Mississippi in the Civil War

United States     U.S. Military      Mississippi      Mississippi Military      Mississippi in the Civil War



Introduction
Mississippi seceded from the Union on January 9, 1861, the second state to do so.

For additional information about Mississippi in the Civil War, see the Wikipedia article, Mississippi in the American Civil War.

Mississippi Military Units
Most units were numbered, however, many were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and other units.

The information in the lists of Mississippi Military Units comes from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors web site. That web site also can be searched by the name of a soldier.

Mississippi Units by Number or by Name  'Confed. Units 1st-3rd 4th-18th 19th-84th A-G H-M N-Z Mississippi Units by Type of Unit  Confed. Units' Infantry Cavalry Artillery Rifles Local Units Other

Sources and Resources
Mississippi provided soldiers to both the Union and Confederate armies. Indexes to the service records for both armies are available at the Family History Library.

Service Records
Compiled Service Records - The Compiled Service Records ($) (Footnote.com) of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Mississippi are available online. In the future, these records will be made available at no charge through the National Archives web site. The service records are also available at no charge at National Archives research rooms. The compiled service records consist of an envelope containing card abstracts taken from muster rolls, returns, pay vouchers, and other records. Service records may provide rank, unit, date of enlistment, length of service, age, place of birth, and date of death. For more information see Union Service and Pension Records.

Union service records are at the National Archives and on film at the Family History Library (Family History Library ).

Pension Records
Union pension records are only at the National Archives. The Family History Library has the index to the Union pension records.

Civil War Pension Index Cards - An of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. The majority of the records are of Civil War veterans, but the collection also includes records for veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Indian Wars, and World War I. For more information see Union Service and Pension Records.

Index to General Correspondence of the Pension Office, 1889-1904, is a free Internet name index to correspondence of the Records and Pension Office. Much of this correspondence concerns military service and pension related issues. The index is missing surname ranges “Dunf-Durd” (roll 107), “Hern-Hia” (roll 163), and “Shee-Shep” (roll 310). This collection corresponds to NARA publication M686.

The actual correspondence is in Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General’s Office located in the National Archives.

1890 Veterans Census
A special census was taken in 1890 of Union veterans of the Civil War. The returns are on film at the Family History Library (Family History Library ). An index to the Mississippi returns has been published and is available at the Family History Library.

A free index is available at Ancestry.com with links to the images ($)

The images can be viewed free at United States, 1890 Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War

African American Sailors
American History and Genealogy Project, Civil War, African American Sailors in the Union Navyfrom Mississippi. By rootsweb.ancestry.com $

Regimental sketches and rosters

 * John C. Rietti, Military Annals of Mississippi. 1895. Reprint, Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Company Publishers, 1976. (Family History Library .)

Service Records
Compiled Service Records - The Compiled Service Records for soldiers ($) (Footnote.com) are now available online. In the future, these records will be made available at no charge through the National Archives web site. Service records may provide rank, unit, date of enlistment, length of service, age, residence, and death date. The service records are also available at no charge at National Archives research rooms.

Confederate pension and service records are at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.


 * Misissippi Confederate service records. (427 rolls beginning with Family History Library ). Service records are arranged alphbetically.

Pension Records
Confederate pension and service records are at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.


 * Mississippi pension records for Confederate veterans are arranged alphabetically by soldier's surname. (94 rolls beginning with Family History Library ).

Southern Claims Commission
If a Union sympathizer in Mississippi claimed a loss during the Civil War due to Union military confiscation, he could apply to the Southern Claims Commission for reimbursement. Only a few applied, but their neighbors were called as witnesses and asked dozens of questions. Hundreds of the residents in a county may be mentioned in answers to Commission questions, and their wartime activities described. To learn how to find records mentioning these neighbors in Mississippi counties during the Civil War see the Southern Claims Commission.