18th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry

Brief History
18th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry 18th Cavalry Battalion [also called 18th Regiment] was organized during the late fall of 1862 with eight companies. Many of the men were recruited in Smith, Coahoma, and Sunflower counties. The unit served in Chalmers', R. McCulloch's, Slemon's Brigade, then returned to McCulloch's, and finally Starke's Brigade. It skirmished in various conflicts in Tennessee and Mississippi. The battalion contained 225 effectives in October, 1863 and reported 6 casualties at Collierville and 51 in the expedition from Memphis into Mississippi. It ended the war in Mississippi with only a few officers and men. The field officers were Colonel Alex. H. Chalmers, Lieutenant Colonel J. Waverly Smith, and Major William R. Mitchell.

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.