May 27, 1846

Governor Thomas S. Drew called for Arkansas volunteers to fight in the Mexican War. Within weeks, hundreds of eager volunteers made their way to Washington (Hempstead County) to be mustered into service. Captain Solon Borland’s company of Arkansas volunteers elected Archibald Yell as their colonel; Yell, former Democratic governor of Arkansas, hoped to further his political career by becoming a war hero. He tried to keep his seat in Congress (and even elevate it to a Senate seat), but a hostile legislature forced him to resign his congressional seat.