Churchill, Thomas James

When [Brigadier General Thomas James] Churchill reached Little Rock, Lieutenant General Theophilus H. Holmes assigned him to command troops stationed at Fort Hindman, located at Arkansas Post on the Arkansas River. Union land and naval forces under Major General John A. McClernand and Admiral David D. Porter moved against the fort in January 1863. Of the approximately 6,000 men in the garrison, Churchill estimated that only 3,000 of them were actually available to fight. He asked Holmes for some reinforcements and more weapons but was told "to hold out until help arrived or all dead." Federal troops overran part of the Confederate lines on 11 January, and some of Churchill's troops raised unauthorized white flags, forcing him to surrender the remainder of the garrison. For three months, Churchill remained a prisoner of war at Camp Chase, Ohio. He was assigned to the Army of Tennessee after his exchange and assumed command of a brigade in Major General Patrick R. Cleburne's division. Churchill suffered the stigma of the loss of Arkansas Post and was replaced in brigade command in August 1863.