Darden's Company, Mississippi Light Artillery (Jefferson Artillery)

Brief History
Jefferson Light Artillery was organized at Fayette, Mississippi, in May, 1861, with men from Jefferson County. There it entered Confederate service with about 90 officers and men. It fought at Shiloh and in the Kentucky Campaign, then was assigned to S.C. Williams' and J.D. Myrick's Battalion of Artillery, Army of Tennessee. The battery participated in many battles of the army from Murfreesboro to Atlanta, moved with Hood into Tennessee, and was active in North Carolina. This unit had 8 wounded of the 70 at Shiloh, 2 wounded at Perryville, 6 wounded at Murfreesboro, and 1 killed and 2 wounded at Chickamauga. In December, 1863, it totalled 77 effectives, had 55 present in April, 1864, and surrendered with fewer than 40. Captains William L. Harper and Putnam Darden were in command.

Regiment Companies with the County of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘Mississippi in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Mississippi in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Mississippi, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.