Archibald Dobbins was born in Maury County, Tennessee, in 1827; after marrying in 1850, he moved to Phillips County, Arkansas, where he became a successful planter.

In 1862, when Helena, Arkansas, was occupied by Union forces, Dobbins sent his wife and children back to Tennessee and joined the staff of fellow Phillips County resident Major General Thomas Hindman.
Dobbins raised the 1st Arkansas Cavalry and led the regiment at the Battle of Helena. He rose to brigade command during the Little Rock campaign, but soon became the victim of a feud between General John S. Marmaduke and Dobbins’ division commander, Brigadier General Lucius M. Walker.

After the failed Confederate attack on Helena, Marmaduke criticized Walker for his performance in the action. Walker challenged Marmaduke to a duel, and Walker was shot and killed.

Dobbins refused to serve under Marmaduke’s command and was placed under arrest. He was court-martialed in November 1863 and ordered to be dismissed from the army. The sentence was remitted by President Jefferson Davis, however, and Dobbins was restored to duty. He led his brigade during General Sterling Price’s raid through Missouri in 1864, and in the spring of 1865 left Arkansas. Dobbins surrendered in Galveston, Texas, in July 1865.

Dobbins left the United States in 1867 and went to Brazil. He sent several letters to his wife encouraging her to join him; she was preparing to join him in 1870 when his letters stopped. The fate of Archibald Dobbins is unknown, but he was likely murdered by local Indians.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31455