3rd Arkansas Light Artillery

The 3rd Arkansas Light Artillery, also known as the Jackson Light Artillery (1861–1865), was a Confederate Army artillery battery during the American Civil War. The battery spent the majority of the war serving in Confederate forces east of the Mississippi River. The battery is also known as McCown's Battery, Hubbard's Battery, and Thrall's Battery in official reports.

Organization
The Jackson Light Artillery was organized at Jacksonport, Jackson County, Arkansas, on June 15, 1861. Most of the original members of the battery were from Jackson County, but there were men from neighboring Craighead, Independence, Lawrence, White and present-day Woodruff counties who also joined the battery at Jacksonport. Although officially named the Jackson Light Artillery, it was the practice in the Confederate Army to refer to a battery by the name of its current commander; thus, it is variously identified in most contemporary records as McCown's Battery, Hubbard's Battery, and Thrall's Battery. In the "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Arkansas," the service records of these men are carried under the heading "Thrall's Battery" on Roll 42.

At the battery's organization, George W. McCown was elected captain, James C. Thrall was elected first lieutenant, George T. Hubbard was elected second lieutenant, and Robert S. Anderson was elected third lieutenant. The battery marched to Pitman's Ferry, near Pocahontas in Randolph County, where it enlisted in the Confederate service on July 25, 1861. A week earlier, on July 17, Captain McCown had resigned and returned to Jacksonport. Lieutenant Hubbard was elected captain in his place.

A total of 165 men served in this unit from June 15, 1861, to May 11, 1865. A remarkable number of original members served with the battery through the entire conflict. The battery had one of the lowest desertion rates in the Confederate Army. Even among the large number of conscripts who joined the battery in 1863 there were relatively few deserters. From all contemporary accounts, it seems that the Jackson Light Artillery enjoyed competent leadership and high morale throughout the war.

On July 14, 1861, Confederate Brigadier General William J. Hardee arrived in Little Rock to assume unified Confederate command in the state. The following day the state Military Board signed an "Article of Transfer", which provided that all state forces would be transferred on a voluntary basis to the command of the Confederate States of America. The Articles of Transfer included Major Francis A. Shoup's battalion of artillery;


 * Company A, Captain A. W. Clarkson's Helena Light Artillery,
 * Company B, Captain John T. Trigg's Arkansas Battery; and
 * Company C, Captain George T. Hubbard's Jackson Light Artillery.

Many Confederate artillery units seem to have begun the war named for the city or county that sponsored their organization. In the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, artillery units are most often referred to by the name of their battery commander. During the war, efforts were made to organize artillery units into battalions and regiments, but the battalions seldom functioned as a consolidated organization, in fact batteries were often broken out and fought as one or two gun sections. Shoup's battalion would be an exception to this rule.

Battles
The battery, as part of Shoup's Battalion moved to central Kentucky with Hardee's forces. Major Shoup's battalion was associated with Brigadier General Patrick Cleburne's brigade when it moved into Kentucky and remained so until after the battle of Shiloh. The Battalion was in the retreat from Bowling Green to Cornith, Mississippi, following the fall of Forts Donelson and Henry.;

During the Battle of Shiloh, a.k.a, Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, Sunday, April 6, 1862 – Monday, April 7, 1862, the battery, armed with two 6-pounder smoothbores and two rifled 3-inch guns became involved in what was at that time, the largest massed artillery attack in North America. The unit was attached to General Patrick Cleburne's 2nd Brigade of Major General William J. Hardee Third Army Corps. By the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, 1862, men of Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions had established and held a position nicknamed the Hornet's Nest. The Confederates assaulted the position for several hours rather than simply bypassing it, and they suffered heavy casualties during these assaults. It was not until the Confederates, led by Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles, assembled over 50 cannons, including on section of Hubbard's Battery, commanded by Lieutenant Thrall, into a position known as "Ruggles's Battery" to blast the line at close range that they were able to surround the position, and the Hornet's Nest fell after holding out for seven hours.

In response to a request from Brig. Gen. Ruggles, Captain Thrall filed a report on April 1, 1863, of his and other Arkansas artillery unit's roll in the Battle of Shiloh and the formation of Ruggles' Battery:

James C. Thrall succeeded Captain Hubbard as battery commander on May 12, 1862, and remained in command until the end.

After fighting at Shiloh the unit was assigned to the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana and was active in the Siege of Jackson. Later it was attached to Forrest's Cavalry Corps, participated in the conflicts at Brice's Cross Roads and Harrisburg.

Thrall's Battery accompanied Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest on a 23-day raid through western Tennessee which culminated in an attack on the Union supply base at Johnsonville. On the evening of November 3, 1864, Forrest positioned his guns across the river from the Federal supply base at Johnsonville. On the morning of November 4, the Confederate batteries were attacked by three Union gunboats from Johnsonville and by six Paducah gunboats The Confederate artillery was completely effective in neutralizing the threat of the Federal fleets. One of the vessels was hit 19 times, and returned to Johnsonville. Thrall's battery assisted in bombarding the Union supply depot and the 28 steamboats and barges positioned at the wharf. All three of the Union gunboats—Key West, Tawah, and Elfin—were disabled or destroyed. The Union garrison commander ordered that the supply vessels be burned to prevent their capture by the Confederates. Forrest observed, "By night the wharf for nearly one mile up and down the river presented one solid sheet of flame. ... Having completed the work designed for the expedition, I moved my command six miles during the night by the light of the enemy's burning property"

The Jackson Light Artillery was involved in the following battles:


 * Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, April 6–7, 1862.
 * Siege of Corinth, April to June 1862.
 * Meridian Campaign, February–March 1864.
 * Battle of Yazoo City, March 5, 1864.
 * Battle of Tupelo, July 14, 1864.
 * A. J. Smith's 2nd Mississippi Invasion, August 1864.
 * Forrest's West Tennessee Raid, October 16 – November 10, 1864.
 * Battle of Johnsonville, November 4, 1864.
 * Battle of Mobile, March 17 – April 12, 1865.

Surrender
The Jackson Light Artillery was among the last of the Confederate troops east of the Mississippi to surrender. The Jackson Light Artillery aided in the defense of Mobile and surrendered with the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. The battery spiked their guns and surrendered at Meridian, Mississippi, May 11, 1865.