Chapters

Introduction
Peter Wellington Alexander
Thomas C. Hindman

Thomas C. Hindman, born January 28, 1828, in Knoxville, Tennessee, was Thomas Hindman, Sr. and Sallie Holt Hindman’s first born son. His father was a planter, and in 1832 became a federal agent for the Creek Nation. In 1841, Thomas Hindman, Sr. lost his position with the government and purchased a large plantation in Ripley, Mississippi.

Though only seventeen years old when war with Mexico came in 1846, Thomas Hindman, Jr. helped raise a company of volunteers in Tippah County, Mississippi. The troops became Company E, 2nd Mississippi Volunteers. Hindman served as a lieutenant in the company and after the war returned to Ripley where he passed the Mississippi bar and began his law career. Hindman, like his father, took an interest in politics, and in 1854 was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives as a Democrat.1

Hindman moved to Arkansas in 1856 and opened a law office in Helena. His marriage to Mary Watkins Biscoe, daughter of wealthy planter Henry L. Biscoe, in 1857 offered him financial stability and furthered his political opportunities.2 In 1858 Hindman was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was reelected in 1860.

Following the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in 1860, Hindman became an ardent secessionist in Arkansas. Hindman resigned his congressional seat and organized the 2nd Arkansas Infantry. The regiment was mustered into Confederate service on June 12, 1861, with Hindman as its colonel.3

On September 28, 1861, Hindman was promoted to brigadier general. He served at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6–7, 1862, escaping with minor wounds when an artillery shell struck his horse. A week later, Hindman was promoted to major general, and assumed command of the Trans-Mississippi District on May 31.

Hindman intended to re-establish a viable Confederate presence in the region – a daunting task after General Earl Van Dorn’s recent defeat at Pea Ridge. Van Dorn moved his army, along with virtually all military equipment east of the Mississippi River as Union General Samuel R. Curtis’ army marched across northern Arkansas. Upon taking command, Hindman declared martial law and enforced the Conscription Act, requiring able bodied men to join the military. Hindman ordered thousands of bales of cotton along the Arkansas waterways burned to prevent them from being captured by Federals troops. His scorched-earth policy was seen as a form of economic warfare against the Union forces, one that would deny them millions of dollars worth of property. Hindman allowed civilians to keep only ten pounds of cotton per person for clothing and home consumption. Anyone caught resisting orders to burn crops would be arrested and punished as a traitor.4

Perhaps Hindman’s most controversial act was General Orders #17. Issued on June 17, 1862, Hindman called for independent companies of guerrillas to harass repel Union troops from Arkansas. “For more effectual annoyance of the enemy …all citizens of this district who are not subject to conscription are called upon to organize themselves into independent companies… arming and equipping themselves, and to serve in that part of the district to which they belong.”5 The men were to elect their own officers and ordered to report to Hindman’s headquarters. These independent companies were to act as home guards, cutting telegraph wire, ambushing Federal patrols, and laying waste to forage and supplies. They gave no quarter and considered anyone who did not cooperate with them to be an enemy.

Hindman worked to stabilize Arkansas’ economy and make the district self-sustaining. He imposed price controls on food, medicine and other supplies and forced all persons to accept Confederate currency for business transactions. Anyone who refused Confederate cash or was caught charging more than the allowed value was arrested. Hindman opened lead mines, and began iron smelting and the manufacture of percussion caps and small arms. He gathered guns, powder, ammunition, and other supplies from civilians, furloughed soldiers, and the sick to arm his men.

Although harsh, Hindman’s policies, were successful. When Hindman entered Little Rock he found the district in dire condition with only 4,000 mounted men, 1,500 infantry, about 2,000 damaged shotguns and rifles, and six bronze artillery pieces. By August, his command consisted of 6,000 mounted soldiers, 12,000 infantrymen, 54 pieces of artillery, and 7-8,000 unarmed men in camp receiving military instruction. As authors Diane Neal and Thomas Kremm note, Hindman had accomplished a miracle in Arkansas.6

But Hindman’s miracle had come at a high price. Many prominent citizens urged Jefferson Davis to relieve him, citing Hindman’s disregard for civil liberties. Instead, Davis placed Hindman under the command of Maj. Gen. Theophilus Holmes. Holmes arrived in Arkansas on August 12 and saw firsthand what Hindman had accomplished. Much to Davis’ surprise, Holmes praised Hindman for the work that he was able to accomplish in a matter of two and a half months. Holmes ordered Hindman to assume command of all Confederate troops in northwest Arkansas, continue raising additional forces, and send recruiting parties into Missouri. By September 1862, Hindman had raised six Missouri cavalry regiments and established a Confederate presence in the state. Holmes, however, ordered him back to Little Rock to help recruit troops. Hindman returned to the region on October 15, and began planning to drive the Federals from northwest Arkansas.7

On December 3, Hindman marched his men north to crush Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt’s isolated “Kansas Division” at Cane Hill.. Blunt sent urgent messages for help, and Brig. Gen. Francis J. Herron’s men made an incredible forced march from Springfield, Mo. covering more than 100 miles in three and a half days. They arrived at Prairie Grove, southwest of Fayetteville, on the morning of December 7. Now facing two enemy forces, Hindman elected to attack Herron first and then Blunt.

Herron’s men found the Confederates in position near Prairie Grove Church, but the Rebel line held firm against the Union assaults. In the meantime, Blunt rushed his troops to Herron’s assistance. Like Herron, Blunt was unable to drive the Confederates from the ridge. The five-hour battle was tactically a draw, but strategically a Union victory. Hindman was disappointed that he was not able to secure a victory at the Battle of Prairie Grove. In a telegram to Holmes after the battle, he wrote, “I am very proud of my troops not satisfied with myself. I did not fight the enemy as rigorously as I ought. The tremendous responsibility made me timid.”8 Hindman later added, “I feel so completely dissatisfied about my failure to destroy the enemy’s force that I think seriously of quitting the regiment.”9

Hindman retreated south to Van Buren, Fort Smith, and eventually Little Rock. On January 30, 1863, Hindman was relieved from duty in the Trans-Mississippi District. Hindman, however, remained in Arkansas until mid-March. He then left for Jackson, Mississippi to serve on a court of inquiry. In August 1863, Hindman was ordered to Gen. Braxton Bragg for assignment. He led a division at Chickamauga and through the first part of the Atlanta Campaign. After suffering serious injuries at Kennesaw Mountain, Hindman sat out the remainder of the war.

In 1865, Hindman fled the country for Mexico with other high ranking Confederates. He returned to Helena, Arkansas in 1867, but was murdered in his home on September 28, 1868. No one was brought to trial, and Hindman was buried in Helena.

Collection Contributed by Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Columbia University in the City of New York

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1. Edwin C. Bearss, “Thomas Carmichael Hindman” in The Confederate General, ed. William C. Davis, vol. 3 (Harrisburg, PA: National Historical Society, 1991), 107.
2. Arkansas Marriages, 1779-1992 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
3. Ezra J. Warner, Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1970). 137; Bears, “Thomas Carmichael Hindman”, 107.
4. Diane Neal and Thomas Kremm, The Lion of the South: General Thomas C. Hindman (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1997), 118.
5. Thomas C. Hindman, General Order No. 17. 17 June 1862, Peter Wellington Alexander Papers, Box 8, Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Columbia University in the City of New York.
6. Neal and Kremm, Lion of the South, 134.
7. Neal and Kremm, Lion of the South, 140-142.
8. Thomas Hindman, Telegram to Theophilus Holmes, ca. December 1862. Peter Wellington Alexander Papers, Box 5 & 6, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York.
9. Thomas Hindman, Telegram to Theophilus Holmes, ca. December 1862. Peter Wellington Alexander Papers, Box 5 & 6, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York.