The 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment was organized by companies in Lynchburg, VA on July 5, 1861 and mustered into Confederate service for the duration the War. When Dr. W.H. Tebbs and Van H. Manning, a lawyer at Hamburg, Ashley county, organized two companies in early 1861 and marched them to Vicksburg, where they offered them to the Confederate States at Montgomery, Alabama, the Confederate secretary of war refused to accept them. The two officers then went to Montgomery, and by persistent entreaty, succeeded at length in securing their admission to the Confederate Army, for the war;. Manning knew Congressman Albert Rust, then the Congressional representative for his district in southern Arkansas, obtained the assistance of his influence, and when Rust decided to enter the military service of the Confederacy, persuaded him to return to his home at Champagnolle, raise eight more companies, and follow on to some rendezvous where together they could organize a regiment for the service quot during the war.; Rust did so, and joined Manning at Lynchburg, where the regiment was organized, really the first, regiment from Arkansas, as regular troops of the Confederacy, enlisted for the duration of the war.

The officers of the regiment on organization were: Col. Albert Rust; Lt. Col. Seth M. Barton; Maj. Van H. Manning; Adjutant Henry A. Butler; and Surgeon Joseph Brown of Union county. Co. A, Cpt. W.H. Tebbs of Ashley county; Co. B, Cpt. Capers of Ashley county; Co. C, Cpt. T.M. Whittington of Drew County; Co. D, Cpt. Douglas of Desha county; Co. E, Cpt. R.S. Taylor of Desha county; Co. F, the Hot Springs Hornets", Cpt. Thrasher of Hot Springs county; Co. G, Cpt Reedy of Union county; Co. H, Cpt. Reed of Desha county; Co. I, Tulip Rifles, Cpt. J.H. Alexander of Dallas county; and Co. K, the Arkansas Travelers, Cpt. Wilson Wilkins, of Ashley county. Company L, commanded by Cpt. J. D. Christian of Ashley County, was not present at the muster in Lynchburg, but joined the regiment three weeks later. Colonels Rust and Barton being later promoted to brigadier generals, Major Manning became colonel of the regiment, Cpt. R.S. Taylor became lieutenant colonel, and Cpt W. Wilkins major, subsequently succeeded by Major Smith.

The regiment was ordered to the mountains of West Virginia, where it performed arduous and discouraging service in the campaign on the Gauley and Cheat rivers. This was followed by hard marching under Stonewall Jackson (whom Col. Rust later described as an impracticable old schoolmaster who said grace before he ate and prayed before going to bed) in the Valley Campaign. The regiment was engaged in the battles of Greenbrier and Allegheny. Under General Jackson at Winchester, in January, 1862, the 3rd Arkansas marched to Bath and Romney, returned to Winchester, and was ordered thence to Fredericksburg and assigned to the brigade of Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes. Colonel Rust was promoted to brigadier general about this time, and was transferred to a command in the western armies. Van Manning was promoted to the colonel of the regiment succeeding Col. Rust.,The 3rd Arkansas was engaged in the battles of White Oak Swamp, June,3, 1862, in J.G. Walker's brigade, on July 1, 1862 participated in the battle,of Malvern Hill, and was at Sharpsburg on September 17, 1862 where Col.,Manning was seriously wounded. At Fredericksburg again in December, 1862,,the 3rd Arkansas was assigned to Hood's Texas Brigade, with which it remained,until the end of the war. Here the regiment was additionally augmented by,the incorporation of Bronaugh's 2nd Arkansas Infantry Battalion of five,Arkansas companies.,The regiment was not engaged at Chancellorsville, being engaged instead,with Longstreet's Corp. at Suffolk.

The 3rd Arkansas participated in the,battle of Gettysburg with Longstreet's Corps, fighting in and in the vicinity,of the Devil's Den, and went with that corps to Tennessee in,September, 1863 where it fought at Chickamauga (where the gallant Major,Reedy was mortally wounded), Chattanooga, Wauhatchie, and in the siege ofKnoxville, TN. Returning to the Army of Northern Virginia in the spring,of 1864, the regiment fought with the Texas Brigade at the battle of the,Wilderness, May 6, 1864, marching at the double-quick several miles that morning to save the Confederate line and subsequently throw Grant's forces,back. Here Col. Manning was shot through the thigh and captured, being detained,a prisoner of war until July, 1865. The regiment moved on to continue the, fight at Spotsylvania, and on to Cold Harbor. The regiment was at Deep Run on August 6, 1864; at Petersburg during the siege by Grant, at High Bridge and Farmville in 1865, and surrendered at Appomattox Court House with General Lee on April 9, 1865. At Appomattox, only 144 men remained to stack their arms instead of the nearly 1,500 mustered throughout the war.

Officers: Col Albert Rust.Field Officers: Lt. Col. Seth M. Barton, Maj. J. Hickson Capers, Maj (later Lt. Col.) Vannoy Manning, Maj. John W. Reedy, Maj. Samuel W. Smith, Maj. (later Lt. Col.) Robert S. Taylor, Lt. Col. William H. Tebbs, Maj. William K. Wilkins.