under horrid conditions and protect the state from guerrilla Rebels. The regiment spent nine long months battling against Confederate general ...