 In response, President Lincoln called upon the "militia of the several states" to provide 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion.In spite of the fact that Arkansas had yet to officially secede, Governor Rector sensed that the move toward open war would shift public opinion into the secessionist camp and he quickly organized a militia battalion under the command of Solon Borland.The militia was dispatched it to seize the Federal Arsenal at Fort Smith on April 23, 1861.