39th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry

Brief History
39th Infantry Regiment was organized at Jackson, Mississippi, during the late spring of 1862. Its companies were recruited in the counties of Simpson, Rankin, Scott, Newton, Hinds, and Monroe. About twenty-five percent of this unit was sick in June, and there were 29 officers and 541 men present for duty in July. Company I took part in the fight at Baton Rouge, then, assigned to General Beall's command, the regiment was captured at Port Hudson in July, 1863. After the exchange in December it totalled 220 effectives. Attached to Ross' and Sears' Brigade it was involved in the Atlanta Campaign, Hood's Tennessee operations, and the defense of Mobile. The regiment reported 7 casualties at New Hope Church, 30 at Kenesaw Mountain, 5 at the Chattahoochee River, and 48 in the Battle of Atlanta. Few surrendered with the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. Its commanders were Colonel W.B. Shelby, Lieutenant Colonel William E. Ross, and Majors R.J. Durr and W.Monroe Quin.

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.