The army filled out a "descriptive roll" containing the names, age, place of birth, civilian occupation, and physical description of recruits and conscripts. The information was provided by the recruit. It was hard to lie about one's age, since Confederates were normally recruited or conscripted in groups, all from the same general area, so everyone knew everyone else. Also, wherever possible, the recruiting officer would be a man who lived in that area, and he would coordinate his activities with the county sheriff and other officials to ensure that everyone who was not exempt was afforded the opportunity to join the Confederate army. Men who declined the invitation were sometimes chased down with hounds and held in the local lock-up until the conscription officer made his rounds to pick up stragglers.

Modern-day Americans are sometimes surprised to learn that the great majority of Arkansas conscripts answered the call for troops when their turn came, and, while they may have been reluctant soldiers, saw it as a duty of citizenship to serve when called.