Volume 19, pages 72-74, of the OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE UNION AND CONFEDERATE NAVIES IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, give some indication of the personnel who served on the CSS ARKANSAS, including first lieutenant R.B. Mathews, of Gracey's (Cobb's) Battery, who notes that he and 12 others from that Battery volunteered to serve as artillerists on the CSS ARKANSAS in July, 1862. Lieutenant Mathews served in the temporary capacity of a private while aboard the vessel, under midshipman D.M. Scales. After the battle Mathews and his men returned to their unit, and he describes this activity as their "aquatic expedition."
Pages 69 and 70 of the same volume lists the names of numerous men who were killed and wounded on the vessel, most of whom were Army volunteers from several Louisiana, Kentucky and Missouri regiments. From these lists, it would seem that very few of the personnel aboard the CSS ARKANSAS were actual Naval personnel.