"Although usually called "guerrilla" or "bushwhacker" by Union forces, Freeman in fact attempted to enforce disipline in his ranks, at one time threatening to shoot soldiers that robbed civilians."
Thus, we can see that even if Pink Mitchell didn't think of himself as a notorious bushwhacker, the federal troops most likely did.
I believe that you will find that your, Texas County, Mitchell and Lewis relatives had a lot of connections to people in Ripley, Shannon, Carter and Reynolds Counties. There appears to me to be considerable overlap among the commands of Freeman, Coleman, Reeves and others that allowed a little more cooperation among units than what we see in the records. So knowing for sure who he was most closely associated with is difficult to say. If I'm not mistaken Pink Mitchell was captured in May of 1864 while in Independance County, Arkansas and was not released until June of 1865. The record I have only identifies a W.P. Mitchell. You might want to look into what activity the OR shows for May of 1864 and check POW records to perhaps find who else was involved. Contact me directly if you wish.
Jim Morris
cbjames49@hotmail.com