1st Battalion, Mississippi Sharpshooters

Brief History
1st Battalion Sharpshooters [also called 10th and 20th Battalion] was organized during the fall of 1862 with three Mississippi companies from the 2nd Confederate Infantry Regiment. Surrendered on April 26, 1865. It was commanded by Majors William A. Rayburn and James M. Stigler.


 * The 1st Battalion, Mississippi Sharpshooters Web site has a longer history taken from Dunbar Rowland's Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898.

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.

Company A - (Coms Avengers) - raised in Carroll County

Company B - (Red Rebels) - raised in Holmes County - see Roster

Company C - (Capt. Leigh’s Independent Company) - raised in Yalobusha County

Company D - (Wigfall Guards) - raised in Tennessee

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.
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Systemcan be searched by soldier's name or by regiment; includes regimental rosters and additional history of the regiment.


 * 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),.