Individual Details
James Alexander Thomas
(1 Apr 1841 - 22 Oct 1868)
James served in the Confederate Army. James and his father Calvin were slave owners. He enlisted in Private Militia Co D, 45th Arkansas on November 25, 1861. This regiment was McCrays Brigade - Colonel Thomas H. McCray. It is listed as
45th Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment - Colonel Milton D. Baber in charge. The units were fighting under the direction of Major General Sterling Price.
45th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Mounted)
Organized as a mounted rifles unit in the late summer of 1864 under the command of Colonel Milton D. Baber and Lt. Col. J.W. Clark. Assigned to McCray's Brigade, Fagan's Arkansas Cavalry Division, where they participated in Price's Missouri Raid in September and October of 1864, and at the battle of Mine Creek on October 25, 1864. Returned to service in northeastern Arkansas after the Raid. Surrendered with BG M. Jeff Thompson near Chalk Bluff on May 11, 1865.
James fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge. He was mustered out of service on December 20, 1865. He was shot by his brother Seaborn at his wife's birthday party.
Marshall, Arkansas - Civil War through Reconstruction
The Civil War was a significant transitional event for Marshall. It changed the name of the town, retarded its growth for years, and established a vibrant two-party political system in what was for many years a one-party state. It also caused desolationmuch of Burrowsville/Marshall was burned, including the courthouse and county records, and many families fled to northern states or to Union-occupied Arkansas for safety. Neither Union nor Confederate forces controlled the area after mid-1863, leaving it in anarchy and subject to guerrillas of all persuasions.
At the beginning of the Civil War, almost all Searcy County citizens opposed secession and Confederate military service. Searcy County did provide three Confederate companies in 1861, but many men joined under duress. On November 17, 1861, the Arkansas Confederate authorities discovered a secret pro-Union Peace Society in north-central Arkansas and tried to arrest all members. Searcy County, under Colonel Samuel Leslie of the Searcy County militia, was the center of the effort to suppress the organization. The captured Peace Society members were guarded in the courthouse. On December 9, 1861, seventy-seven prisoners were sent to Little Rock, where they were encouraged to join the Confederate army. Not all of the societys men were arrested, however, and regular Confederate troops were stationed in Burrowsville to continue the campaign against the Unionists after the Searcy County militia was discharged on December 20, 1861. On January 29, 1862, these Confederate troops were ordered to Pocahontas (Randolph County), and a Home Guard was formed to maintain order, which it did poorly, and later to enforce a conscript law, which it did too well.
Confederate soldiers whose term of service had expired or who deserted began to return in mid-1862 and hid in the woods or fled to Missouri. Some who remained in the area found that, by working with the Confederate Nitre & Mining Bureau, they avoided conscription. They mined niter for gunpowder, which was the major Confederate activity in the county until late 1863, when the mining operation moved to Texas, leaving the area in the hands of guerrillas.
In January 1864, a Union expedition from Springfield, Missouri, camped in Burrowsville for two weeks and raided the area, pursuing Confederate partisans. Union forces burned the courthouse and looted the town. County government ceased to function, and Governor Isaac Murphy appointed the county officers for the next term (18641866).
After the war, the political situation was still so volatile that U.S. troops were stationed in Burrowsville for a few months to keep peace. County Unionists pushed to change the towns name to Marshall after U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall, and the legislature approved the change on March 18, 1867.
Civil War devastation was so pronounced that refugees returning from 1866 to 1870 from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, and the Federal post at Lewisburg (now Morrilton in Conway County) had to rebuild from scratch. A wooden courthouse was built in about 1868, and merchants and saloonkeepers opened new businesses. A government still, gristmill, and cotton gin about a mile west of Marshall at Springtown provided a small industrial push. Eggs and other local produce were shipped out on freight wagons. Despite the mountainous terrain, cotton was the principal cash crop and was shipped through Marshall. Cattle and even flocks of turkeys were driven to market in Little Rock.
45th Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment - Colonel Milton D. Baber in charge. The units were fighting under the direction of Major General Sterling Price.
45th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Mounted)
Organized as a mounted rifles unit in the late summer of 1864 under the command of Colonel Milton D. Baber and Lt. Col. J.W. Clark. Assigned to McCray's Brigade, Fagan's Arkansas Cavalry Division, where they participated in Price's Missouri Raid in September and October of 1864, and at the battle of Mine Creek on October 25, 1864. Returned to service in northeastern Arkansas after the Raid. Surrendered with BG M. Jeff Thompson near Chalk Bluff on May 11, 1865.
James fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge. He was mustered out of service on December 20, 1865. He was shot by his brother Seaborn at his wife's birthday party.
Marshall, Arkansas - Civil War through Reconstruction
The Civil War was a significant transitional event for Marshall. It changed the name of the town, retarded its growth for years, and established a vibrant two-party political system in what was for many years a one-party state. It also caused desolationmuch of Burrowsville/Marshall was burned, including the courthouse and county records, and many families fled to northern states or to Union-occupied Arkansas for safety. Neither Union nor Confederate forces controlled the area after mid-1863, leaving it in anarchy and subject to guerrillas of all persuasions.
At the beginning of the Civil War, almost all Searcy County citizens opposed secession and Confederate military service. Searcy County did provide three Confederate companies in 1861, but many men joined under duress. On November 17, 1861, the Arkansas Confederate authorities discovered a secret pro-Union Peace Society in north-central Arkansas and tried to arrest all members. Searcy County, under Colonel Samuel Leslie of the Searcy County militia, was the center of the effort to suppress the organization. The captured Peace Society members were guarded in the courthouse. On December 9, 1861, seventy-seven prisoners were sent to Little Rock, where they were encouraged to join the Confederate army. Not all of the societys men were arrested, however, and regular Confederate troops were stationed in Burrowsville to continue the campaign against the Unionists after the Searcy County militia was discharged on December 20, 1861. On January 29, 1862, these Confederate troops were ordered to Pocahontas (Randolph County), and a Home Guard was formed to maintain order, which it did poorly, and later to enforce a conscript law, which it did too well.
Confederate soldiers whose term of service had expired or who deserted began to return in mid-1862 and hid in the woods or fled to Missouri. Some who remained in the area found that, by working with the Confederate Nitre & Mining Bureau, they avoided conscription. They mined niter for gunpowder, which was the major Confederate activity in the county until late 1863, when the mining operation moved to Texas, leaving the area in the hands of guerrillas.
In January 1864, a Union expedition from Springfield, Missouri, camped in Burrowsville for two weeks and raided the area, pursuing Confederate partisans. Union forces burned the courthouse and looted the town. County government ceased to function, and Governor Isaac Murphy appointed the county officers for the next term (18641866).
After the war, the political situation was still so volatile that U.S. troops were stationed in Burrowsville for a few months to keep peace. County Unionists pushed to change the towns name to Marshall after U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall, and the legislature approved the change on March 18, 1867.
Civil War devastation was so pronounced that refugees returning from 1866 to 1870 from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, and the Federal post at Lewisburg (now Morrilton in Conway County) had to rebuild from scratch. A wooden courthouse was built in about 1868, and merchants and saloonkeepers opened new businesses. A government still, gristmill, and cotton gin about a mile west of Marshall at Springtown provided a small industrial push. Eggs and other local produce were shipped out on freight wagons. Despite the mountainous terrain, cotton was the principal cash crop and was shipped through Marshall. Cattle and even flocks of turkeys were driven to market in Little Rock.
Events
| Birth | 1 Apr 1841 | Bear Creek, Searcy County, Arkansas | |||
| Marriage | 25 Apr 1860 | Searcy County, Arkansas - Hettie Jane Aline Hollabaugh | |||
| Death | 22 Oct 1868 | Searcy County, Arkansas |
Families
| Spouse | Hettie Jane Aline Hollabaugh (1842 - 1923) |
| Child | Sarah Catherine Thomas (1861 - 1941) |
| Child | Bolen Floyd Thomas (1863 - 1911) |
| Child | Alexander Preston Thomas (1864 - 1865) |
| Child | Mattie Alice Thomas (1867 - 1942) |
| Father | Calvin Preston Thomas (1817 - 1864) |
| Mother | Sarah Parks (1818 - 1857) |
| Sibling | Seaborn Graham Sneed Thomas (1848 - 1907) |