Perry County men served on both sides in the Civil War. Many enlisted in Company B, 1st Arkansas Mounted Volunteers, the Perry County Rangers, in 1861. Later designated the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry, the troops fought for the Confederacy east of the Mississippi River. Other Perry County men joined the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry (U.S.), which formed in late 1863 and fought in the mountains near the Arkansas River valley, including skirmishes on May 8 and December 1, 1864, at Cypress Creek in Perry County. Two other skirmishes were fought in the county.