Midway through the American Civil War, a group of individuals led by Confederate officers William Fishback and E.W. Gantt decided the Confederate cause was hopeless. They devised a plan by which they hoped their home state of Arkansas could re-join the Union. The plan involved having Arkansas Senator W.K. Sebastian, whose term in the U.S. Senate was not yet expired, assume his seat in the Senate as if nothing like secession had ever happened.
As members of the Peace Society of Arkansas and proponents of this plan, both men were dismissed from the Confederate Army. They continued for over a year in their efforts to persuade the people of Arkansas to support their plan and cause Sebastian to reclaim his Senate seat based on popular opinion. The plan never managed to succeed and Sebastian, Fishback and Gantt drifted into historical oblivion.