This page is for descendants of men who served in the 1st Arkansas Infantry, African Descent. This was a Union regiment, composed of former slaves, probably mostly recruited from southeastern Arkansas and perhaps northeastern Louisiana. At the time of the battle at Milliken’s Bend, they were posted in the vicinity of Goodrich’s Landing and Lake Providence. Officers in the regiment were white men, most of whom had previously served in other white regiments in the Union army. This regiment was later renamed the 46th U.S. Colored Infantry (USCI).