ing around the Hornet’s Nest. He then trans-
ferred back to Arkansas as commander of the
newly created Trans-Mississippi Department
in May 1862. He proved instrumental in trans-
forming Arkansas from a military backwater
to a garrison state, bringing in arms, recruit-
ing troops, and ultimately raising 18,000 sol-
diers almost from scratch. However, Hindman
was tactless and dictatorial in his dealings
with the public. No respecter of constitution-
ality, he instituted conscription and martial
law to achieve his desired ends. The state was
consequently well prepared to repel a Union
invasion under Gen. Samuel Curtis that fall,
but incessant complaints about Hindman re-
sulted in his replacement by Gen. Theophilus
H. Holmes. Holmes diplomatically kept most
of Hindman’s reforms in place and allowed
him to perform military functions. On Decem-
ber 7, 1862, he marched 10,000 men to Prairie
Grove in the northwestern corner of the state,
did battle with a similar-sized Union force,
and was repulsed. Thereafter, he requested a
transfer out of Arkansas and back to the
Army of Tennessee.
Hindman was transferred, but for many
months he idled without a command. His
most notable service was in heading a court
of inquiry investigating the behavior of Gen.
Mansfield Lovellat New Orleans. In July
1863, Hindman was finally transferred to the
Corps of Gen. Leonidas Polk at Chattanooga.
On September 11, 1863, Hindman fought well
and was seriously wounded at the bloody
Confederate victory of Chickamauga, but
Gen. Braxton Braggrelieved him for failing
to attack as ordered. Bragg was in turn
replaced by Joseph E. Johnston, and Hind-
man still remained without an active com-
mand. In January 1864, he further compro-
mised his reputation by supporting Gen.
Patrick R. Cleburne’s suggestion that
African American slaves be emancipated to
fight for the South. This idea sent shudders
through the Confederate high command, was
roundly condemned by Jefferson Davis, and
did little to enhance Hindman’s standing with
the government. He subsequently participated
in the opening phases of the Atlanta campaign
against Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, but
an eye injury again necessitated his removal
from command. He spent the final months of
the war at home in Helena, Arkansas.
After the war Hindman and other Confed-
erate veterans left the United States and set-
tled in Mexico to grow coffee. He returned to
Arkansas in 1867, resumed his legal practice,
and resurrected his interest in politics. A com-
mitted Democrat, he was an outspoken critic
of the postwar Republican administration and
actively opposed the politics of Reconstruc-
tion. On September 27, 1868, Hindman was as-
sassinated in his home, probably for political
reasons. The murder was never solved.See also
Davis, Jefferson; Johnston, Joseph E.Bibliography
Bailey, Anne J., and Daniel E. Sutherland, eds. Civil War
Arkansas: Beyond Battles and Leaders.Fayetteville:
University of Arkansas Press, 2000; Banasik, Michael
E. Embattled Arkansas: The Prairie Grove Cam-
paign, 1862. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot, 1996;
Cozzens, Peter. This Terrible Sound: The Battle of
Chickamauga.Urbana: University of Illinois Press,
1992; Daniel, Larry.Shiloh: The Battle That Changed
the War.New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997; Fergu-
son, John L. Arkansas and the Civil War.Little Rock,
AR: Pioneer Press, 1964; Neal, Diane, and Thomas W.
Kremm.Lion of the South: General Thomas C.
Hindman. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press,
1993; Roberts, Bobby L. “Thomas Carmichael Hind-
man: Secessionist and Confederate General.” Unpub-
lished master’s thesis, University of Arkansas, 1972;
Shea, William J. War in the West: Pea Ridge and
Prairie Grove.Fort Worth, TX: Ryan Place, 1996.HINDMAN, THOMASCARMICHAEL