Kepi, Civil War Confederate - Captain F.R. Earle

Object number2012.109.04

Date1861-1865

MediumPainted Linen, Linen, Wool, Velvet

Dimensions4 x 6 1/2 x 10 in. (10.2 x 16.5 x 25.4 cm)

Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionConfederate kepi worn by Captain F.R. Earle during the Civil War. It was pierced in the back by a bullet during the Battle of Prairie Grove. There is a handwritten note that accompanies the kepi (2012.109.03). As follows: "Confederate Soldier's Cap Pierced by a minnie ball in the battle of Prairie-Grove, Sunday, Dec.1st, 186(2). It was on the head of F.R. Earle, then Captain of Company "B" 34th. (Brooks') Arkansas regiment. He was, at the moment, within a few feet of the north & South line of B___ orchard fence,"

Fontaine Richard Earle was born January 9, 1813 in Pond River, Kentucky. He enlisted as a private with the Arkansas militia in 1861. Earle returned to Arkansas after declining to be transferred into the Confederate Army following the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri. Following the call for volunteers in 1862 by the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, Earle led a company of men that later formed Company B of the 34th Arkansas Infantry and was elected its captain. During the Battle of Prairie Grove, December 7, 1862, Earle’s scalp was scrapped by a bullet that pierced his kepi (see 2012.109.04). In December of 1863, Earle was promoted to major. At the Battle of Jenkin’s Ferry on April 30, 1864, command of the 34th Infantry fell to Earle and remained under his leadership until the conclusion of the war. Earle surrendered on June 9, 1865 and was granted a pardon by the United States government. Earle died at his home in Cane Hill on September 8, 1908.

Status

Not on view

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