Mississippi in the Civil War
Guide to Mississippi in the Civil War ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.
Contents
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.
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.
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
Mississippi State Archives, Various Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
Union Records
Service Records
Compiled Service Records - The Compiled Service Records ($) (Fold3.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 compiled service records consist of an envelope containing card abstracts taken from muster rolls, returns, pay vouchers, and other records. For more information see Union Service Records.
- 1861-1865 - Mississippi, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
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 Index to Pension Applications 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 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.
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
Mississippi Confederate Veterans and Widows Pension Applications (FamilySearch Historical Records)
1890 Veterans Census
1890 Census Veterans Schedules - 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 film 338185). 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
For more information on the 1890 Veterans Schedules see Union Census Records.
African American Sailors
American History and Genealogy Project, Civil War, African American Sailors in the Union Navy from Mississippi. By rootsweb.ancestry.com $
Confederate Records
- 1861-1865 - Mississippi, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch.org — index/images
- 1861-1865 - Mississippi, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch.org — index/images
- 1889-1942 - Mississippi, Confederate Records, 1889-1942 at FamilySearch — images
- 1900-1974 - Mississippi, Confederate Veterans and Widows Pension Applications, 1900-1974 at FamilySearch — images
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
Mississippi Confederate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
- Stamper, Isaac J. 'The Civil War diary of Issac J. Stamper, of Bradley County, Tenn. : enlisted December 26, 1861 at Sweetwater, Tennessee. His regiment surrendered May 9, 1865.' (containing a list of Solders died and wounded at Vicksburg, Mississippi see last few pages)(Cleveland, Tennessee : Cleveland Public Library (Tennessee), 1970), FHL book 921.73 A1 no. 7847 digitized.
Regimental sketches and rosters
- John C. Rietti, Military Annals of Mississippi. 1895. Reprint, Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Company Publishers, 1976. (Family History Library book 976.2 M2r , film 1036087 item 8.)
Service Records
Compiled Service Records - The Compiled Service Records ($) (Fold3.com) of Confederate 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 compiled service records consist of an envelope containing card abstracts taken from muster rolls, returns, pay vouchers, and other records. For more information see Confederate Service Records.
Confederate pension and service records are at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
Online Records
- 1861-1865 - Mississippi, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
FamilySearch collections:
- Mississippi, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers (FamilySearch Historical Records) - describes the collection with a link to the database.
- Mississippi State Archives, Various Records (FamilySearch Historical Records) - contains confederate records for some counties.
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 film 902556).
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at
Mississippi Confederate and Widows Pension Applications (FamilySearch Historical Records)
Confederate Prisoners of War
- United States, Records Of Confederate Prisoners Of War, 1861-1865 at findmypast - Index
Contraband Camps
The web site Last Road to Freedom has information on America's Civil War contraband Camps
Civil War contraband camps in Mississippi were located in Corinth, Meridian, Natchez, and Vicksburg
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.
Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)
Grand Army of the Republic founded in 1866 - 1956, was the largest veteran’s organization in the country after the Civil War. It was a fraternal organization members were veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, Marines and Revenue Cutler Service who served in the American Civil War. The group supported voting rights for black veterans, and lobbied the U.S. Congress to establish veterans' pensions. In 1890 the membership was 490,000.
In 1888 there were 5 posts and 205 members in the state of Mississippi
GAR Posts in the State of Mississippi
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
With the death of the last member of the Grand Army of the Republic the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was formed.
