Cleburne County in the Civil War Historical Marker

Following the firing on Fort Sumter and President Abraham Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops to crush the rebellion in April 1861, Arkansas seceded from the United States and joined the nascent Confederate States. Most Arkansans supported secession and the Confederacy, although a sizeable minority, particularly in the mountainous counties of northern Arkansas, did not.

Although Cleburne County was not established until 1883, the region which would later constitute the county (including the town of Quitman) somewhat reflected these internal divisions. In the first year of the Civil War, the Arkansas Peace Society emerged in a number of north-central Arkansas counties, including Van Buren County (part of which would later form Cleburne). An anti-Confederate group established for mutual aid and protection, at least 270 known members belonged, though membership may have ranged as high as 1,700. Unwilling to brook any dissent, Confederate authorities arrested dozens of Society members and forced them into Confederate service.

Many local citizens volunteered for Confederate service. The 10th Arkansas Infantry contained many men from future Cleburne County, notably Company A, "Quitman Rifles." The 10th Arkansas served in the Western Theater (east of the Mississippi River) and fought at Shiloh. Captured at Port Hudson, they were eventually exchanged and reformed as the 10th Arkansas Cavalry, this time serving west of the Mississippi River and fighting in Price's 1864 Missouri Expedition before surrendering in 1865. Companies from the area also served in the 8th and 31st Arkansas Infantries. It is also likely that some residents of the area also enlisted in Arkansas Unionist regiments.

During the Civil War, Cleburne County saw no major military campaigns but instead was plagued by guerrillas and banditti. Several skirmishes in 1864 occurred near Quitman in future Cleburne County, including a clash between the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry (U.S.) and Confederate guerrillas on March 26, 1864 that resulted in 6 U.S. casualties. The 3rd Arkansas fought guerrillas in the area again in September, this time killing 7 guerrillas and capturing 4. In March of 1864, a detachment of the 11th Missouri Cavalry also skirmished with guerrillas in the region, capturing and killing two. Even with the Civil War ending in 1865, bandits continued to plague the area, and the region's population shrank between 1860-1870.

Cleburne County was formed in 1883 from portions of Independence, Van Buren, and White Counties. The county is named for well-known Confederate General Patrick Cleburne, an Irish-American immigrant to Arkansas prior to the Civil War. In 2012, as part of a wider effort to acknowledge the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission helped erect a historical marker in Heber Springs that acknowledges Cleburne County's role in the Civil War. One side of the marker acknowledges skirmishes in the region, while the other side lists Civil War units raised in the area.

1. "The Civil War in Cleburne County/Troops Raised in Cleburne County." Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Marker Program. Web. Accessed October 15, 2020. http://www.arkansascivilwar150.com/historical-markers/the-civil-war-in-cleburne-county-troops-raised-in-cleburne-county

2. Evalena Berry. "Cleburne County." April 30, 2019. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Web. Accessed October 15, 2020. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/cleburne-county-756/

3. "Arkansas Peace Society." December 3, 2018. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Web. Accessed October 15, 2020. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-peace-society-2821/

4. Ted R. Worley. "The Arkansas Peace Society of 1861: A Study in Mountain Unionism." Journal of Southern History. Vol. 24 (November 1958): 445-456.