The Importance Of Arkansas In The American Civil War

The Civil War, a war within the United States caused by the sectional crisis, affected each state in a variety of ways. Unlike other areas, Arkansas’ experience in the Civil War differed from those of surrounding states. This was due to Arkansas being a border state, the main battles being fought east of Arkansas, and a collapse in Arkansas government. During the war, the states had split into two distinct political factions, known as the North and the South, over the issue of the future of slavery in the United States. Arkansas, however, was considered to be a border state because while slavery was significant in Arkansas, it was not near as vital as it was in states located further south. Being a border state led to Arkansas not being as involved in the Civil War as …show more content…
Another reason Arkansas had a different experience than other states were the Civil War battles. Many of the battles fought in the war took place east of Arkansas. While Arkansas was prepared to fight and troops were assembled, only a handful of troops were sent east to fight in the battles. A majority of the troops stayed in Arkansas to promote the war, which provided a different experience because the Arkansas troops were not too involved in fighting. Eventually, the fighting did move west into Arkansas, but those battles were a small handful compared to the ones that took place in the east. A third reason Arkansas’ experience differed from that of other states was the collapse of government that took place within Arkansas. Because of the war, Arkansas became a state without government, which led to Thomas Hindman, a well-known fire-eater (a southern politician that was pro-slavery), coming back to Arkansas after being a military general and attempting to pull the state back together. He put an army together by means of martial law and marched them all to northwest Arkansas, where battles were fought and the Union earned victories.