During the Civil War, most of the violence in Van Buren County was caused by irregular troops, with southern units known as bushwhackers and northern guerrillas called jayhawkers, and both sides often preyed on innocent civilians by taking food and property. The 5th Missouri Cavalry (U.S.) fought bushwhackers at Knights Cove on June 19, 1862, and the 11th Missouri Cavalry skirmished with guerrillas on the Little Red River on March 25, 1864, killing 12 men. In 1865, bushwhackers burned the Van Buren County Courthouse in Clinton to the ground. Van Buren County was divided during the Civil War, supplying Confederate recruits to the 8th and 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiments and the 31st and 36th Arkansas Infantry. Many men joined the pro-Union Arkansas Peace Society, were arrested, and marched to Little Rock, where they were given the choice of prison or service in the Confederate army. Many of these reluctant recruits deserted at their first opportunity and later enlisted in Union army regiments, and veterans of both sides are buried in cemeteries throughout Van Buren County.