The 10th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It fought in several campaigns and battles in the Western Theater.

"Old" 10th Mississippi

The 10th Mississippi Infantry was organized in March 1861 with an original enrollment of 841 officers and men for a term of one year. Among the officers was future Confederate

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Joseph R. Davis, a nephew of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

. The original companies, under the command of

Col. Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Seaburne M. Phillips, were:Howell, ''For Dixie Land, I’ll Take My Stand'' * Company A - Mississippi Rifles (Hinds County) * Company B - Ben Bullard Rifles (Itawamba County) * Company C - Port Gibson Riflemen, aka Port Gibson Rifles (Claiborne County) * Company D - Lowndes Southrons (Lowndes County) * Company E - Southern Avengers (Lowndes County) * Company F - Hill City Cadets (Warren County) * Company G - Rankin Rifles (Rankin County) * Company H - Bahala Rifles (Copiah County) * Company I - Madison Rifles (Madison County) * Company K - Yazoo Minute Rifles (Yazoo County) The troops assembled in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, and were transported to

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

, for garrison duty there to help man the coastal defenses. They encamped near

Fort Barrancas Fort Barrancas (1839) or Fort San Carlos de Barrancas (from 1787) is a United States military fort and National Historic Landmark in the former Warrington area of Pensacola, Florida, located physically within Naval Air Station Pensacola, which wa ...

, opposite

Fort Pickens Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. The fort was completed in 1834 and was one of the few ...

and Santa Rosa Island, both held by

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

troops. Several companies engaged in building new fortifications or strengthening existing ones, as well as supporting the artillery crews during periodic bombardments over four months. Colonel Phillips and scores of other men died of disease while stationed near Pensacola. The depleted regiment fought in the

Battle of Santa Rosa Island The Battle of Santa Rosa Island (October 9, 1861) was an unsuccessful Confederate attempt to take Union-held Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, Florida. Background Santa Rosa Island is a 40-mile barrier island in the U.S. state of Florida, t ...

in October 1861. In February 1862, the regiment was sent back to Mississippi, where it was

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

d with other Mississippi troops under the overall command of Col.

James R. Chalmers James Ronald Chalmers (January 11, 1831April 9, 1898) was an American politician and senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry and cavalry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. After the war, Chalmers s ...

. The term of enlistment expired in March.

"New" 10th Mississippi

The regiment was reorganized at

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

on March 15, 1862, for a term of two years. The new companies were: * Company A - Horn Lake Volunteers ormerly Co. E, 9th MS Infantry(DeSoto County) * Company B - Natchez Southrons lso listed as Co. C(Adams County) * Company C - Ben Bullard Rifles lso listed as Co. D(Itawamba County) * Company D - Mississippi Rifles lso listed as Co. G(Hinds County) * Company E - Lowndes Southrons (Lowndes County) * Company F - Port Gibson Rifleman (Claiborne County) * Company G - Fulton Guards lso listed as Co. B(Itawamba County) * Company H - Rankin Rifles lso listed as Co. A(Rankin County) * Company I - Bahala Rifles (Copiah County) * Company K - Beauregard Relief (Tippah County) * Company L - Capt. Finley’s Company * Company M - Capt. Dobson’s Company * Company N - Capt. Bell’s Company * Company O - Capt. Inge’s Company * Company P - Capt. Betts’ Company In April, the new 10th, now under the command of Col. Robert A. Smith and numbering only 360 men, fought in the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

West Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions (Tennessee), Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee River, Tennessee and Miss ...

. It later participated in

Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving in the Weste ...

Kentucky Campaign The Confederate Heartland Offensive (August 14 – October 10, 1862), also known as the Kentucky Campaign, was an American Civil War campaign conducted by the Confederate States Army in Tennessee and Kentucky where Generals Braxton Bragg and ...

and suffered significant casualties at the

Battle of Munfordville The Battle of Munfordville (also known as the Battle of Green River) was an engagement in Munfordville, Kentucky during the American Civil War. Victory there allowed the Confederates to temporarily strengthen their hold on the region and impai ...

, including Colonel Smith. Chalmers' Brigade, including the 10th Mississippi, was part in the advance toward

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in September. Under Col. James Barr Jr., the 10th fought in the

Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the A ...

before retreating with Bragg's beaten army across the

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a pass through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains, near the junction of the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It is famous in American colonial history for its rol ...

on October 20. Marching through Tennessee, the regiment camped near

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

, in November. It fought in the subsequent

Battle of Stones River The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the Ame ...

in late December and early January 1863. The 10th again was part of a general Confederate retreat, finally encamping near

Tullahoma, Tennessee Tullahoma is a city in Coffee and Franklin counties in southern Middle Tennessee, United States. The population was 20,339 at the 2020 census. In 2019, the population was estimated to be 19,555. It is the principal city of the Tullahoma micropol ...

, until July 1863 when it advanced to

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

and then on to

Bridgeport, Alabama Bridgeport is a city in Jackson County, Alabama, Jackson County, Alabama, United States. At the time of 2010 census the population was 2,418, down from 2,728 in 2000. Bridgeport is included in the Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined S ...

. It subsequently participated in the Chickamauga Campaign in September and in the attack on Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga in November before retreating to winter quarters near

Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the ci ...

. In the spring and summer of 1864, the 10th participated in the Atlanta Campaign. Colonel Barr was mortally wounded in the

Battle of Marietta The Battle of Marietta was a series of military operations from June 9 through July 3, 1864, in Cobb County, Georgia, between Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The Union forces, led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, ...

and replaced by James M. Walker. The survivors were part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign in November before wintering near

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

. In the spring of 1865, the consolidated regiment took part in the

Carolinas Campaign The campaign of the Carolinas (January 1 – April 26, 1865), also known as the Carolinas campaign, was the final campaign conducted by the United States Army (Union Army) against the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater. On January 1 ...

before surrendering with the army of

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia seceded ...

Bennett Place Bennett Place is a former farm and homestead in Durham, North Carolina, which was the site of the last surrender of a major Confederate army in the American Civil War, when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to William T. Sherman. The first meetin ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in April.

Colonels

* Seaborn M. Phillips, died at Pensacola * Robert A. Smith, killed at Munfordville * James Barr Jr., died in Georgia * James M. Walker, resigned

Notes

References

* Howell, H. Grady, ''For Dixie Land, I’ll Take My Stand!: A Muster Listing of All Known Mississippi Confederate Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines'', Chickasaw Bayou Press, 1998, . * Rowland, Dunbar, ''Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898: taken from the Official and statistical register of the State of Mississippi, 1908'', Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Company, 1978, {{ISBN, 0-87152-266-7.

External links