Robert Withers Harper (1833–1863)

Confederate colonel Robert Withers Harper, a prominent lawyer of Little Rock (Pulaski County) and cotton plantation owner in Conway County, served during the Civil War as regimental commander of the First Arkansas Mounted Rifles. Harper led his regiment through seven major battles before being killed at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, on September 20, 1863. 

Robert W. Harper was born on July 21, 1833, to Dr. James Harper and Ellen Whitaker Harper in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He attended Georgetown University as a member of the cadet program, receiving military training as well as a law degree. He began law practice in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, before marrying Laura Worthington on December 16, 1856. In 1857, the couple relocated to Arkansas, where he established his law practice in Little Rock. He later purchased a cotton plantation in Conway County in the community of Hard Times near Point Remove Creek. 

At the outbreak of war, Harper enlisted on June 6, 1861, in the First Arkansas Mounted Rifles, commanded by Colonel Thomas Churchill, and was elected major. The First Arkansas Mounted Rifles fought at the Battles of Oak Hills, Missouri, on August 10, 1861, and Pea Ridge, Arkansas, on March 7–8, 1862, before being sent east of the Mississippi River as part of Major General Earl Van Dorn’s Army of the West. Here, they were dismounted and reorganized, with Harper elected colonel after Churchill’s promotion to brigadier general. 

Under the leadership of Colonel Harper, the First Mounted Rifles next saw action at the Battle of Farmington, Mississippi, near Corinth on May 9, 1862. By late summer, the regiment was transferred to Chattanooga and served in the Kentucky Campaign as part of Major General E. Kirby Smith’s forces, McCown’s Division, Churchill’s Arkansas Brigade. Harper led his troops in the Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, on August 30, sustaining twenty-three casualties. 

In mid-December, officers of McNair’s brigade requested that the Secretary of War promote Colonel Harper to brigadier general. At the Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on December 31, 1862, Colonel Harper was thrust into brigade command when Brigadier General Evander McNair was forced to relinquish command due to health issues.  

Under his leadership, the brigade, along with Ector’s Texans, participated in the highly effective attacks on the Confederate left, driving the enemy for more than three miles, suffering heavy casualties. In January and again in March 1863, Arkansas senator Robert W. Johnson forwarded requests to Secretary of War James Seddon and President Jefferson Davis also advocating Harper’s promotion. With no vacancies existing at that time, no action was taken, and Harper returned to command his regiment. By May 1863, the division had transferred to General Joseph Johnston’s Army of Relief in attempts to relieve the garrison of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Harper’s regiment participated in the Battle of Jackson, Mississippi, but failed to assist Vicksburg, resulting in the withdrawal of Johnston’s forces, including Harper’s First Mounted Rifles, back to the Army of Tennessee. 

In September, Harper’s troops were in position with General Braxton Bragg’s army to oppose the Union advance of General William Rosecrans’s Union Army of the Cumberland. The resulting Battle of Chickamauga would be Harper’s last. With Harper leading his regiment on September 19, 1863, amid heavy casualties, the First Mounted Rifles drove the enemy repeatedly. On September 20, the advance resumed, and in heavy fighting in the Dyer field, Colonel Harper was mortally wounded by a cannon ball, living but a short time and not witnessing his men participating in the capture of ten enemy cannon. After the battle, Harper was buried alongside many of his men in a common battlefield mass grave. 

Harper was survived by his wife, Laura, and one daughter, Ellen. Both of his sons, Robert Jr. and Walter Worthington, died in childhood. A uniform jacket of Harper’s is held by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. 

For additional information:
Christ, Mark K. ed. Getting Used to Being Shot At: The Spence Family Civil War Letters. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2002. 

“Confederate Army Colonel Robert W. Harper’s Frock Coat.” Smithsonian National Museum of American History. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_446364 (accessed March 27, 2025). 

Dacus, Robert H. Reminiscences of Company “H”: 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles. Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1972. 

Harper Family Papers, 1856–1863. Department of Archives and Manuscripts. Birmingham Public Library, Birmingham, Alabama. Finding aid online at https://www.cobpl.org/resources/archives/aids/AR118.pdf (accessed March 27, 2025). 

Willis, James. Arkansas Confederates in the Western Theater. Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1998. 

Anthony Rushing
Benton, Arkansas