38th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry

Brief History
38th Infantry Regiment was formed during the summer of 1862 with men recruited in the counties of Holmes, Tishomingo, Alcorn, Wilkinson, Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River, and Marion. The unit fought at Iuka with 322 men, then reported 35 casualties in the Battle of Corinth. Later it was assigned to General Hebert's Brigade in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. In July, 1863, it was captured in Vicksburg and during the siege lost 35 killed, 37 wounded, and 2missing. Exchanged, the regiment contained 24 officers and 115 men in December, 1863. It then was mounted and assigned to Mabry's and W. Adams' Brigade, Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. Continuing the fight in Mississippi, it sustained 74 casualties at Harrisburg. The 38th was included in the surrender in May, 1865. Its field officers were Colonels Fleming W. Adams and Preston Brent, Lieutenant Colonel Walter L. Keirn, and Majors Franklin W. Foxworth and R.C. McCay.

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.