12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment  The 12th Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment spent much of its service defending Confederate strong points along the Mississippi River. The unit participated in the defense of Island No. 10 in early 1862 and later became part of the garrison of Port Hudson in 1863. Following the capitulation of the garrison of Port Hudson, the survivors of the 12th were eventually paroled and exchanged back to Arkansas where the regiment was consolidated with the remnants of several other Arkansas regiments to become the 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment.  12th Infantry Regiment was organized July 27, 1861, by Edward. Gantt. Many of the men were recruited in Dallas County. Gantt had been a close political ally Congressman Thomas Hindman and s staunch supporter of secession before the war. He was elected to Congress in 1860 but never took his seat due to secession. The original regimental officers were:. Colonel Edward W. Gantt  Lieutenant Colonels W.D.S. Cook  Major T.J. Reid, Jr. A.S.A. A.S. Saunder  Chaplain A.R. Winfield  A.C.S. Will P. Donnell  Aq. M. E. C. Jordon  Adjutant William M. Bruce. The unit was composed of volunteer companies from the following counties:   The 12th Arkansas served in the Western Department, and later at Beall's Brigade, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. The regiment had the unfortunate distinction of being captured in two engagements: Battle of Island Number Ten, and the Siege of Port Hudson. After serving in the garrison at Columbus Kentucky, the regiment moved to New Madrid, Missouri. Island Number Ten was a strategic location with an island at the base of a tight double turn in the course of the Mississippi river, near the town of New Madrid, Missouri. The 12th Arkansas, brigaded together with the 11th Arkansas Infantry, under the command of Colonel Gantt, originally acted as the garrison for Fort Thompson, one of two forts that guarded New Madrid. Due to his role as a brigade commander, On December 7, 1861, General Leonidas Polk nominated Gantt to become a Brigadier General, but he was never confirmed at that rank by the Confederate Congress. Union forces began a siege in March 1862, shortly after the Confederate Army abandoned their position at Columbus, Kentucky. The Union Army of the Mississippi under Brigadier General John Pope, made the first probes, coming overland through Missouri and occupying the town of Point Pleasant, Missouri, almost directly west of the island and south of New Madrid.