Co A (Princeton, AR), 3rd Ark Cav Regt, CSA

Oliver Crosby Gray (1832ME-1905AR).
(from service records, Sept 2004, Bryan Howerton & others)

10 Jun 1861, 30 y/o Oliver enlisted with Colonel Solon Borland, M D, Esquire (1811VA-1864TX), in what later became, Company A, "Princeton Light Horses", 3rd Arkansas Calvary Regiment, Confederate States Army, fighting more skirmishes than any other Arkansas unit! (Oliver married Solon's youngest daughter Jun 1889)

29 July 1861, promoted to 1st Sgt.

19 Apr 1862, Des Arc. AR, taking horses to Dallas county.

10 May 1862, elected 1st Lieut. (while absent storing horses)

July 1862 (?) returned to Camp Armstrong, MS (?) after storing horses at Dallas county, AR.

1 Sept 1862, left Tupelo, MS for Dallas county, AR to retrieve horses.

(missed 3 & 4 Oct Battle at Cornith )

(missed 5 Oct battle at Hatchie river, Davis Bridge)

11 Dec 1862, returned to Lumpkin Mills with horses.

13 Dec 1862 promoted to Captian, Co A.

20 Dec 1862, Battle of Holly Springs, MS (dismounted)

10 Apr 1863, 1st battle at Franklin, TN

Dec 1863 appointed Division Provest Marshall by Gen Frank C Armstrong.

19 Aug 1864, (Atlanta lost, 2 Sept 1864) allowed to resign army to join navy following 2nd letter of request, 17 Jul 1864 from Sandtown, GA, giving four solid reasons.
xt http://files.usgwarchives.org/me/knox/military/civilwar/other/gray2mt.t

16 Nov 1864, captured at Choctow Bend crossing Mississippi river, taken to Natches, MS (the 2nd & bloodiest battle at Franklin, TN occurred 30 Nov 1864, maybe bloodiest of all civil war battles).

21 Nov 1864 taken to New Orleans,

18 Dec 1864, imprisoned on Ship Island, MS

2 Mar 1865 exchanged at Mobile

1 Apr 1865 arrived in Princeton, AR

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Much relevant & documented historical military information was gathere January 2007 on Jim MARTIN's Arkansas Civil War Board,
http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=14343
AFTER January of 2009, you need to use this address:
http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/arcwmb/arch_config.pl?read=14343
and Solon's fifty page Confederate service record from Arkansas History
Commission (2/09/07), part of which is below.

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This is the transcription of the "Record of Events" section of the muster rolls for the Princeton Light Horse, Co. A, 3rd Arkansas Cavalry.

Following the dates of the reporting period is the "station", or location of the company at the end of the period, and below the dates are the company commander's remarks. By Bryan Howerton, Jan 2007

01 Sep 1861 - 30 Nov 1861 Camp Warner.

01 Dec 1861 - 31 Jan 1862 Pocahontas.

01 Feb 1862 - 30 Apr 1862 Corinth, Miss.

On the 19th day of April the Co. was dismounted by the order of Maj. Gen. Van Dorn. The horses were sent to Dallas Co, Ark. to be taken care of there. The horses were sent in charge on one non-com. officer & five privates.

01 May 1862 - 30 Jun 1862 Morrisville.

Co. A was mustered into the service of the State of Arkansas at Little Rock on the 10th day of June, A.D. 1861, for a term of twelve (12) months. Was transferred to the Confederate service at Pocahontas on the 29th day of July, A.D. 1861. The Co. was actively engaged on outpost duty & as scouts in the North Eastern portion of Ark. & South Eastern portion of Missouri until the 6th of April 1862, at which time it was ordered to Corinth, Miss. The Co. was dismounted at Des Arc, Ark. under the promise that the men should be in a short time remounted & that while they were dismounted they should receive the pay & emoluments of regular cavalrymen. The Co. arrived at Corinth about the 1st of May '62 & while there were often on picket duty & also in the skirmish at Farmington. The Co. was reorganized on the 10th of May 1862.

01 Jul 1862 - 31 Aug 1862 Camp Armstrong, Miss.

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August 26th, 1862.
Maj. Genl Price, Comd'g Army of the West.

Genl—The undersigned officers of the 3d Regiment Arkansas Cavalry would respectfully represent to you, that they were temporarily dismounted at Des Arc, Arkansas, in the month of April last by order of Genl Earl Van Dorn.

The horses belonging to the Regiment were sent home with the understanding that the Regiment would be remounted. They are still held in readiness and can be procured at short notice.

We respectfully request that we may be allowed to remount, and to effect this that authority be given to send a small detail to procure our horses.

We respectfully represent that there is no mounted Cavalry from Arkansas in your Army, and that this is the oldest Regiment, having entered State Service as early as the 7th June 1861.

Genl, we entered the service as cavalry from choice. When called upon to dismount, we obeyed the order cheerfully.

To you we now submit our request, being conscious that you will do us justice in the premises and assuring you that we cheerfully submit to your decision.

SAMUEL G. EARLE, Col. Comd'g 3rd Ark. Cavalry.

M. J. HENDERSON, Major.
WM. T. M. HOLMES, Capt. Co. A.
G. W. WINBURNE, Capt. Co. G.
W. H. BLACKWELL, Capt. Co. B.
G. W. CRAWFORD, 2nd Lt. Co. B.
H. C. CLEAVER, 1st Lt. Co. H.
J. F. TINDELL, 1st Lt. Co. B.
W. H. PARKS, 1st Lt. Co. F.
JOHN H. BARTHOLOMEW, 3rd Lt. Co. F.
STEPHEN JESTER, Captain, Co. F.
O. C. GRAY, 1st Lt., Co. A.
R. M. KING, Captain, Co. D.
THOS. C. DeCAULP, 1st Lt. Co. D.
W. J. BASS, 3rd Lt. Co. D.
J. L. HARRIS, 2nd Lt. Co. H.
R. H. DEDMAN, 2nd Lt. Co. A.
W. J. WOZENCRAFT, 3rd Lt. Co. A.
J. D. LOGAN, Capt. Comd'g Co. C.
JOHN BARRON, 1st Lt. Co. C.
J. D. HENSLEE, 2nd Lt. Co. C.
JAMES R. HARVEY, 3rd Lt. Co. C.
C. W. LEAKE, 3rd Lt. Co. H.
J. H. ROLAND, 3rd Lt. Co. G.
J. E. DUMAS, 1st Lt. Co. G

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01 Sep 1862 [? -13 Oct] - 31 Oct 1862 Lumpkins Mill, Miss. (http://marshallcountyms.org/locales/oldmills.php) Co. A struck camp at Tupelo & marched to Saltillo, Sept. 9th. Marched from Saltillo 12th inst. and arrived at Iuka 15th. Fell back from Iuka the 20th for Baldwin. Our Co. was not engaged in the battle of Iuka on 19th inst. We marched from Baldwin 26th inst. for Corinth via Ripley. Arrived at Corinth 3d October and participated in the battle of 3d & 4th, which resulted in a loss to our Co. of one Lieut. mor. wounded, 1 private killed, 1 Sgt. w., 2 pri. w. & cap'd, 1 pri. cap'd & 1 pri. miss'g. Our Co. participated in the battle of Hatchie Bridge on 5th, loss 1 Captain killed, 1 pri. w. & cap 'd, 2 pri. cap'd, none missing.
Arrived at Lumpkins Mill Oct. 13, 1862.

01 Nov 1862 - 31 Dec 1862 Grenada, Miss.

This Co. was in the battle of Corinth and Hatchie Bridge, which resulted in the death of Capt. W. L. M. Holmes and 3d Lt. J. A. Wozencroft, privates J. F. Thomas & W. G. Turner. Wounded—one Sgt & four privates.
The Co. was also in the Holly Springs Raid of Gen. Van Dorn and was in the; battle of Holly Springs Dec. 20th, Davis Mills Dec. 21st & Middleton Dec. 24th, A.D. 1862, in which battles none were killed or wounded.

01 May 1863 - 30 Jun 1863 Kingston, Tenn.

[07 May 1863, Gen Van Dorn killed by Dr. George B. Peters for attentions paid by the general upon the physician's wife in Spring Hill,Tenn.]

01 Jul 1863 - 31 Aug 1863 Near Decatur, East Tenn.

01 Sep 1863 - 31 Dec 1863 Mouth Chuckey, Tenn.

[dated January 7, 1864]. Co. A left its quarters at Rose's Mills on Sept. 2, 1863, and marched to Chattanooga, Tenn. without halting, and did pickett duty at Harrison above Chattanooga on Tenn. River till about the 8th, when we marched below Chattanooga to cover the retreat of Gen'l Bragg. Was in action on the 11th at Confederate Hill, had one man killed. Also on the 12th & 13th, one man killed at Pea Vine Church. Also in skirmishes the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and participated in the Battle of Chickamauga the 19th & 20th, one man wounded. Upon the enemy's retreat to Chattanooga, Co. A was marched back in the direction of Philadelphia, Tenn. Was in engagement with the enemy about 26th Sept. at Charleston, Tenn. Enemy fell back and we pursued them to Sweet Water,Tenn. where our command was turned over to Gen'l Wheeler and was with him in his celebrated raid through middle Tenn. Returned to Chattanooga about the 31st Oct. and were then changed to Harrison's Brigade and marched to Knoxville, Tenn. under Lieut. Gen'l Longstreet. Had an engagement with the enemy at Maryville, Tenn. about the 15th Nov. Drove them back upon their infantry supports at Knoxville, Tenn. Then crossed the Holston River and did pickett duty around Knoxville until Gen'l Longstreet withdrew, since which time we have been on service without a single day's rest between our infantry and the enemy. Fought every day in the Christmas, had one Lieut. wounded (seriously) and two privates (slightly). This closes the service of Co. A with the year1863. Our Co. in the meantime has been badly clothed but well fed mostly, and are in surprisingly good health under the circumstances. ROBT. H. DEDMAN, 1st Lieut. Comd'g Co. A. [DEDMAN took charge after GRAY till end of war, buried @ Princeton cemetery]

01 Jan 1864 - 29 Feb 1864 Newport, E. Tenn.

Fought many battles around Atlanta until he left 19 Aug (it fell 2 Sept 1864).

All information provided by William "Bill" Boggess