Introduction

Historians often struggle to determine the exact dates of the outbreak of wars. The Civil War is no exception. Tensions, conflicts, and local fighting (e.g., fighting over the question of slavery in Kansas and parts of Missouri known as Bleeding Kansas) lasted for years before some key events that directly lead to the formal outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Abraham Lincoln was elected to the office of President in November 1860. In December 1860, South Carolina became the first state to leave the Union. By February 1, 1861, six more states seceded. On February 8, 1861, the seven rebel states formed the Confederate States of America. In March 1861, Lincoln was sworn in and on April 12, after Lincoln ordered a fleet to resupply the federal-held Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, Confederate artillery fired what historians consider to be the first shots of the Civil War. All these dates mark crucial events in the timeline of the Civil War. They also show that a prospect of civil war existed long before the first shots at Fort Sumter.  One outcome of this long period of tensions was the creation of voluntary armed groups, the members of which planned to prepare in case a war broke out. These organizations provided military-style training, but they attracted ordinary men. Some of the men had military experience but many had little or no military training. When the Civil War officially broke out, many of these groups were sworn into state service. This means that they were no longer self-regulated voluntary organizations but officially joined state military forces and were now under the authority of state military leaders. In this activity, you will examine a document created by one such voluntary armed group known as the Van Buren Frontier Guards. This organization was formed in the first days of 1861 in Van Buren (Crawford County), Arkansas. It was later incorporated into the 3rd Infantry, Arkansas State Troops.