Blythe's Battalion, Mississippi State Troops

Brief History
(Also known as 2nd Regiment, Mississippi Partisan Rangers / 1st Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry State Troops)

The Minute Men were organized in May 1862 under the order of Maj.-Gen. T. C. Tupper from militia companies in each county. The enlistment term was for six months. Although not mustered into the Confederate States services, they were still subject to orders of Confederate officers.


 * The Mississippi Minute Men (State Troops)  Internet site has a longer history taken from Dunbar Rowland's Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898. Scroll down to the unit of minute men you wish to view.
 * "Units of the Confederate States Army" by Joseph H. Crute, Jr. contains no history for this unit.

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.

1ST (BLYTHE’S) BATTALION MISSISSIPPI CAVALRY MINUTE MEN (also known as 2nd Regiment, Mississippi Partisan Rangers / 1st Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry State Troops)

Company A - DeSoto Partisans, aka DeSoto Rangers (raised in DeSoto County) Company B - Bowen’s Rangers (raised in DeSoto County) Company C - Ward’s Company (raised in DeSoto County) Company D - Renfroe’s Company (raised in DeSoto County) Company E - Stillwell’s Company (raised in Marshall County) Company F - Hunt Rangers (raised in DeSoto County) Company G - Maxwell’s Company (raised in Panola County) Company H - Johnson’s Company (raised in Panola County) Company I - Williamson’s Company (county of origin not specified)

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.


 * 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).
 * 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).