Co. E, 38th Arkansas Regiment, was recruited primarily in Randolph County, but it also appears to have picked up some stray Missourians along the way.

Company I is a real cipher. Actually there were two Company I's. As far as I can tell, the first one was recruited around Rice Springs (Randolph County) and mustered into service at Pocahontas on July 15, 1862; then, for some reason, it was redesignated as Company H, but I can't tell if it replaced a previous Company H. A new Company I was recruited around Sulphur Rock (Independence County) and mustered into service on August 6, 1862.

But the real mystery companies are Cos. L and M. I can't find anything about Company L. Company M reportedly was a company of Arkansas boys serving in the 10th Missouri Infantry as Company F, which was transferred to the 38th Arkansas sometime in 1864 or 1865. I've always intended to look into this further, but haven't been able to find the time.

Another wrinkle in the history of the 38th Arkansas is the fact that quite a few of the men were transferred to the newly-formed 45th Arkansas Mounted Infantry in the Summer of 1864 and rode with Sterling Price on his Missouri Campaign later that Fall. Most of Company G appears to have made the transfer. One of my g-g-grandfathers, Capt. Reuben F. Segraves, commanded the new company.

Those who didn't transfer to the 45th Arkansas, but remained with the colors of the 38th Arkansas, were down around Marshall, Texas, when the war ended. The regiment disbanded rather than surrender, so there are few parole records for those men.

I had a whole herd of ancestors who served in Company G, and some war stories were passed down through the family. Like most oral traditions, they were exaggerated, but contain some elements of fact. The two big events the old vets talked most about were the wild-goose chase through the bayous to the Tensas River in Louisiana in the Summer of 1863, and, of course, Price's Missouri raid in the Fall of 1864. The men worshipped "Bob" Shaver and "Pap" Price, and several named their sons after those two officers.